Name: Apple Butterscotch Pie in a Pastry Shell
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 12 people
Ingredients: 2 ¼ cups pastry flour measured by fluffing the flour then spooning it in; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon sugar; 9 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cubed into ½ inch cubes; 2 ¼ oz cold water or as much or as little as needed; 14 cups apples peeled, cored and diced. [I used a mixture of Gala, Granny Smith & Braeburn]; 2 lemons juiced; ⅛ teaspoon cardamom; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; ½ cup light brown sugar not packed; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 3 cups butterscotch sauce; heavy cream; turbinado or sanding sugar

Set out pastry flour measured by fluffing the flour then spooning it in, kosher salt, and sugar before you start Apple Butterscotch Pie in a Pastry Shell. The batch is written for 12 people.

Count on 45 minutes of prep, 1 hour of cooking, about 1 hour from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

For the All-Butter Pie Crust (you could also use 2 store-bought crusts instead)

2 ¼ cups pastry flour measured by fluffing the flour then spooning it in
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
9 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cubed into ½ inch cubes
2 ¼ oz cold water or as much or as little as needed

For the Pie Filling

14 cups apples peeled, cored and diced. [I used a mixture of Gala, Granny Smith & Braeburn]
2 lemons juiced
⅛ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup light brown sugar not packed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 cups butterscotch sauce

Optional Toppings for Crust

heavy cream
turbinado or sanding sugar

How the cooking goes

Prepare Pie Crusts

Whisk together pastry flour, salt and sugar. Using your electric mixer, cut in the butter until you have slightly larger than pea sized pieces.
Slowly begin to add your ice water a tablespoon at a time. At this point be very careful with the amount of water that you add because it only needs a few teaspoons more.
When your dough is shaggy, which means it looks like shards or strands of pastry, and there is still some loose flour, turn out your dough from the mixer and work the dough together by gathering it and pressing away from you with the heal of your hand. Do this JUST until it comes together. If it is crumbling, then dip your hand in a little ice water and pat it on the pastry dough. Seriously, that’s it. Remember the gluten!
Divide the dough in half and press each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or overnight. If you chill your dough overnight, you will need to let it rest a bit before rolling or it will be too cold and it will crack.
Roll out half the pie dough and line a 9 or 10 inch deep-dish pie dish; refrigerate. Roll out the second half of the pie dough for the top crust, place on a sheet pan and refrigerate.

Prepare Filling

In a mixing bowl mix together the apples, lemon juice, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, brown sugar and cornstarch.

Assemble and Bake

Tip half of the filling into the pie dish and then pour approximately 1 ½ cups butterscotch sauce on top. Mound the remaining apple filling on top, creating a mound in the center. Pour the remaining butterscotch sauce on top.
Cover the pie with your second crust and decoratively crimp the edges. Try to get as good a seal as you can so the butterscotch sauce stays inside the pie! Refrigerate the pie on a sheet pan lined with parchment for 20 minutes.
Remove pie from the refrigerator and cut some vent holes near the top. Lightly brush the pastry with heavy cream, making sure it doesn’t pool anywhere because this will make your crust soggy, then then sprinkle generously with sanding sugar.
Bake 20 minutes at 425℉, then lower the oven temperature to 350℉ and continue baking for 1 hour or until the filling is soft and bubbly and the crust is brown. You can test the filling by inserting a knife into one of the vent holes. There should be no resistance from the apples! Allow it to cool before cutting or serving. You know, the agony!