I grew up eating apple slices at almost every major holiday event thanks to my aunt Pam. She always baked these from scratch and they were always on the dessert table. I remember the flaky crust and gooey, apple filling. The warm spices and the sweet glaze. The best thing about food is that it creates memories that you never forget. You can smell something or eat something and be transported in time.
Why I love food and family so much!
When I was thinking of what to do with all of the apples we picked at the orchard, my aunt Dawn and I got to talking about apple slices. I thought, “Yes, how wonderful.” I had never made them before, but I instantly thought back to those amazing holiday memories. I remembered not only how much I loved the apple slices; but how much I loved our family being all together. I was instantly transported to the loud, smiling, happy faces all around me. All of the kids running around and everyone having a great time together. I think now more than ever, I truly cherished that particular memory.
Testing a recipe
As I had mentioned previously, I had never made these myself before. I knew the concept though and so I played around with a few recipes and created one that I loved the best. I knew that I wanted them to have a crisp crust. So, I added butter instead of shortening and a little whole milk with the egg yolk. I also knew that the apple filling had to have a nice warmth, beyond cinnamon. So, I added a bit of nutmeg too. Lastly, I knew I did not want a think glaze, so I used water instead of milk in the glaze. I also added vanilla as I love the flavor of vanilla in a glaze.
These have a crisp crust, warm spiced apple filling and a light glaze on top. I made them in two smaller pans as we shared with my in laws and my mom. However, you can make one large pan or two small ones with this recipe.
Chef’s Tip
You can make these on a sheet pan, in a baking dish or take away aluminum pans as I did above. Best when you are sharing in these times. The only thing to remember no matter the pan you use, it is not a pie. So you want a top crust and a bottom crust, but not so much on the sides. Here is my big tip. It is for the dough and this goes for any pie crust. Especially this dough though as you do not want it tough. Do not over mix and over work your dough. This is what it will look like coming out of the food processor.
As you can see, it is very crumbly still. That is what you want. Then just bring it together into a ball, but do not knead it and work it. You are not looking to form gluten here. You want a nice tender, flaky crust. So, keep it simple and just bring it together into a ball. Then wrap it in plastic and refrigerate it while you make the filling.
Apple Slices
Ingredients
- Dough
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup butter cold and cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 egg yolk
- Filling
- 3 lbs apples- Granny Smith or any tart apples you have
- 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of kosher salt
- Assembly
- 1 egg white saved from the yolk you used earlier
- pinch of kosher salt
- Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Pulse several times to blend. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse until the mixture appears crumbly.
- In a small cup, whisk together the milk and egg yolk. With the processor running, pour in the milk mixture and blend until the dough comes together.
- Turn out the dough onto a work surface and divide in half for one large pan or into 4 for two smaller pans. Pat each portion into a disk, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
- Meanwhile, In a large bowl, toss together the apples, brown and granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 400°F. Line a 12 x 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper or use two smaller pans. If using aluminum pans, you will not need to line them.
- Roll out 1 portion of dough into a rectangle slightly smaller than the pan. Place the dough on the parchment or in the pan. Top with all or half of the apples depending on if you are making one pan or two.
- Roll out the second portion of dough to the same size. Lay this dough sheet over the apples. Repeat if you are doing a second pan.
- In a small cup, beat together the egg white and salt until liquefied. Use a pastry brush to lightly slick the surface of the dough with egg white.
- Bake until golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes for one large pan or 35-40 minutes for 2 smaller pans. Let cool on the pan set over a wire rack for about 15 minutes. While still warm, glaze the top with Icing. Let cool completely before serving.
