Cookie Baked Apple Pie
Cookie Baked Apple Pie was, originally, posted in 2011. When my oldest son, Joshua, recently came home for the holidays and requested this for dessert I decided it was time to show you, exactly, why this is one of our family favorites!
Watch it:
It’s a cookie. It’s a pie. It’s a cake. I know, I know…who cares as long as it’s delicious!
Cookie Baked Apple Pie is like a cookie because the dough reminds me of a butter cookie. It is like a pie as there is a top crust, a bottom crust and a fabulous filling. Yet, it is baked in a springform pan like a cake. It was tough deciding which category to put this baby into.
What was not challenging was figuring out which filling I wanted to use. If there is one food I am always able to buy fresh at the grocery store, it is an apple. Granted, there are a zillion kinds (okay, maybe I am exaggerating just a tad) and all of them are not available here, but you get the idea that if you want an apple dessert, it is not difficult to accomplish.
Then it comes down to which apples to use for what purpose. Apple Pie, the gold standard for traditional dessert, has me leaning towards a combination of Rome and Granny Smith apples.
Cookie Baked Apple Pie needs more of a sweeter apple; one whose juices flow very easily when cooked on the stove and softens without turning to mush too quickly.
The wonderful Golden Delicious is perfect for this task and although they are available year round, the really large, beautiful ones are in the stores right now. They are harvested in late September and are best during the winter months.
One other tidbit worth commenting about regarding Golden Delicious apples, when you buy yours, select them carefully. Golden Delicious apples bruise really easily; so after you take the time to select the perfect ones, don’t let someone else ruin them. If you see a cashier slamming the produce down as she/he rings up the person in front of you at the grocery store, ask the cashier to PLEASE handle yours with care. No one wants to eat a bruised apple, or bake with it either.
After you make your own Cookie Baked Apple Pie, let me know which category you would choose to put it in…other than Delicious.
| Cookie Baked Apple Pie | | Print |
- Filling:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 golden delicious apples
- ½ cup sugar
- Juice of ¼ of a lemon
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Crust:
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- Glaze:
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- You will need one 10” springform pan plus the bottom of a second 10” springform pan or a 10” cake round (that will be used to shape and transfer the top crust.)
- Butter the 10” springform pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the paper. Set aside.
- For the filling:
- Melt the butter in a large sauté pan. Peel and core the apples and slice in large wedges (there will be 8 wedges per apple). Sauté the apples, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon over medium heat, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring periodically. Uncover and continue to cook the apples until they are soft and the juices in the pan have evaporated. Cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Adjust the rack to the lowest level.
- For the crust:
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl once. Add the egg yolks and beat until well blended. Mix in the vanilla. Add 2½ cups flour and mix on low speed until all of the flour is mixed in. Do not overbeat.
- Take one half of the dough and form a large disk (about 8” in diameter). Place this in the bottom of the parchment-lined springform pan. Push the dough evenly in the pan so that it covers the bottom and goes up the side 1¼ ”.
- Your hands will be buttery at this point. Wipe one of your hands over the bottom of the extra springform bottom then dust 2 tablespoons of flour over it. The grease from the butter will keep the flour where you need it.
- Take the second half of the dough and form a disk almost the size of the springform bottom. Place it on the springform bottom and push it evenly out to the edge. Set aside.
- Spoon the filling onto the bottom crust and spread evenly around.
- Using a large metal spatula to guide the dough, transfer the top half of the dough onto the cake. It will slide off so be sure to do this over the cake and move your arm back so that the crust can be placed evenly on the cake. Pinch the sides down so that the seam is sealed.
- Brush the top of the cake with the egg yolk. You may take a fork and score it if you like (like a plaid look). Place the springform on a piece of aluminum foil and bake on the lowest rack of the oven at 350° for 50 minutes. Check to be sure that the top is not getting too dark. If it is, cover lightly with a piece of aluminum foil. Remove after 50 minutes and cool on a cooling rack.
- To serve: Once you have unlatched the springform pan, take a small metal spatula and put it between the cake and the side of the pan to make sure that none of the cake sticks. Release the side completely. To remove the bottom of the springform, cover a 10” cardboard round with plastic wrap. Place this over the top of the cake and gently turn it over. Take off the bottom of the pan and remove the piece of parchment paper. Turn back onto a cakeboard round or serving plate.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- This is incredible warmed with or without ice cream, which is why I prefer to place the Cookie Baked Apple Pie on a cakeboard round vs. serving plate. When I make this early in the day and want to serve it warm for dessert, I place the cardboard round in the oven I have used to cook dinner once the oven is turned off. Five to ten minutes later, I have a warm, delicious cake for my family and friends. As many serving plates are not meant for the oven, the cardboard round is the best option. Once the Cookie Baked Apple Pie comes out of the warmed oven, I place the cardboard round onto a serving plate.
- The apple filling may be made a day ahead and refrigerated overnight. Cool before transferring the filling to a bowl and then place plastic wrap directly on top of the filling to prevent moisture from setting in.
- Cookie Baked Apple Pie freezes beautifully.
