With all the amazing apples showing up at groceries and farmers markets it is time to make an apple pie. I used all Fuji apples as they looked so delicious, nice and crisp, a little tart but sweet, perfect for a pie. To change it up a little I added some rum-soaked raisins to the mix and topped the pie off with a flurry of golden autumn leaves.
The great thing about this pie is that you can make the spicy-sweet filling the day before you bake. Just keep it covered in the refrigerator until time to use.
I found these cute pie cutters on Amazon & William-Sonoma that make quick work of cutting out the embossed leaf shapes for the top crust.
The filling for this pie is a little different than most in that you par-cook the apples in the microwave before baking in the oven. This par-cooking helps to keep the apples firmer instead of getting mushy after baking in the oven for almost an hour.
Here is how you can make your own pie:
Rum Raisin Apple Pie Filling:
⢠4-5 pounds sweet, crisp apples (Fuji, Breaeburn, Jonagold), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4″ slices
⢠1/2 cup granulated sugar
⢠1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
⢠1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
⢠1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
⢠1/4 teaspoon salt
⢠1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
⢠1 cup raisins
⢠3-4 Tablespoons rum
In a small bowl, mix the raisins and rum. Microwave for 1 minute and stir. Set raisins aside and let cool completely.
Cut and peel around 4-5 pounds of apples. I found this terrific cutter/corer that makes fast work out of coring and cutting even slices of apple. Once the apples are all cut my dad and I used a paring knife to easily trim off the peels.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of freshly grated lemon zest.
In a large microwavable bowl mix the apples with the cooled rum-raisins and the sugar mixture. Cook the apple mixture in the microwave on high power for 3 minutes at a time, stopping to mix with a spatula, for a total of around 10 to 14 minutes or until the apples start to get translucent around the edges and the juices thicken up.
Let apples cool completely to room temperature.
Double Pie Crust: The pie crust is from America’s Test Kitchen and uses ice cold vodka in the dough to make a tender, flaky pastry crust.
You can find the entire recipe here or you can use your own favorite pie dough recipe. Or you can cheat and use the pre-made pie dough from the grocery store.
Make sure that you have two pieces of chilled dough for a double-crust. I used this beautiful ceramic pie pan for my apple pie. It does such a nice job of baking evenly and looks beautiful as a serving dish too.
Line the baking dish with one rolled 12″ round of dough. I rolled my dough to approximately 1/8″ thick. Cut the dough from around the edges as they will be covered with the leaf pieces that will form the top crust.
Save the dough scraps and combine with the remaining top crust dough and put back in the refrigerator. Once the bottom crust is in the pie pan, place in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Place a rimmed half-sheet baking pan in the oven on the oven rack moved to the lowest position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove remaining dough from fridge and roll out to 1/8″ thick.
Using a leaf cutter cut out the shapes and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cut out as many shapes as you can from the dough and set aside.
When oven has finished preheating, remove pan with pie crust from fridge and fill with cooled apple filling. To make the top crust design, begin placing the leaves with the tips facing away from the pie, evenly around the perimeter of the pie dish.
Once the first layer of leaves is down begin building up the second layer in between the first layer in a staggered design with the tips of the leaves facing away from the pie. This design is called a starburst design.
Continue until all the leaves are on the pie and there are no gaping holes. Brush the entire top of the pie with a beaten egg and place in the oven on top of the hot baking sheet for around 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is light golden brown.
Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and rotate the pie. Continue to bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Let pie cool on a wire rack for at least 2 1/2 hours before cutting.
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