I recently had the opportunity of spending the day with the fantastic ROOTS creative team styling food for their Spring photo shoot. The day started early at the Berkley Field House, a perfect backdrop for the beautiful healthy looking models, ROOTS clothing and of course the food. So all I can say is that... this gig was as easy as apple pie!
Check out ROOTS not for the food but for their great Sweats!
Apple Cranberry Maple Pie with a Heart Crust
Makes one 9-inch pie
I love this pie not only because it tastes great but for the way it looks - nothing is prettier then using your favourite cookie cutter to make the top crust.
For the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 2/3 cup ice water
For the filling:
- 6 large apples, cored and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup flour
- zest of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 orange
- 2 tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Topping for the crust:
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 1 tbsp. turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top of pie
Directions:
1. In the bowl of your food processor, pulse to combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter and pulse 6 -7 times, or until mixture appears crumbly. Drizzle in water and pulse just until dough begins to hold together. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll dough into two equal balls. Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pie pan and set aside.
3. On a lightly floured surface, take one of the balls of dough and roll out the bottom crust to about a 14 inch circle. Press into pie pan and trim all but 1 inch of overhanging dough. Place pie pan into the fridge while you prepare the filling.
4. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the filling. Place in the fridge while you prepare the cut-outs for the top crust.
5. Roll out top crust just wide enough to cut your shapes. For my pie, I used a large heart shaped cookie cutter to make four heart shaped cut outs.
6. Take out the crust and filling from the fridge and spoon the filling into the bottom crust.
7. Top with the cut out heart shapes and brush the curst and heart shapes lightly with the egg white and then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar all over the top of the pie.
8. Place pie on baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees F.
9. Turn heat down to 350 degrees F. Bake for another 25 - 30 minutes, or until pie is golden and filling is hot and bubbly. If crust seems to be baking too quickly, cover with foil to prevent excessive browning.
10. Allow pie to cool for at least an hour before serving.
Cooks Notes:
- I like to use a mix of sweet and tart apples like Granny Smith and Honey Crisp.
- Use any cookie cutter shapes you like.
- The egg white will give your pie crust a very shiny finish and it helps the sugar stick to the crust and makes the pie sparkle.