'Apple Brown Sugar Pie' takes first place at the Apple Festival

Jessica won the pie baking contest at the Apple Festival Oct. 11. We asked her if she would share her recipe and she was thrilled. Thank you Jessica and congratulations from the Loop.

This is altogether a pretty classic apple pie recipe, but utilizes some baking techniques that make it really great. No special skills needed here, but maybe just a little patience (allow for about 4-5 hours total time, 1-1 1/2 hands on). It starts with the crust, which is so simple (made with a stand mixer!) and the ratio of butter to shortening makes it the flakiest and easiest dough I've found to work with. Next, the pie recipe will ask you to pre-bake the apples. This extracts some of the extra juices so your crust doesn't get soggy and reduces the amount of steam while baking so you don't get separation between filling and the top crust. But, it actually concentrates the flavor in the apples. Finally, you'll place the pie in the freezer for a while before baking, which lets the dough rest again and solidifies the fats, so you'll get a nice flaky crust that won't shrink or fall while baking. You won't want to waste any of the extra dough you trim off, so dust with some cinnamon sugar and bake at 350 for 10 min for an extra treat.

Apple-Brown Sugar Pie Recipe:

Flaky Pie Dough

• 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 1/2 tsp salt

• 14 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces

• 1/2 cup chilled shortening (non-trans fat palm or vegetable, such as Crisco), cut into pea-sized pieces

• 1/2 cup ice water

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour and salt. Then add half of the butter and turn the mixer on and off a few times using a low speed (gradually cuts in butter). Add remaining butter and continue mixing on low speed until the mixture is coarse and crumbly, about 2 min. Add the shortening pieces to the dough. Continue mixing on low speed until it is crumbly again, about 1 min. Add the ice water all at once and mix on low speed for about 10 sec, just until it is incorporated. The dough should look like cookie dough, with no dry parts at the bottom of the bowl. (If mixing by hand, use a pastry cutter for the butter and shortening, and a spatula for the water).

2. Next, pull the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and divide into two parts, one about 2/3 and the other about 1/3 of the dough. This will be your bottom and top crusts. Shape the dough into disks about 3/4" thick, wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to 3 days, freezer for 1 month.

Apple Pie

• 2 1/2 pounds (about 8 medium) Granny Smith apples, peeled cored, and sliced

into 1/2" wedges

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup plus 1 heaping tbsp flour, divided

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 recipe Flaky Pie Dough (above)

• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water,

for egg wash

• 2 tbsp turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Put the apples in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of flour. Pour over the apples and toss thoroughly until all apples are completely coated. Spread the apples evenly across the baking sheets and bake for 15-20 min at 375, or until the apples are just tender. Redistribute the apples halfway through to encourage even baking. Cool on baking sheets for 5 min, then pour off the excess juices into a bowl and reserve for serving, if desired. Cool the apples completely to room temperature or refrigerate.

3. Using a fork, mash the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and the remaining heaping tablespoon flour in a medium bowl until well mixed. Dot the brown sugar mixture throughout the apples and toss (you don't want concentrations of the butter in the apple mixture).

Note: I usually prepare the pie dough and bake the apples as above the night before, and refrigerate both. This just breaks up the tasks over two days, and has the added benefit of firming up the brown sugar mixture, so the dots are easier to distribute evenly once you get them into the pie.

4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 10 minutes to soften slightly. On a floured surface, roll the larger disk into a circle about 15" in diameter and 1/8" thick; this is your bottom crust. Transfer to a 9" pie pan. Gently fit to pan and trim excess, leaving a 1" overhang.

5. Roll the smaller disk out into a circle roughly 10" in diameter and 1/8" thick. Using a pastry brush, paint egg wash around the outer 1/2" of the bottom crust. Spoon the apple mixture into the shell, lightly packing the apples and leveling the top. Invert the top crust over the filling and press down lightly on the egg-washed edge. If the top crust extends over the bottom, trim excess. Cut vents in top in any pattern of your choice (you can also do this just after you roll out the top crust).

6. Brush the top crust with egg wash and roll the bottom crust over the top, pressing the two layers together. Crimp the edge, then brush with a little more egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar (you can use regular granulated instead, if you wish).

7. Chill the pie in the freezer for 30 min. With about 10 min to go, preheat oven to 350.

8. Remove pie from freezer and place on a baking sheet. Increase the oven temp to 375 and immediately place pie in oven (don't wait for oven to preheat up to 375 from 350) and bake for 30 min. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake until the top is deep brown and the filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. Cool the pie for 1 hour before serving.

9. Serve with reserved apple juices and whipping cream, if desired.

[All the pies entered (8) were delicious. The scores were tallied up after four judges independently tasted and viewed each pie. Thank you to Kiwanis for hosting this event.