Bake

Add This One Ingredient to Apple Pie, Say Goodbye to Soggy Pie Crust

October 23, 2016

I love apple pie. The classic dessert evokes fall in all the best ways, making me want to pull on a thick sweater and hike on trails softly packed with pine needles, my feet crunching on a carpet of fallen leaves.

I've spent the past week in Vermont. The trees are afire in shades of vermillion, russet red, crimson, and gold. At night, I walk home smelling wood smoke and cider. There's a little diner in town that sells slices of mile-high apple pie, and at lunchtime they can't plate it fast enough to satisfy the hungry crowds.

Photo by Posie Harwood

I don't believe in messing about apple pie. It's such a perfect combination: soft, cinnamon-y fruit nestled inside a buttery, flaky pie crust. But the challenging aspect of a fruit pie is preventing your bottom crust from getting soggy, and today's recipe solves the issue. As a serious devotee of almond paste, I often search for recipes on the almond paste jars, and came across this twist on an apple pie from Odense.

Photo by Posie Harwood

It's a classic double crust apple pie in every respect, with one update. After rolling out your bottom crust, you also roll out a thin layer of almond paste into a round disc. You press this disc into the pie plate on top of the bottom crust, pile the apple filling on top, and seal it all with the top crust.

Photo by Posie Harwood

The result is a wonderfully nutty, sugary surprise in each bite. The almond paste melts slightly into the crust, making a thick and buttery base that's tucked neatly under the fruit. It helps seal in the fruit juices and adds a fantastic flavor reminiscent of an almond croissant.

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Try it this year instead of a basic apple pie recipe. It's wonderful, simple, and further improved by a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Posie Harwood is a writer, photographer, and food stylist based in New York. You can read more of her writing here.

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“Depending on the fruit, I sometimes crush walnuts and add to the bottom crust before adding fruit (works well with grape & with apple)--I suppose that's a more rustic variation of the almond paste twist.”
— Jennifer
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Have a twist on apple pie? Let us know in the comments below

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  • Jennifer
    Jennifer
  • mrslarkin
    mrslarkin
I like warm homemade bread slathered with fresh raw milk butter, ice cream in all seasons, the smell of garlic in olive oil, and sugar snap peas fresh off the vine.

12 Comments

Andie M. November 27, 2016
I have always pre-baked my bottom crust a little...sometimes with an egg wash. Once the pre baked bottom is at room temp i finish building and baking my pie .... just like my grandmother..never a soggy crust.
 
Deborah October 30, 2016
I really wanted to love this recipe. Unfortunately, it disappointed. Overload on the ingredients and amounts of them. The almond paste was too much here..... it became an almond spice pie- not an apple pie.
Simpler is best. I want to taste the apples in an apple pie....
 
Samantha L. October 28, 2016
I made an apple pie last night and had this exact issue. Too bad I didn't see this a day earlier, haha.
www.wonderlandsam.com
 
Jennifer October 25, 2016
Can't wait to try. For me, a standard trick for fruit pies is to brush the bottom crust with egg white before adding fruit. Depending on the fruit, I sometimes crush walnuts and add to the bottom crust before adding fruit (works well with grape & with apple)--I suppose that's a more rustic variation of the almond paste twist.
 
mrslarkin October 24, 2016
I cannot wait to try this!
 
witloof October 23, 2016
I'm going to do this next summer when I make Amanda's mother's peach tart!
 
hardlikearmour October 23, 2016
Love this idea! I'm thinking it would be great in an apple-cranberry or pear-cranberry pie, too.
 
Robby H. October 23, 2016
Interesting twist. I think it would be even better in a cherry pie. I often add a touch of almond extract to my cherrie pies. Really, almonds and stone fruits are a lovely match. We'll give this a try.
 
Smaug October 24, 2016
Almonds actually are stone fruits (prunus species), though only the seed is eaten. Cherries, however, despite the pit, are not- they're in the rose family, along with various berries, apples etc.
 
Galapagos October 30, 2016
Cherries belong to the genus Prunus, as do peaches, plums, apricots and almonds. Those are all stone fruits.
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/fphg/stone
 
Galapagos October 30, 2016
They are all part of the family Rosaceae.
 
Smaug October 30, 2016
You're right- my bad.