Fruit prices in Israel are skyrocketing right now. Because of this, buying fruit that doesn’t taste good is genuinely infuriating.
For instance, my son Noam absolutely loves Pink Lady apples. Last week, I peeled an apple, cut it up, and served it to him. However, he tasted just one piece and completely refused to eat the rest. I tasted a piece myself to understand the issue. As it turned out, the apple was completely bitter. Consequently, I was stuck wondering what to do with the whole batch. No one wants to throw away three dollars per pound!
The Shabbat Dinner Rescue
Fortunately, Friday arrived and gave me the perfect solution. I decided to make my mother’s famous apple pie for Shabbat dinner. Without a doubt, it is the most delicious and impressive pie you will ever make.
Interestingly, my mom always insists on using green apples for this recipe. On the other hand, I claim the variety doesn’t matter at all. The pie tastes just as amazing with any kind of apple. Therefore, if you are stuck with a massive amount of less-than-perfect apples or pears, this is the absolute best recipe for you.
Ingredients
For the crust: 2 cups of all purpose flour
½ cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon zest – optional
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
200 grams of butter at room temperature
For the pie filling:
5-6 large apples or pears
½ cup of dried cranberries or dried cherries
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup of coarsely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ tablespoon of cornflour
Preparation
Preparation of the crust:
1. Put all the ingredients for the crust (flour, butter, egg yolks, vanilla extract, lemon zest and sugar) in a bowl and mix until combined
2. Put the dough in the fridge. It’s just easier to work with this dough when it’s cool
Preparation of the filling:
1. Peel, and then cut the apples in half. Remove the cores, and then slice into thin slices
2. Put the dried cranberries, the sugar, the walnuts, the cinnamon and the cornflour in a bowl and mix
3. Add the apples and mix until all the apples are well coated in the dry mixture
Assembling the Pie
I used a 24 cm springform pan with a removable bottom. As a result, I achieved a beautiful, exposed-crust effect.
Take the dough out of the fridge. Next, cut off about a quarter of it and set it aside. You will use this portion later to make the shapes on top of the pie.
Grease the pan thoroughly. For this step, you can easily use the leftover butter wrapper.
Roll out the dough on baking paper. This is helpful because it keeps the dough from sticking to your countertop. After that, line the cake pan with the rolled dough. Use your hands to press it firmly so the crust and bottom are even.
Trim any unnecessary edges from the dough. Set these scraps aside. Then, prick the bottom surface with a fork.
Transfer the apple mixture into the mold. Next, use a spoon or spatula to level the filling evenly across the pan.
Gather the dough edges you just trimmed. Roll them out together with the quarter of the dough you saved earlier. Subsequently, cut them into thin cookies using any shape you like. Finally, arrange them beautifully on top of the apples. I chose to make hearts and butterflies!
Bake for 50 minutes to an hour at 180°C (350°F). Note that the exact timing will depend on your specific oven.
Once baked, let the pie rest for about an hour. Lastly, carefully open the springform pan and remove the cake.
How pretty is that? And you made it by yourself from scratch! How cool is that?? If you want to stay up-to-date with recipes, follow me via Facebook, and pin on Pinterest!
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