Molly Cookie

Apple Pie with Oat Streusel

Nov 26, 2010 Apples, Desserts, Pies and Tarts

On Wednesday I made the best apple pie I’ve ever made.  It was also the second apple pie I’ve ever made, but I honestly believe that if I had made 100 apple pies before it would still be the best apple pie I’ve ever made.

Apple desserts are perfect for fall get togethers of any kind, but we often save apple pie for Thanksgiving. This recipe is one that I can happily say is versatile enough to be used as a Thanksgiving pie or as a get together with friends pie, or a it’s a cold fall afternoon and I want something great to go with my coffee pie.  There is something rustic and warm about it, but also impressive and delicious. Apple pies are often intimidating and proud, but this one is more humble and comfortable. You might have to try it to know what I’m talking about. I think the streusel topping helps it seem a little less formal.

I will definitely be making this again before this fall is over.

Apple Pie with Oat Streusel from Bon Appetit, November 2010

Ingredients

Crust

Directions

Crust
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400°F. Place rimmed baking sheet in bottom of oven to catch spills. Place sheet of parchment paper on work surface; lightly flour parchment. Place dough disk on parchment; sprinkle very lightly with flour. Cover with another sheet of parchment; roll to 9-inch round. Remove top parchment; sprinkle oats evenly over crust. Cover again with top parchment; roll to 12-inch round, rolling oats into crust. Remove top parchment. Using bottom parchment as aid, invert crust, oat side down, into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish **Molly Note: Or you can use a 9 or 10 inch tart pan. This is what I used and it makes each piece of pie much easier to remove. You can remove the entire edge and then cut the pieces, or cut them and slip the edge away as you pull each piece out of the pan. This helped for very minimal breaking of pieces. I got this idea from Alton Brown and his episode of Good Eats about Super Apple Pie. Remove parchment. Press crust gently into pie dish. Turn dough overhang under, forming high-standing rim 1/2 inch above sides of dish. Crimp edges.

Filling
Toss all ingredients in large bowl. Let stand while preparing topping.

Topping
Blend first 6 ingredients in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, blend until moist dough forms (mixture will resemble wet sand). Add oats; using on/off turns, mix briefly, leaving half of oats whole. Stir filling; transfer to crust, mounding in center.

Sprinkle topping evenly over. **Molly Note: It might seem like there is too much topping and that you it won’t all fit, but use your hands and press it into the pie! Press it in the cracks between the apples then add more and pat it all on until you use it all. You will love the extra streusel and it will all fall down. Here is a picture of it mounded before it baked and then a picture of it after it’s done baking so you can see how much the apples cook down.

Bake pie until topping is golden, about 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples are tender when pierced with small sharp knife, covering pie loosely with foil if topping and crust are browning too quickly, about 1 hour longer. Cool pie on rack until slightly warm, at least 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.

P.S.  I only took this last picture tonight so I could have an excuse to take one more bite before bed. I thought I would go ahead and confess that now.

Tags: apple dessert, apple pie, apple pie with streusel, best apple pie, bon appetit apple pie, bon appetit pie, oat streusel, streusel, streusel pie topping