Saturday, November 5, 2016

Food Friday - A is for Apple

from Tracey G


The minute I saw this recipe it intrigued me - my immediate thought was, "what a neat way to do a pie!" I'd never thought to make one in this style, and it was fun and easy to eat too - you could either do it the "proper" way, with a plate and fork, or you could just grab a napkin and eat it like a piece of pizza! This week, I present Apple Pie Bars a King Arthur Flour recipe.

I'll admit that pie pastry and I have never really had a good relationship, lol. In fact, I'd just buy mine in the refrigerated section (you know the ones, the rolled-up-like-a-scroll crusts), and I absolutely love them, so there was never a reason to venture into a territory that has never been very hospitable to me. Then I read this recipe, and thought I'd give it another go - but with a little help. So, in addition to some of the other ingredients I bought (more on those later), I took the step and ordered the King Arthur Flour Pastry Flour BlendOf course you can make this without it, it says you can use either it or all-purpose flour - but I wanted to see if using a pastry flour would  help out my efforts. I must report that this was the first time I've created a crust I was happy with! So, I guess for those of us (ok, me!) who are pie pastry challenged, it doesn't hurt to have a little ace in the hole by way of pastry flour!!

Among my previous ingredient purchases, I was happy to have a reason to finally use the Boiled Cider (it's apple cider boiled down to a lovely and yummy syrup) I'd also ordered from the KAF website, as this recipe called for it. But from what I've read with other recipes that use the boiled cider, apple juice concentrate (thawed) can be used as a suitable substitute. But I have to say I am so glad I bought that stuff, the flavor is amazing, it's definitely going to be a regular item in my baking pantry! There are a lot of things you can use this wonderful product for, you can even reconstitute it to make regular cider! I've all kinds of plans for this item, from cake glazes to a meat glaze - so many possibilities!! I can't say enough about the boiled cider!

The recipe also calls for their Pie Filling EnhancerIt's a thickening agent (ClearJel) with a couple other things added, some superfine sugar and ascorbic acid. I'd been wanting to try that as well since it was something I'd bought when I got the boiled cider and so forth, so it was fun to have the chance to break it out and put it to use! They also do have other ideas for thickening the filling if you don't want to use this. Their Pie Thickener Ingredient Guide has loads of information.

The only problem I had with this recipe - and it was totally my fault - was the apples I used. Every fall, I buy a bunch of apples, get the apple peeler out (well, Jeremy and Harry do!) then peel, core and slice (all one step with the peeler!) up as many as I can, and then package in about 6 cups per freezer bag which is generally the amount called for in many pie recipes and cobbler recipes. That way, during the winter, an apple cobbler on the fly is easy peasy, since the time consuming stuff has already been done! But, I didn't even think when I made this, that frozen for this sort of not-in-a-dish pie might not be such a wise choice, lol. They do get much more juicy as they thaw of course, so as I'm trying to get the filling made and on the pastry, it was running like crazy and I found myself mopping up juice off the bottom pastry with paper towels so it would seal properly! It was in effect, a mess! Next time, I will make sure I drain them well if I am going to use them for a recipe like this!!  

Other than all of that, this is a wonderful and yummy recipe - it most certainly did not last long around here at all. I had no troubles rolling out the dough, although it did seem like it wasn't going to make it to the sizes needed, but it did. I can definitely say this will be made again - and has given me, once again, ideas on other fillings at some point!


Do try it - I don't think you'll be disappointed!!!

Link to the recipe:



Useful links to the special ingredients:


Boiled Cider
   




from Kris B.


I am a firm believer in "an apple a day..."  I take an apple in my lunch almost every day.  There are those times, however, where I want it as a dessert rather than as a side.  Unfortunately, when I have those dessert cravings, it is rarely when I have the time to stop what I am doing and whip out an apple pie.  For this reason, I was happy to find the Apple Tortilla Bake recipe by King Arthur Flour.


Being from Texas, anything that has tortillas as an ingredient catches my attention, especially when using tortillas means that I can have an apple pie type dessert without having to make a pie crust!  Though King Arthur does have a recipe for homemade flour tortillas, this recipe does not guilt you in to making your own tortillas though you certainly can if you want to.  Because I have so many sources for fresh homemade tortillas that are much better than any that I could make, I bought mine locally,  If you've never made homemade tortillas, it is something to try when you are feeling adventurous!


The tortillas form the "crust" for this dessert which has a custard and spiced apple filling.  Cinnamon is the star player here.  Cinnamon and apples...it's got to be good!  The 6 oz. ramekins are lined with pieces of cut tortilla, filled with the custard mixture and the spiced apples are mounded in the middle.  The processing of putting this together is quick and easy.


Though the recipe does not include this instruction, I placed the individual ramekins on a baking sheet before placing them in the oven.  I am SO glad that I did this because they did bubble over.  I may have been a lot less impressed with this recipe if I had had to clean my oven after making it . Lol!  I did find that I had to increase the baking time to 38 minutes from the recipe's suggested cook time of 28 - 30 minutes.   I'm not sure if this increase in cook time was necessary because of using the baking sheet or if my oven temperature needs to be calibrated.   Doneness is based on the custard being set.  After thirty minutes in the oven, mine were still runny.


I chose to place my tortillas in the ramekins with the small (pointed) ends up because I like the sunflower look that doing this gives.  In the photo on the King Arthur recipe, it looks like they placed the smaller end in the cup and the bigger end formed formed a higher edge all the way around the ramekin.  If I had done this, perhaps my cup would not have runneth over. Lol!


I made this recipe for the first time for my husband and me.  He had one "complain."  It was so good that eh wanted more than one.  The recipe makes four 6 oz. servings.  I made the Apple Tortilla Bake again for a luncheon and doubled the recipe for eight servings.  It worked perfectly.  Again, I placed the individual ramekins on a baking sheet.  I did not have to increase the cooking time beyond the 38 minutes necessary when cooking only four servings.


Enjoy this while the fall apples are still delicious!


Link to the recipe:


Apple Tortilla Bake

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