Cinnamon Apple crumble

When you think of baking, there is always some part that "needs" to make an apple pie. I guess, its like a hurdle on the checklist of things you should bake.


Since I am not expert in crust making, I opted to do a "crumble" topping instead of the usual covered pie. This version had lots of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a extra OOOMPH.


Crust: (you can use a version done by candie on a earlier post... click HERE)

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup frozen solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Filling

• 3 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Topping

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 
  

For crust:

Mix flour, salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter and shortening; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. (you can use a pastry cutter to mix the butter in, or two forks) Mix 3 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl to blend. Drizzle over flour mixture; stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch; turn edge under and crimp decoratively. cover with wax paper and weigh down with beans. bake for 10 minutes. 

For filling:

Mix all ingredients in large bowl to coat apples.

For topping:
Blend first 5 ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.

Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil if browning too quickly). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream.

These really were beautiful when they came out of the oven. I gave some slices to my friends over the course of two days. They ate them cold and said they were delish. I actually used a pie pan with a removable bottom. This made taking out the crumble  easier. I also had some left over and filled some ramekins with them. I baked them -- although, the filling shrunk, I think these would make nice individual desserts topped with vanilla ice cream in future dinner parties.

What's your favorite pie?