Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies - Part III

For the fourth and final pie in our Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies series, we decided to go in a completely different direction in terms of ingredients and technique. After Lindsey came across a recipe for Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie on allrecipes.com which was consistently given 5 stars and touted as the best ever, we knew it had to be added to our arsenal of apple pies. In fact, the reviews even stated that this pie is a winner!, and that people should look no further for the perfect apple pie recipe!. Using a lattice top and a liquid mixture poured over top, this pie was certainly a change from the first three. But did it match up to Pies #1, #2, and #3?

As with Pies #1 and #2, we used the Pillsbury ready to cook, refrigerated pie crust. Like I mentioned in yesterday's wrap up, I was a bit wary of committing to more than one pie with a homemade crust, and well, I figured that if I was going to make it myself, it should be for my own Grandmother's recipe. For this little beauty, we rolled out the bottom crust (after bringing it to room temperature) and filled it with the peeled, cored and sliced apples. As with the first 3, we used a mixture of Macintosh, Cortland, and Spencer apples.

We then covered the pie with a lattice top, which Lindsey made by simply rolling out the second crust and creating a grid over the top of the pie. We then secured the edges of the lattice with the bottom crust by pushing it altogether using just our fingers.

Notice that we were yet to add anything extra to the apples. Th biggest difference with this pie is that a mixture is created on the stovetop and poured over the entire pie, top crust and all. I know, I looked at Lindsey like she had two heads too...kind of like how you are rereading that last line. But it's true.

Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie with Pillsbury Crust
*Adapted from AllRecipes.com
1 pkg Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts (2 crusts included, one for top and bottom)
½ C unsalted butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
½ C white sugar
½ C brown sugar (I made my own, stay tuned for that how-to)
¼ C water
½ tsp cinnamon
5-6 C tart apples, we used a mix of Cortland, Macintosh and Spencer

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the bottom crust (after bringing it to room temperature) into your pie plate and fill it with the peeled, cored and sliced apples. As with the first 3, we used a mixture of Macintosh, Cortland, and Spencer apples. Cover the pie with a lattice top, which Lindsey made by simply rolling out the second crust, cutting it into slices with a pizza cutter and creating a grid over the top of the pie. We then secured the edges of the lattice with the bottom crust by pushing it altogether using just our fingers. Set aside and in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then whisk in the flour. Whisk in the white sugar, brown sugar and water  and bring to a boil.

Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes. It will be thick. Now it's time to pour over the pie. We moved the mixture into a small measuring cup first for a more controlled pour over your pie.

We (very carefully and slowly) poured the mixture over the entire top of the crust, making sure to fill in the holes with the mixture so that it would flow into the inside of the pie. Sprinkle with cinnamon. We knew that if this was any indication of the taste, we were in for a real treat.

Cover the edges with foil, as with the first 3 pies, to prevent burning. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 35-40 minutes. This is what we ended up with:

Yum! As soon as it was cool enough to handle, we sliced that baby up and dove right in with our taste test. Unfortunately, the crust held up the worst of the four, completely crumbling once cut into.

First impressions: This pie was buttery and delicious, just as the reviews promised it would be. The crust had a crisp and sweet carmelization from the butter-sugar mixture. Although it fell apart, it seemed less runny than pies #1 and #2, which was a very good thing in our book. It was amazing how much flavor was imparted by the sauce, which I was very wary about since we weren't sure that it had covered all of the apple filling. Instead, it created a sweet and appley pile of apples. Though they weren't quite as tender as Pie #3, it did have a deeper richness than Pies #1 and #2.

And what did the guys think? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post to find out! We'll be wrapping up our apple pie baking adventure and giving you our picks for best crust, best filling, best overall pie, and best pie on T+1.

So what do you think? Have you ever tried the lattice top? Have you ever heard of a pie where the syrup is drizzled over the entire thing? And for a bonus question, what is your favorite kind of apple, whether for baking or munching?

Psst...missed parts 1 and 2 of our Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies series? Check them out here and here!

Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies - Part II

When Lindsey had the absolutely brilliant idea to have a 1950’s-style playdate in which we’d spend the day testing out various apple pie recipes, I couldn’t help but think of the apple pie. The one that my mom has made for as long as I can remember. It’s my grandmother’s recipe, which my mom swears is the best ever. EVER I tell you! It always was the best one I’d ever had. But then again, almost everything that my mom makes from scratch is the best I’ve ever had. Her sauce is divine. Her meatballs melt in the mouth. Her ziti is the most moist and delicious of all time. Her chili is full of flavor without relying on spicy ingredients. Don’t even get me started on her potato salad, barbecue sauce, coffee cake or pound cake. Oh and did I mention her stuffed cabbage, cookies or cakes? Somebody stop me before I start salivating.

Anyhow, when we decided to go on this pie-making adventure, I really wanted to try my mother’s recipe for the best ever apple pie, which was handed down to her from her mother, my Grandma Mary, a fantastic woman who I never had a chance to meet. I remember serving as mom’s sous chef so many times while making this pie (among many other things over the years), all the while listening to mom telling me how my mother always made the best pies. We would peel what seemed like a hundred apples for just one pie, stacking them higher and higher and higher, and then I’d watch as my mom made the flakiest, most delicious crust in the whole world. This seemed to me like one of the hardest things to get just right, especially once it came time to roll it out to the perfect size and then move it to the pie dish without breaking the entire thing. And don’t even get me started on devouring the flaky crust that was anything but sugary with a filling that was oh-so-appley with just the right amount of sweetness. I was always in awe at how this came together to make such a wonderful, delicious pie.

So when it came time to make my first apple pie without mom’s guidance (save for a few panicked phone calls), I kind of viewed this as a right of passage, since I learned it from her and she learned it from her mother. It was only fitting to include one homemade crust in the bunch and so for Grandma Mary’s pie it would go.

Using nothing but a knife and my own two hands to get ‘er done, I mixed all of the ingredients together, cut the mass in half and very carefully rolled out the dough onto my (clean) floured countertop.

Heavily flouring the rolling pin, I rolled each dough mass out to be just a bit bigger than my pie dish. Just as the instructions go, I folded the bottom crust into quarters and laid it over my plate.

Success! We then piled the goods inside the bottom crust.

After piling it all into the dish, we successfully covered the pie with the second crust and I once again pranced around like a school girl yelping with glee.

There may have even been jumping, yelling and high fiving involved. This was one of my most proud cooking moments ever! In fact, I literally did my own version of the happy dance in celebration.

And into the oven it went, thanks to Lindsey's awesome forking and top crust design skills!

The finale:

First impressions (and I’ll try not to be biased): This was the only pie that didn’t crumble into a mess when we cut into it, a telltale sign that this crust was anything but store-bought. In fact the top didn't even fall. The crust was just as flaky as a good crust should be. The overall unsweetness of the crust was off-set by the apple center, which was not overly sweet but not quite tart either. It was the most appley of the bunch thus far. Even the apples held up a bit better than Pies #1 and #2, as they were tender but a bit more firm so it was less like apple filling and more like straight up soft apples. And of course we found it necessary to add a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt, though it was completely unnecessary.

How did the overall pie stand up to Pies #1 and #2? What did the guys have to say on their weigh in? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out! And in case you missed the round up of our Pillsbury pie and Joy of Cooking pie, check out yesterday's Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies - Part I!

So what do you think? Have you ever made your own crust? Are you just intimidated by the mere thought of it (as I was until last week)? Do you have a family recipe that just screams this is the best ever? And bonus question: What is your favorite food moment, whether cooking at home or eating a fabulous meal at a great or hole-in-the-wall restaurant?

Two Girls, Two Guys, Four Pies - Part I

I guess the cat's outta the bag about my autumnal flavor obsession, what with an overload of apple cupcakes, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin spice coffee. Well today is no different. When my best friend Lindsey came up with an idea to bake and test different apple pie recipes in search of the very best techniques and versions, I literally jumped out of my chair with excitement (baking really, really makes me happy). After all, we all know someone who claims to make the best apple pie, or best anything for that matter. Why not put some to the test? And so our 1950's-style play date was set to take place in my Avid Kitchen. Along with Lindsey and I as bakers and taste testers, we enlisted the help of Shaun and Lindsey’s boyfriend Eric for more of a ‘blind test’ since they had no idea which pie was which, how any of them were made and were not involved in the process at all until it came eatin’ time. Shaun couldn’t have been happier when he came home from work to find a plate with four slices of pie ready and waiting for him.

And so we turned these little beauties that Lindsey picked up from her favorite farm stand near her family's Connecticut lake house...

into a full-blown table of delicious...

We decided to make a total of 4 pies using different techniques and slightly varying the ingredients. We also decided to test out pre-made refrigerated crusts versus a homemade crust. We then tracked down a few recipes that we felt were similar yet offered a few different variables. Here’s the rundown:

Apple Pie #1: Pillsbury Perfect Apple Pie with Pillsbury Premade Crust

Apple Pie #2: The Joy of Cooking Apple Pie with Pillsbury Premade Crust

Apple Pie #3: Grandma Mary’s Apple Pie with Homemade Crust (this is my Grandmother’s recipe which my mom swears is the best ever. EVER! And that yes, it is always necessary to make your own crust)

Apple Pie #4: Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie with Pillsbury Premade Crust (via allrecipes.com)

Since this was my first time ever making an apple pie, I only used the homemade crust on Grandma Mary’s version. It was my first crust-making endeavor so I was a bit wary about signing up for more than that (stay tuned for how this went down tomorrow). Meanwhile Lindsey and I got crackin' on our day o'baking fun! Coring, peeling and eventually eating...it was all in the name of research, people!

And so after lots and lots of chopping, peeling, coring and slicing, we were ready for the pieification of our apples.

With a mix of Cortland, Macintosh and Spencer apples, we filled each pie with about 5-6 cups of sliced apples.

Apple Pie #1: Pillsbury Perfect Apple Pie with Pillsbury Premade Crust

Pillsbury Perfect Apple Pie
*Adapted from Pillsbury Pie Crusts box
1 pkg Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts (2 crusts included, one for top and bottom)
3/4 C sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1-2 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pats
6 C peeled, cored and sliced apples (we used a mix of Cortland, Macintosh & Spencer)

Prepare the pie crust as directed, letting it come to room temperature before rolling the bottom out into a pie dish. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk, together flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add apples and mix together gently.

Pour mixture into prepared crust and dot with pats of butter. Never underestimate the power of butter. Big pats all over the pie is the only way to go.

Cover with second crust, securing the edges with the back of a fork. You can get a little fancy here, but we felt the fork method worked best in terms of securing the goods inside the pie (one of them which wasn't forkified leaked all over my oven). Cut some slits or fancy designs into the top so that the steam from the pie can escape, otherwise you'll end up with a mushy mess of a pie. And no one wants that. Cover the edges of the pie with foil to prevent burning and bake on a baking sheet for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the apples feels tender. Remove the foil about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time only if it looks as though the edges are not cooked.

First impressions: Since this was the first pie, we were pretty excited to give it a try, especially since my Avid Kitch had been smelling so heavenly for about 4 hours by the time we actually got to start tasting. On first blush, pie #1 did not disappoint. The apples were nicely cooked though a bit tart. The pie was a bit soupy once it was cut into, so we wondered if perhaps the apple mixture needed a bit more flour for thickening. The crust, while not the best of all time, was flaky and did not seem store bought. So did our opinion match the guys? Did it hold up over the pies to come? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!

Apple Pie #2: The Joy of Cooking Apple Pie with Pillsbury Premade Crust

The Joy of Cooking Apple Pie with Pillsbury Crust
*Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
1 pkg Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts (2 crusts included, one for top and bottom)
3/4 C + 2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pats
6 C peeled, cored and sliced apples (we used a mix of Cortland, Macintosh & Spencer)

 
Prepare the pie crust as directed, letting it come to room temperature before rolling the bottom out into a pie dish. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk, together flour, 3/4C sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and salt. Add apples and mix together gently. Let the apples macerate in the mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to coat the apples and let the soften.

Pour the apple mixture into the prepared crust. Add pats of butter.

As with the Pillsbury version, cover with second crust, securing the edges with the back of a fork. You can get a little fancy here, but we felt the fork method worked best in terms of securing the goods inside the pie. Cut some slits or fancy designs into the top so that the steam from the pie can escape, otherwise you'll end up with a mushy mess of a pie. Lindsey was the master of both of these steps.

Sprinkle the remaining sugar and cinnamon over the top of the crust. Cover the edges of the pie with foil to prevent burning and bake on a baking sheet for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the apples feels tender. Remove the foil about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time only if it looks as though the edges are not cooked.

We realized only after one of the pies had burst open and started dripping on the bottom of my oven (causing an unpleasant burning aroma) that it really works better to put the pies on a large baking sheet to catch any overflow.

First impressions: Wowee the difference between this pie and Pie #1 is astounding and this delicious version suddenly makes Pie #1 look like Pie #2’s unattractive and unfun cousin. The major difference here is the apple taste and consistency. The apples were sweeter and more appley tasting that Pie #1, two points that we may not have realized had we not tasted these one right after the other. Our guess? Macerating the apples (letting them sit in the sugar-flour mixture for a full 15 minutes, creating a delicious appley sugar liquid) must have been the culprit in giving this pie the extra zip to take the reigns for number 1 of the two so far. Who would have thought? Not me, since I actually whined how could this be necessary? multiple times while impatiently waiting for the apples to macerate. I was wrong, and I admit it. Apparently maceration is key here since the apple filling instantly went from eh to mmmm. The crust was similar to Pie #1, though the addition of the cinnamon sugar topping made a huge difference in its deliciousness since it added a crystallized sugariness to the top. As you can tell, both pies fell apart a bit after cutting into them, so the final photos are less than prize-worthy.

So there you have it. Our roundup of pies #1 and #2. Our first impression comments do not include those of the guys since Lindsey and I were the first taste testers. Instead, we’ll give you the guys’ roundups and their picks and thoughts later this week when we announce our favorites!

So what do you think? Do you make a mean apple pie? The best? Have you ever tweaked the ingredients slightly in any dish only to find that it made all the difference in the world? And finally, are you a stubborn, impatient cook like me, constantly searching for instant gratification?