A New Dorie Greenspan Cookbook

Dorie Greenspan, James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and cookie expert, joins us to discuss her new cookbook, Baking With Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple.   Apple Pandowdy Makes 6 Servings A PANDOWDY’S A PIE that’s got only a top crust, often one made of odd-shaped pieces of dough—the dessert was probably created to put pastry scraps to good use. My favorite way to make it is to cut triangles of pie dough and arrange them in a mishmash over the fruit. Neatness is never the point with a pandowdy—it’s the haphazardness, the dowdiness of the pie, that makes it beautiful. When you bring it to the table, break up the crust, let it fall into the filling and then spoon out into bowls. You can put spices in the filling, but I hope you’ll try this spare lemon-up-front version first. Having apple pie without cinnamon may seem un-American; in fact, it’s unassailably good. I make this dessert throughout the year with whatever fruits are plentiful. FOR THE FILLING⅓ cup (67 grams) sugar2 medium or 1 large lemonAbout 2½ pounds (about 1 kilo;) sweet, juicy apples, such as Golden Delicious, Fuji or Gala (4 to 6 large)2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces FOR THE CRUSTOne 11- to 12-inch round All-Butter Pie Dough (see below), frozen or well chilled (or use store-bought pie dough; look for dough that’s already rolled out)Milk for brushingSanding or granulated sugar for dusting Ice cream or whipped cream for serving (optional) A WORD ON THE CRUST: Instead of cutting out shapes from the dough, you can just lay the whole crust over the fruit, moistening the rim of the pie pan first, pressing the dough against the rim and then tucking the overhang under the rim or against the sides of the pan. Cut slits in the crust and at serving time, crack the crust into the fruit. TO MAKE THE FILLING: Put the sugar in a large bowl and grate the zest from the lemon(s) over it. Reach into the bowl and use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Peel and core the apples and cut them into chunks about ½ inch on a side or into slices that are about ¼ inch thick. Add the apples to the bowl with the sugar and squeeze over the juice from the lemon(s). Toss everything around in the bowl until the apples are coated with sugar and juice. Set the bowl aside, stirring now and then, while you preheat the oven. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 425 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pie pan and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Give the apples a last turn and then pile them into the pie pan—don’t forget the juices in the bowl. Dot the top of the apples with the butter. TO PREPARE THE CRUST: Lay the chilled round of pie dough on a cutting board and, using a pizza wheel or a knife, cut it into pieces. I usually opt for triangles of various sizes and shapes, but long strips and squares work, as do rounds made with cookie cutters. Place the pieces of dough over the apples in whatever pattern pleases you—I usually go for haphazard. It’s nice if you leave a little space between the pieces so the juices can bubble over. Lightly brush the dough with milk and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake the pandowdy for 20 minutes—the crust might get a little color and the juices may just begin to bubble. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees F and continue to bake until you can see juices bubbling all the way to the middle of the pan, 25 to 35 minutes more. If the crust seems to be getting too dark too fast, loosely tent the pandowdy with foil or parchment. Place the baking sheet on a rack and let the pandowdy cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. The pandowdy is good warm or at room temperature and very good with either ice cream or whipped cream. STORING: Like most pies, this is meant to be eaten soon after it’s made. However, if you have pandowdy left over, you can keep it covered at room temperature for up to 1 day and rewarm it in a 350-degree-F oven before serving. Playing AroundIn fall and winter, I make pandowdy with apples and pears (traditional and my favorite), sometimes with dried fruit tossed in. In the spring, I make it with rhubarb, with or without strawberries. And in summer, I turn to blueberries or mixed berries, peaches, nectarines, even plums. Use your favorite fruit pie filling recipe, but don’t use any thickeners. All-Butter Pie Dough Makes two 9- to 9½- inch crusts 3 cups (408 grams) all-purpose flour¼ cup (50 grams) sugar1½ teaspoons fine sea salt2 sticks (8 ounces; 226 grams) unsalted butter, frozen or very cold, cut into small piecesUp to ½ cup (120 ml) ice water Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Scatter the pieces of butter over the flour and pulse the machine in long spurts until the butter is well incorporated. This could take more than a dozen blitzes. Add the ice water a little at time, processing after each addition. Stop when you have moist clumps and curds (you may not need all of the water)—don’t process until the dough forms a ball; pinch a bit of the dough, and it should hold together easily. Turn the dough out, divide it in half and shape each half into a disk. Working with one disk at a time, flour a sheet of parchment paper, center the dough on it, flour the dough and cover with a second sheet. Roll the dough into a round that’s between 11 and 12 inches in diameter. (The rolled-out dough can be wrapped well and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months). If the dough is cold enough, fit it into a buttered pie pan (or the pan you’re using); leaving whatever dough hangs over the edge. If it’s not cold, chill it until it’s workable, then fit it into the pan. Keep the second round between the sheets of paper and slide it onto a baking sheet. Freeze or refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (If you have not refrigerated or frozen the rolled-out dough earlier, you can refrigerate the unbaked crust for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 2 months.) Follow the directions in the recipe you’re using for filling and finishing the crusts. If you’re making an open-faced pie and need a partially or fully baked bottom crust, either crimp the dough that’s hanging over the pan to make a decorative edge or trim the excess dough even with the rim of the pan and press the tines of a fork against the dough. Piecrust should always be cold when it goes into the oven. GETTING READY TO BAKE: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees F. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet and fit a piece of parchment or foil against the crust; fill with dried beans or rice. TO PARTIALLY BAKE: Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the paper or foil and weights and bake for another 3 to 4 minutes—you want the crust to be firm, but it doesn’t need to take on much color. TO FULLY BAKE: Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the paper or foil and weights and bake for about 8 minutes more, or until the crust is beautifully golden. Transfer the crust to a rack and let cool. STORING: The rolled-out crusts or the unbaked pie shells can be wrapped well and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. You can also freeze baked crusts (in the pans) for up to 2 months. Excerpted from BAKING WITH DORIE: Sweet, Salty, & Simple © 2021 by Dorie Greenspan. Photography © 2021 by Mark Weinberg. Reproduced by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved