Rustic Apple-Cranberry Pie
This mountain of a pie, as delicious as it is beautiful, is a dramatic version of good-old American apple pie—and why not have a new variation in your repertoire? While apples are available all year long, make sure you bake this pie at least once during the fall or at Rosh Hashanah, when apples fill the markets and the varieties seem endless. The partial whole-wheat crust can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated a few days or frozen for 2 weeks. Defrost it overnight in the refrigerator. Serve the pie with ice cream or fresh whipped cream. If whipping your own cream, add a splash of vanilla and a touch of honey before it is completely whipped.
SERVES 8 TO 10
Crust
1½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) frozen unsalted butter, cut into many small pieces
¾ to 1 cup ice water, as needed
Apple Filling
3½ pounds assorted apples (preferably local), peeled, cored, and sliced in ¼-inch pieces
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
¾ cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons to sprinkle on top
Pinch of kosher salt
To make the crust, combine the flours, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse. Add the butter and, with a spoon, coat each piece with flour. Pulse to create coarse meal. Pulsing, slowly drizzle in ¾ cup of the ice water, until the dough is moistened and begins to form a single mass. Drizzle more ice water if needed. Stop pulsing just before the dough forms a ball. Transfer this crumbly mixture onto a large piece of parchment paper and, using your hands, gently squeeze the dough to form a ball. Divide the dough in half and roll one half into a 13-inch round between parchment paper. Drape over a 9-inch pie dish, then gently fit it into the dish. Roll out the remaining dough to a 13-inch round. Chill both parts of the dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the apples, ¼ cup flour, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and toss. In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries with ¼ cup of the sugar and the 1 teaspoon flour. Add ½ cup of the sugar and the salt to the apple mixture and toss. Add the sugared cranberries and mix.
Pile the apple-cranberry mixture into the middle of the pie dish. Go slowly and pile up gently; it will seem as if there’s too much of the apple mixture, but the amount is correct.
Cover with the remaining dough. Trim excess dough and pinch the edges together. Using a serrated knife, cut ten to twelve 1-inch slits into the top crust to let the steam out as the pie is baking. Generously sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons sugar and remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Place the pie on the baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling, 65 to 75 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Summer and Fall Crostatas
These seasonal free-form tarts are a perfect marriage of buttery crust, sweet honey, luscious fruit, and a hint of pepper. In the summer, use any stone fruit and berries; in the fall, try apples or pears with a bit of dried fruit plumped in madeira, sherry, or dry port. We’re excited to report that you can use frozen organic peach slices for the summer filling and the result is still sublime. Don’t defrost the slices, just toss them with sugar and flour while still frozen. Serve them with vanilla- and honey-flavored whipped cream or Pear Sorbet (here).
Crust
3 tablespoons semolina flour
2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter or solid coconut oil, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
Fall Filling
¼ cup madeira, sherry, or dry port
¼ cup dried cherries
3 pears, such as red, Bosc, or Anjou, or a combination
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Summer Filling
3 firm peaches (about 1¼ pounds), peeled, halved, pitted, and sliced ¼ inch thick; or 20 ounces frozen peach slices
2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ pint blackberries
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the crust, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the flours, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter or solid coconut oil and, with a spoon, coat each piece with the flour mixture. Pulse to create coarse meal, 15 to 20 times. Add the lemon juice and drizzle in 3 tablespoons water. Pulse until the dough comes together, 12 to 15 times. Do not overwork. Transfer this crumbly mixture onto a large piece of parchment paper and press the mixture into a ball with your hands. Knead in the remaining 1 tablespoon water, if necessary, to bring the dough together.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Shape the dough into a flat disk with your hands, place between 2 sheets of parchment, and roll to make a 14-inch circle. Transfer the dough, still on the bottom parchment, onto a baking sheet and chill.
If making the fall filling: In a small saucepan, warm the madeira over low heat. Transfer to a small bowl, add the dried cherries, and allow them to plump, about 15 minutes. Core and cut the pears into ¾-inch cubes, transfer to a medium bowl, and toss with the lemon juice. Add the flour and sugar to the pears and toss to combine.
If making the summer filling: Combine the fresh or frozen peaches with the flour and sugar.
For both fillings: Spread the honey on the crust 3 inches from the edge. Sprinkle the honey with the black pepper. Arrange the pears or peaches on the dough, covering the honey portion only. Drain the cherries and sprinkle all around the pears, or toss the blackberries about the peaches. With your hands, carefully fold the 3-inch border of dough over the fruit, overlapping it as necessary. (The dough needs to be cold when it goes into the oven, so work quickly, or re-chill before baking.)
Bake for 35 minutes, turning the sheet a few times. Reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake until the crust is golden and the fruit is fork-tender, 10 to 15 minutes more. Transfer the crostata to a rack. Allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes. Cut the crostata into quarters and each quarter into thirds and serve.