Apple Crisp (my fav)
(adapted from a recipe created for Chez Panisse Restaurant by Lindsey Shere, their longtime pastry chef)
Ingredients:
6 large Granny Smith Apples
2cups of all-purpose flour
1cup light brown sugar
1cup superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon1stick salted butter
And a little brandy, to taste
Make the topping:
Put flour, sugars and cinnamon in a bowl. Work the slightly softened butter in with your hand by rubbing pieces of it lightly and quickly between your fingers, or cut in with a pastry blender just until the mixture is beginning to hold together and look crumbly. Set aside.
Quarter, core and peel the apples and slice into a bowl. There should be about 5 to 6 cups. Sprinkle and toss the sliced apples generously with brandy (or a couple of teaspoons of sugar/cinnamon mixture, if you prefer not to use the brandy, but don’t over sweeten the apples since the topping is already so sweet.) Put the brandied sliced apples in any shallow unbuttered baking dish (recipe makes the equivalent of a 10” pie pan). Level them and then sprinkle the topping over the apples, completely and evenly covering all the apples.
Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven until the topping is golden brown all over and the apples are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. If your topping has browned enough for your taste, but you don’t think the apples are tender enough, turn the heat down to 350 degrees F and lay a piece of foil loosely over the top and continue to cook until the apples reach your desired tenderness.
Serve warm with a quality vanilla ice cream or a pitcher of heavy cream.
I think it is the recipe and the addition of the brandy. I have made it with several types of apples and the results are always good. I have also used pecans as well as walnuts.
It is better with apples that don't turn to apple sauce mush, but I have have had good success with something as common as yellow delicious and greening....I'll let you decide when you work your magic...thanks!
Sorry for all my typos. I was worried that gt9 needed the recipe right away. I think you can guess that it's 4 to 6 minutes for toasting the walnuts and that you turn the heat down and cover loosely with foil if the topping has browned but the apples are NOT done. At some point, I'm going to compare some apple crisp recipes. It seems like they're all close to the same, but then someone says something like gt9 wrote, that a recipe is so good that the table goes silent. And that makes me wonder. Was it some particularly good apples? The recipe? Or some other magic?
From Chez Panisse Desserts 1985 Random House
edited for brevity
1/2 cup walnuts
7/8 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup salted butter, somewhat softened
4 apples (about 2 pounds)
a little brandy
Toast the walnuts at 350 406 minutes. Cool and chop to 1/4-inch chunks.
Combine flour, sugars, cinnamon. Work in the butter, then the walnuts.
Quarter, core, and peel the apples. Sprinkle with brandy or a little sugar, cinnamon if you want.
Put apples in shallow, unbuttered baking dish. Cover evenly with the topping.
Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes, until the apples are tender. If it's browned but the apples are done, turn down the heat to 350 and cover loosely with foil.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or a pitcher of heavy cream.
I own the cookbook and this is the version that is accurate. I do not recognize the first one above. Too much flour and sugar. The great thing about this crisp is that it's low flour and low sugar (and thankfully no oats!). Make sure to toast the nuts. I prefer almonds. Sometimes I increase nuts to 3/4 cup.
That's the same one I found Dr Babs! Here is the dough:
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup ice water
Directions
1.In a bowl, mix the flour with the sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in half of the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Cut in the remaining butter until the largest pieces are the size of lima beans. Drizzle the water over the dough and stir until moistened. Gather up the dough and knead it 2 or 3 times. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Galette Dough
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel (see Note)
3 large Golden Delicious apples (about 1 3/4 pounds)—peeled, quartered, cored and thinly sliced crosswise
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey, warmed
Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a large rimless baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 14-inch round. Transfer it to the baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the candied orange peel over the dough and spread the apples on top, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold up the edges of the dough, overlapping and crimping as you go. Brush the apples and crust with the melted butter. Sprinkle half of the sugar on the apples and half on the dough.
2.Bake the galette in the lower third of the oven for 55 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and the apples are tender. Slide the galette onto a wire rack and sprinkle the remaining candied orange peel over the apples. Let cool. Drizzle the galette with the warm honey, cut into wedges and serve.
13 Comments
(adapted from a recipe created for Chez Panisse Restaurant by Lindsey Shere, their longtime pastry chef)
Ingredients:
6 large Granny Smith Apples
2cups of all-purpose flour
1cup light brown sugar
1cup superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon1stick salted butter
And a little brandy, to taste
Make the topping:
Put flour, sugars and cinnamon in a bowl. Work the slightly softened butter in with your hand by rubbing pieces of it lightly and quickly between your fingers, or cut in with a pastry blender just until the mixture is beginning to hold together and look crumbly. Set aside.
Quarter, core and peel the apples and slice into a bowl. There should be about 5 to 6 cups. Sprinkle and toss the sliced apples generously with brandy (or a couple of teaspoons of sugar/cinnamon mixture, if you prefer not to use the brandy, but don’t over sweeten the apples since the topping is already so sweet.) Put the brandied sliced apples in any shallow unbuttered baking dish (recipe makes the equivalent of a 10” pie pan). Level them and then sprinkle the topping over the apples, completely and evenly covering all the apples.
Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven until the topping is golden brown all over and the apples are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. If your topping has browned enough for your taste, but you don’t think the apples are tender enough, turn the heat down to 350 degrees F and lay a piece of foil loosely over the top and continue to cook until the apples reach your desired tenderness.
Serve warm with a quality vanilla ice cream or a pitcher of heavy cream.
It is better with apples that don't turn to apple sauce mush, but I have have had good success with something as common as yellow delicious and greening....I'll let you decide when you work your magic...thanks!
edited for brevity
1/2 cup walnuts
7/8 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup salted butter, somewhat softened
4 apples (about 2 pounds)
a little brandy
Toast the walnuts at 350 406 minutes. Cool and chop to 1/4-inch chunks.
Combine flour, sugars, cinnamon. Work in the butter, then the walnuts.
Quarter, core, and peel the apples. Sprinkle with brandy or a little sugar, cinnamon if you want.
Put apples in shallow, unbuttered baking dish. Cover evenly with the topping.
Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes, until the apples are tender. If it's browned but the apples are done, turn down the heat to 350 and cover loosely with foil.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or a pitcher of heavy cream.
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup ice water
Directions
1.In a bowl, mix the flour with the sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in half of the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Cut in the remaining butter until the largest pieces are the size of lima beans. Drizzle the water over the dough and stir until moistened. Gather up the dough and knead it 2 or 3 times. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Galette Dough
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel (see Note)
3 large Golden Delicious apples (about 1 3/4 pounds)—peeled, quartered, cored and thinly sliced crosswise
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey, warmed
Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a large rimless baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 14-inch round. Transfer it to the baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the candied orange peel over the dough and spread the apples on top, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold up the edges of the dough, overlapping and crimping as you go. Brush the apples and crust with the melted butter. Sprinkle half of the sugar on the apples and half on the dough.
2.Bake the galette in the lower third of the oven for 55 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and the apples are tender. Slide the galette onto a wire rack and sprinkle the remaining candied orange peel over the apples. Let cool. Drizzle the galette with the warm honey, cut into wedges and serve.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/apple-galette?xid=Google_Base_FW
but I don't have the Chez Panisse cookbook. is this what you're looking for?