Comedy of Errors Apple Pie

The following “Chew This!” column has been reprinted from “The Courier-Times”, Sunday, January 18th 2015 edition. By: Blaise Doubman 

Recipe testing leads to best apple pie ever!
Blaise Doubman

I was testing yet another recipe with my Grandma Barbra for my upcoming cookbook a few days ago and what started out as a disaster – let to the best apple pie ever! I had been experimenting for quite some time with an apple pie recipe that I created about three months ago. I let it sit on the backburner for quite awhile before finally I decided I was going to work on it until I got it right. Well, this recipe has taken quite the journey, but I’m thrilled to be finally sharing it with you in its finished glory. The finished title “Comedy of Errors Apple Pie” comes directly from its creation – let me explain…

My Grandma Barbra and I had quite the experience with testing this recipe. For starters, we didn’t use a deep dish pie plate – we used one that was regular size. Note – please use a deep dish pie plate when making this recipe. About 15 minutes into the cooking time, we noticed smoke coming from the oven door. We rushed over and opened the door. The pie had leaked all over the oven floor, out the bottom hinge in the door, and all over the floor. Talk about a mess… Clean up followed, followed by some tears and then finally came laughter. (It was only after the bucket with water and floor cleaner was spilled that laughter soon followed. We figured then we might as well laugh about the situation.) We tried again, adjustments were made, and I remember telling my Grandma “What if this is the best apple pie we have ever had?” and we laughed. Guess what? It was…

Comedy of Errors Apple Pie

As I mentioned before, this really needs to be made in a deep dish apple pie dish to avoid overflow in the oven. The lemon really brightens the flavors of the apples and the extra amount of sugar combined with the tartness of the Granny Smith apple make for a delectable combination. The “secret ingredient” to this recipe is the cornflakes that are sprinkled in the bottom of the crust before adding the filling. It helps absorb some of the juice – making sure the bottom crust doesn’t get soggy. Be sure to use real maple syrup and not pancake syrup – it will make a difference. This pie is delicious eaten alone, but feel free to serve alongside some vanilla ice cream. Keep leftovers at room temperature for up to three days.

For the apple filling…

5 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced thin
1 ½ cups white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

For the pie crust…

2 cups white all-purpose flour
¾ cup shortening
1/3 cup ice water
1 teaspoon salt

½ cup cornflakes
4 tablespoons butter

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium sized pot over low heat, simmer the apples, white granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, lemon juice, corn starch and maple syrup for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, make the pastry by combining the all-purpose flour, shortening and salt in a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to combine until the mixture is the size of small peas. Next, add the ice water in and continue combining until dough becomes a soft ball – being careful not to over mix the dough.

Divide the dough into two equal balls and roll out each ball until its circumference is about an inch bigger (all the way around) than your pie plate.

Place one rolled out pasty into your pie dish. (The easiest way of doing this is to gently “wrap” your dough around your rolling pin – and then “unroll” it into your dish).

Sprinkle the cornflakes evenly into the crust before pouring in the apple mixture.

Dot the top of the apple mixture with the butter.

Next, take the other rolled out pastry and push the end of a spoon all over the top crust to help “vent” the pie. Place the pastry on top of the pie, and press lightly around the sides to help seal the top and bottom pastries together.

Finish by crimping the edges.

Take one egg and beat it with about 1 tablespoon of water to create an “egg wash”. Brush this, lightly, on top of the pie, (don’t use the whole amount of egg wash) and then sprinkle about a tablespoon of white granulated sugar evenly all over the top.

Place in preheated oven for one hour. Allow to cool before serving.