Apple Cranberry Pandowdy

An American traditional up to date with a spiced dough and cranberries. Prep Time 15 minutes Cook dinner Time 1 hr refrigeration time 1 hr Complete Time 2 hrs 15 minutes Course Dessert Delicacies American Servings 8

Elements

for the crust:

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon floor mace
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup chilly butter, minimize into small cubes
3 – 4 tablespoons chilly water

for the filling:

3 1/4 lb apples peeled, cored, and minimize into wedges (I used Stayman-Winesap)
1 cup recent cranberries
3/4 cup mild brown sugar
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) chilly butter, minimize into small cubes
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon floor mace
1 teaspoon floor ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon allspice
juice and zest of 1 mandarin orange or tangerine or clementine

for the topping:

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled barely
2-3 tablespoons turbinado sugar or different coarse, sanding-type sugar

Directions

We made the dough the night time earlier than making the pandowdy and refrigerated it. If not making it the night time earlier than, take care to depart your self time to refrigerate the dough for at the very least an hour. Actually, do your self a favor and make it the night time earlier than, it makes the remainder of the recipe go in a short time.

In a meals processor, pulse flour, mace sugar, and salt till you may see the mace is evenly distributed within the flour. Add butter; pulse till it appears to be like like coarse meal (moist, clumpy sand). Stream within the water and cease when it appears to be like like dough. Examine to see should you can simply form it in your arms with out crumbling. If not, add somewhat bit extra water and check out once more. If the dough is moist, add somewhat flour and check out once more. Form the dough right into a spherical or rectangle and refrigerate, in an hermetic container or resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate at the very least 1-hour or in a single day.

The following day (or in an hour):

Preheat oven to 375.
Calmly flour a clear, flat floor and roll out the dough to it is a 1/4 inch thick circle. Put aside.
In a medium bowl, toss collectively the filling elements till evenly distributed and the apples look properly coated. Pour into the underside of a 1 1/2 – 2 quart pie plate. I used a deep dish pie plate that was 1.75 quarts.
Prime the apple combination with the dough. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Piece the highest with the tip of a knife to vent.
Bake 20 minutes. Rigorously take away the pie plate from the oven and utilizing the tip of a pointy knife minimize the crust in a criss-cross sample leaving roughly 1/2 inch squares. Calmly press the dough into the filling and return to the oven for 35 extra minutes or till browned and effervescent up within the cross-hatching.
Cool fully on a wire rack.

My crust began to brown across the edges at about 40 minutes in (20 minutes into its second journey into the oven) so I placed on this pie protect. Regulate it and use a protect or some foil to guard the perimeters whereas the center remains to be cooking. Key phrase dessert, pandowdy, pie

Have you ever made a pandowdy earlier than? It’s like pie’s simpler cousin and it’s speculated to be rustic so it’s good for these exhausting instances. Should you haven’t pandowdied, now’s the time and that is the recipe to make.

Pandowdy appears shrouded in thriller to me. Nobody actually is aware of why they’re known as pandowdy* (is it their “dowdy” look? Some sources I discovered say sure, some say no.). There are extra variations than you’d assume for such a easy dessert. It’s nearly at all times apples and apples alone however then the variations are available in. Some sources declare it was a approach to make use of up outdated bread, some sources say it was at all times made with pie dough. Actually outdated recipes name for molasses the one sweetner however then some almost equally historic recipes name for brown sugar. Most recipes name for less than a high crust however I’ve seen a couple of double crusters on the market. I’ve additionally seen recipes that decision for making puff pastry or tough puff to placed on high. No thanks. I actually assume this can be a rustic dish that was most likely created to make use of up leftover scraps of pastry from (savory?) pie making and what was available through the winter, specifically apples (which may be stored for months in a cool place–I picked these myself again in October) for a fast dessert. A less complicated, calmly sweetened pie dough made essentially the most sense to me.

I’ve additionally seen some recipes that decision so that you can make dozens of little squares and put them individually on the highest of the apples. No. I’m not doing that. I’ve learn greater than my share of historic American cookbooks and I’d say in at the very least 95% of them it was a single crust and you place the crust on the highest, baked it for a bit, slashed it up, and returned it to the oven. It isn’t solely the simplest methodology (fortunately for all concerned) however it’s the tastiest in my esteemed opinion. It’s crispy but juicy on the similar time in each single chew. Don’t inform anybody however I believe I favored this greater than any pie I’ve had or made in years.

As a result of I can’t go away properly sufficient alone I did stray from the very plain apple-cinnamon street that was earlier than me. I disregarded the cinnamon altogether in favor of spices I like extra; specifically mace, allspice, ginger, and cardamon. I truly put in barely greater than I known as for above in every so be at liberty to throw warning to the wind and do the identical. I seasoned the pie crust with mace so as to add much more depth of taste and tossed in some cranberries for that burst of tartness I believe each fruit dessert wants. As a substitute of coating the entire filling in melted butter, I tossed in cubed chilly for causes of deliciousness. The end result was, if I could say so myself and clearly I do, stupendous. We might or might not have eaten half the pandowdy the primary night time. Now I’m left questioning what can I dowdy subsequent?