Apple Pandowdy
By Cecelia JenkinsPublished on August 19, 2016
Time
1¾ hours, plus 1½ hours chilling and 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Pie Dough
3 tablespoons ice water 1 tablespoon sour cream ⅔ cup (3 ⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon granulated sugar ½ teaspoon Salt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and frozen for 15 minutesFilling
2 ½ pounds (1134 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, halved, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges¼ cup packed (1 ¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon Salt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter ¾ cup apple cider 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons lemon juiceTopping
1 tablespoon granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 large egg, lightly beatenvanilla ice creamBefore You Begin
Disturbing the crust, or “dowdying,” allows juices from the filling to rise over the crust and caramelize as the dessert continues to bake. Removing the skillet from the oven allows you to properly press down on the crust. Do not use store-bought pie crust in this recipe; it yields gummy results.
Instructions
- Combine ice water and sour cream in bowl. Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until size of large peas, 6 to 8 pulses. Add sour cream mixture and pulse until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, 3 to 6 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Form dough into 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Wrapped dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 5 minutes, before rolling. Roll dough into 10-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Using pizza cutter, cut dough into four 2½-inch-wide strips, then make four 2½-inch-wide perpendicular cuts to form squares. (Pieces around edges of dough will be smaller.) Transfer dough pieces to parchment paper–lined baking sheet, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Toss apples, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in large bowl. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture, cover, and cook until apples become slightly pliable and release their juice, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Whisk cider, cornstarch, and lemon juice in bowl until no lumps remain; add to skillet. Bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Off heat, press lightly on apples to form even layer.
- Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Working quickly, shingle dough pieces over filling until mostly covered, overlapping as needed. Brush dough pieces with egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake until crust is slightly puffed and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove skillet from oven. Using back of large spoon, press down in center of crust until juices come up over top of crust. Repeat four more times around skillet. Make sure all apples are submerged and return skillet to oven. Continue to bake until crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.
- Transfer skillet to wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Serve with ice cream, drizzling extra sauce over top.
for the pie dough
for the filling
for the topping
Time
1¾ hours, plus 1½ hours chilling and 20 minutes coolingYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Pie Dough
Filling
Topping
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Pie Dough
Filling
Topping
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Pie Dough
Filling
Topping
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
One of many old-school New England desserts with funny names (slumps, grunts, etc.), pandowdy is similar to skillet apple pie, except that during baking, the crust is pressed or slashed so the juices from the filling flood over the top and caramelize in the oven. Yes, you purposefully mess up the top, leaving a dowdy-looking result. To start, we precooked sweet, buttery Golden Delicious apples with sugar and cinnamon and then added a slurry of cornstarch, cider, and lemon juice to thicken the filling. For the topping, we used homemade all-butter dough with sour cream added (for a slight tang). To avoid smothered, mushy apples, we cut the dough into squares and casually arranged them to overlap on top. The partial coverage promotes ventilation, allowing the apples to keep their shape and not overcook. Pressing down on the crust halfway through baking allowed time for the crust to set up (not sog out in the liquid) and for the juices spilling over the top time to caramelize, yielding layers of texture—sticky, crisp and tender.
Before You Begin
Disturbing the crust, or “dowdying,” allows juices from the filling to rise over the crust and caramelize as the dessert continues to bake. Removing the skillet from the oven allows you to properly press down on the crust. Do not use store-bought pie crust in this recipe; it yields gummy results.
Instructions
- Combine ice water and sour cream in bowl. Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until size of large peas, 6 to 8 pulses. Add sour cream mixture and pulse until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, 3 to 6 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Form dough into 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Wrapped dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 5 minutes, before rolling. Roll dough into 10-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Using pizza cutter, cut dough into four 2½-inch-wide strips, then make four 2½-inch-wide perpendicular cuts to form squares. (Pieces around edges of dough will be smaller.) Transfer dough pieces to parchment paper–lined baking sheet, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Toss apples, sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in large bowl. Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture, cover, and cook until apples become slightly pliable and release their juice, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Whisk cider, cornstarch, and lemon juice in bowl until no lumps remain; add to skillet. Bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Off heat, press lightly on apples to form even layer.
- Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Working quickly, shingle dough pieces over filling until mostly covered, overlapping as needed. Brush dough pieces with egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake until crust is slightly puffed and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove skillet from oven. Using back of large spoon, press down in center of crust until juices come up over top of crust. Repeat four more times around skillet. Make sure all apples are submerged and return skillet to oven. Continue to bake until crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.
- Transfer skillet to wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes. Serve with ice cream, drizzling extra sauce over top.
for the pie dough
for the filling
for the topping
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