September makes me think of school, and fall, and all the lovely things that go with it, especially apples. Coming from Washington State, you can easily imagine my level of appreciation for that oft-literary-referenced fruit. My childhood memories recall only three kinds of apples: Red Delicious (aka "Mealy Yet Everywheres"), Granny Smiths (aka "This Is Only For Pies"), and Golden Delicious (aka "What Do We Even Do With This?"). Then, somewhere around high school graduation, strange new apples with names like Gala and Johnnygold started appearing. I don't know whether these were new varieties, or if my grocery store had just started carrying them, or if I was starting to pay more attention because I was now doing my own grocery shopping. Whatever the reason, I was intrigued.
Then I realized there were more - far, FAR more varieties of apple - available at my local farmer's market, and suddenly apples weren't the hum-drum fall-back fruit anymore: they were exciting!
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| Just look at these beauties--don't they just SCREAM pie? |
It was my Mother who made me aware of different apple seasons. Apples (especially Mealy Yet Everywheres) are in the supermarket year-round. We had an apple tree (Granny Smiths) in my back yard when I was growing up, so I knew that apples were really supposed to be a fall thing, but it seemed like they lasted the entire season. It wasn't until my Mom and I were at a farmer's market and I suddenly saw her get unreasonably ecstatic about some smaller, yellow-red-flecked apples that I learned otherwise.
"Gravensteins!" Her eyes were lit up and her hands were busy filling bags. "These are absolutely the best - the best - pie apples!"
"Apple pie?" I frowned slightly. It was still August, and in my mind, apple pie was strictly an autumn phenomenon. "Isn't it a little early for that? I mean, blackberries are at their peak."
But the farmer shook his head admonishingly. He warned, "Gravensteins are only on season for a couple weeks, so get 'em while you can."
Any doubts I had regarding my Mom's enthusiasm or the farmer's sincerity (one does find the odd farmer who insists you need to stock up because their crop is nearly finished, only to find they still have plenty for the next three weeks) were immediately banished when I bit into that pie. The apples were candy-tart, the slices still holding their shape but tender and melting to the bite. It was a good thing my Mom had bought enough apples to make two pies, because the first one was gone within 48 hours.
After that, I started paying more attention to which apples were peaking when, and asking questions of the farmers. I learned that despite my Mother's adoration, Gravensteins were hard to find due to relative anonymity and their small yield.* But there are many apples that make good desserts, if one is willing to take the time to experiment. And I am that one.
Z.D.'s Apple Walnut Toffee Pie
Ingredients
1 Cup homemade toffee, finely chopped, divided (I used this recipe & made a half-batch)
9 Cups good pie Apples, peeled, cored, and uniformally sliced**
1/3 Cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
lemon zest (optional)
1/2 Cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Two rounds of pie dough
Butter, for dotting.
- Pre-heat your oven to 385º F (or up to 400º if your oven doesn't like to be specific), and get out a nice 9 & 1/2 inch pie plate.
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| Dear oh dear, whatever will I do with the leftover toffee? |
- In a large bowl, toss together about three quarters of the toffee with the apple slices, sugar, and spices. Now I put the cinnamon as optional because it's delicious, but it makes the toffee flavor more mild, so you can use it or not, depending on what you're going for. Likewise with the lemon zest, that's to balance the relative sweetness of the apples. If you're using a very tart apple, I would skip the lemon zest. I used Jonathan apples, with are fairly sweet, so I added the zest of about half a lemon. If you're using a very sweet apple, like Golden Delicious (yes, this is what they're good for), then go ahead and zest the whole lemon.
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| You can add more nuts if you want, or chop them finer, or whatever. |
- In a small, heavy frying pan over medium heat, toast the walnuts until just starting to color. Too much toasting and they'll be over-done in the pie. Just a little toasting wakens the flavor. Toss these in with your apple mixture and let sit while you roll out your pie dough.
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| You could also try allspice, or ground cloves, or even cardamom for spices. |
- Roll out the bottom disk for your pie and fit it to the dish, then pour in your apples. Sprinkle with the remaining toffee and dot with just a little butter--less than you would normally use because the toffee has butter in it, of course. Roll out your top crust, fit, crimp, and cut steam vents of your choice.
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| Apples decrease in volume considerably when they cook, so I decided to add a few more slices to the top of my pie. I wound up with sufficient apple volume, but less juices, because these slices didn't get a chance to marinate in the sugar and salt. You win some, you loose some. |
- Rim the edges with foil to prevent burning, and place your pie in the middle of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. (I also like to put my pie on a thin, cheap-o baking sheet, in case of drippage.) After 30 minutes, remove the foil, and put the pie back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Your pie is done with the top is golden brown and you see sweet juices bubbling in the vents. Cool for at least two hours on a rack, then serve.
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| Another less-than-picture perfect but utterly scrumptious pie! |
Now we all know there is at least one holiday coming up that typically features apple pie, so if you want to try something new this year, you get to start experimenting now! :-D This pie is a nice twist on the classic because of the crunch of the walnuts (and walnut season is just starting, yum!) and the warm hint of flavor from the toffee. For extra toffee punch, try pulverizing a bit and adding it into fresh whipped cream, then serve on top of just warm slices of pie. Or serve with toffee ice cream. Or just stick a big wedge of toffee into whatever pie topping you like for flair!
*Which is why my dream house has a Gravenstein apple tree in the backyard. Right next to the koi pond and the clay oven.
**Some people like their apple pies to have an almost applesauce-like filling, others like their slices of fruit in tact to the point of crispness. I like mine in-between. Ask your apple farmer (because you are buying these at the farmer's market, right?) about their crop, which ones cook to which consistency, which ones are tarter vs. sweeter, etc. Whichever kind you pick, make sure your slices are uniform, because otherwise they will cook unevenly and you will wind up with some smooshy bits and some crisp bits and the pie will be less enjoyable.