This is the 26th version of apple pie on my site to date. Sure, some of them add cherries or blueberries. Some of them are two crust, some lattice, some quirky cutouts as a lattice, and yes, some of them are swirls like this. What can I say: I really like apple pie. It’s one of the comfort foods (along with Spätzle) that I reach for first. And it *is* the start of apple season. Yup, that’s my excuse for making pie when I have 8 million other things that I should be doing today.
Ingredients
for the crust
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, diced
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
for the filling
12 apples*, quartered and then very thinly sliced. Do not peel.
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup honey (more if your apples are super tart)
4 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
14 cup honey, mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice
You will also need: two small 6 or 7 inch tart pans
Directions
Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball, divide and then flatten into two disks. Wrap in plastic and chill 2 hours.
In a steamer basket, over a bit of boiling water, steam the apple slices for 4-8 minutes, depending on thickness. Because you will be putting the apple slices into a small space and they do not bend well, you need to soften them a little bit to be pliable, but you do not want them to become mushy. Keep checking a slice to see if you can bend it without the slice breaking, but they are still sturdy. Once they are at that stage, remove from the steamer basket and gently combine with the lemon juice, honey, cinnamon and corn starch in a medium bowl, and toss gently to coat.
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray your tart pans with cooking spray. Roll out dough to 1/3 inch thickness. Nestle dough into the tart pan. Crimp edge and dock bottom. Carefully arrange apple spices in a circle. This is time consuming, but makes a pretty presentation. Repeat for the second tart.
Bake in oven for 45-50 minutes, or until crust is browned and the apples are soft. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 20 minutes or so before serving. While tarts are cooling, combine honey and lemon juice in a small bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. Brush with a pastry brush to give the tart a nice sheen.
* I used honey crisps, hence the name of the pie, but red delicious are fine too.
