Dad in the Kitchen!!: Old Fashioned Apple Slices!

It's fall and the stores and markets are full of apples, the holidays are right around the corner! If you don't count boxed cakes and brownies, we didn't do a lot of baking in my house growing up, maybe occasionally Toll House Cookies, but every year around Thanksgiving my mom would make apple slices. The smell and flavors of these delights just scream holidays! A few years back I started making them myself and was surprised at how easy they were, and my family just loves them.

The other day I was at the farmer's market in Chicago and was amazed to find an unbelievable assortment of apples. Normally I would use Granny Smith apples but with so many varieties I thought I would try something new. The man at the market recommended an apple called Spigold, which I had never heard of or seen, so I tried them on his recommendation, "Better than Honey Crisp" the sign said, and they were!

So, on to the apples. First you have to prep the apples by coring and peeling them all, for this recipe of one large jelly roll pan I used 11 medium to large apples. Next you slice the apples, I used a mandolin because it is fast and slices them all the same thickness, about 1/4 in., but you can slice them by hand like you would for apple pie. Place the sliced apples in a large bowl and immediately squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over them. This prevents them from oxidizing as well as adding some tartness. Now season the apples. I must admit, I did not follow a recipe for this so these are approximate amounts, don't worry it will come out fine. If you are nervous baking this way and need a recipe for homemade dough and pie filling or if you are afraid to try without an exact recipe, I will provide this from Saveur Magazine. The recipe is for 1 apple pie so you will probably have to triple the dough but the apple looks right.

FOR THE PIE DOUGH:

3 cups flour
1 1⁄2 tsp. salt
1 1⁄4 cups vegetable shortening, preferably Crisco, cut into small pieces
1⁄2 cup cold milk

FOR THE FILLING:
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
3⁄4–1 cup cornstarch
1 1⁄2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
3⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)
12 golden delicious apples (or about 5 lbs.), peeled, cored, and sliced

This is how I did it. Start with the sugar. I used about a 1/2 cup of white sugar and a little more than a 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Now add the cinnamon, about 2 tsp, a little goes a long way and you can always add more. Grate in some fresh Nutmeg to taste. I used about 1/4 of a nutmeg ground on a micro plane, probably about 1/2 tsp. or so. Add a pinch of allspice, 1 tsp. of salt, and about 1/3 cup of flour and mix well to coat evenly.

At this point you have to taste the apple filling. If you don't like the taste now, you surely won't like it when they are done baking. Adjust to your taste, more cinnamon, more nutmeg, more sugar, more lemon, too runny add more flour or cornstarch. Depends on if you like it more sweet or more tart.

Now assemble the apple slices, as I said I used a large jellyroll pan. When it comes to the crust, you can use any recipe for pie crust that you like for example the one I provided above, and roll it out to fit in the pan, be sure to go up the sides as well. I took a shortcut and used store bought Pillsbury pie crusts and it came out fine, saved me some time and work. Each package has 2 pie crusts in it, and I used 3 pie crusts for the bottom and 3 for the top so I needed 3 packs of pie crust.

I started by placing one whole pie crust sheet in the middle of the pan, then I cut another in half and placed it on either end with the straight edge facing the side of the pan and the rounded half overlapping the middle. The third crust was used to fill in the holes, namely the four corners and the sides, don't worry about how it looks and let it overlap, press gently to seal any seams and be sure to go all the way up the sides and in the corners.

Now arrange your apples, take time to shingle them carefully so there are no holes or gaps. Try to get as even a layer as possible. The apples should come just to the height of the pan, maybe a little over as they will cook down a little. Use as many apple slices as will fit and pour the liquid in the bowl evenly over them. It's time to add the top crust now in the same manner as the bottom.

Start with a whole crust in the middle and lay it on top, slice one crust in half and add to either side. The third crust is for everywhere else, it's patchwork. Gently seal all the edges by crimping dough together and lightly push on seams everywhere else. Again don't worry how it looks, as you will see it has icing on it and won't matter. If you are making your own crust you won't have any of this patchwork to do. Poke holes all around the pan of apple slices, I used a corn on the cob holder but of course a fork or knife work too, this will allow the steam to escape, make a simple egg wash and brush the entire top. Place into a preheated oven at the recommended temperature (450 for me) and bake until golden brown and bubbly. Mine took 35-40 minutes, be sure to put another sheet pan under the slices to catch any run over that might bubble over into your oven, it will save you quite a mess.

While the slices are baking or cooling you can make the icing. The only thing you need to do is combine powdered sugar, cream milk or water, and a little vanilla extract. Mix it all together in a bowl, you want it to be thick, like the consistency of honey, make a lot because you are gonna cover the whole top with it!

When your apple slices are browned remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely before adding the icing. If you put it on while they are still warm it will melt away. Be generous with the topping and spread it evenly over the top.