Dutch Apple Pie {SECRET RECIPE CLUB}

My first Apple Pie BAKED, BLOGGED and DEVOURED, my friends said "I don't even like apple pie and this was the best apple pie I've ever had". Yes, we all loved it. Good thing I had this practice run, because I am doing an Apple Pie Challenge next month with my group CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE (come check it out, it's easy to join in). I was a little scared since I had never ever even attempted to make an apple pie and now that this one came out so delicious, I don't know if I can top it, but I've already got another recipe in the making as I write this post.

But today, I am sharing this Dutch Apple Pie for the SECRET RECIPE CLUB. The blog I was given is all the way from the East Coast of Australia. So, crazy to meet people all over the world from this little thing we do called blogging. It's an amazing experience and I loved reading all about her life on her little piece of the Internet she calls Lick the Spoon.

Here we go with my 17th post for the Secret Recipe Club; Group C .

I picked out a handful of recipes from her blog that I can't wait to try. I think I will be making these M&M brownies later this week and these Millionaires Nuggets are for sure at the top of my list, you can check out all the recipes I pinned from her blog here on my Pin Board.

What was the most fun about this recipe is that it's the middle of September, which is usually when it begins to cool down a bit. I've already been apple picking this season which is suppose to be our fall weather and well this week in Southern California we hit record highs of 104 degrees outside. Apple Pie, is probably not the first thing you'd pick in this hot weather, but I was determined. I had a few friends over to escpape the heat and swim in our pool. It was really funny that I served hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream pool sid, not something you see everyday, but they loved it.

Dutch Apple Pie

adapted by me, original recipe found at Lick The Spoon

Pastry
1-1/4 cups plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp butter, chilled and diced
5 tbsp ice water

Apple Filling
4 to 8 apples (4 large or 8 small; we used 2 Empire, 2 Glen, 2 Johnagold, 2 Gala) 
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Crumble
1-1/4 cups plain flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted

Icing (we skipped the icing & topped with vanilla ice cream)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp water

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold diced butter over the dry ingredients, mix with a pantry knife, working the butter into the mixture, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add in 5 tbsp water (more if needed) using the pastry knife or a fork incorporate it until the dough will hold together, without being too sticky. Flatten the dough into a round disk, and sandwich in between two pieces of wax paper, roll out into the desired shape (round) that will fir into your baking pie dish. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Transfer the dough tto he round pie dish and press into the base and over the top of the edges of the dish. Trim the edges to extend 1/2 an inch over the lip of the dish. Place the dish into the freezer for 30 minutes until very firm and cold. Place the oven rack on the lower middle position and heat the oven to  350 degrees. Make sure to cut a piece of foil big enough to cover the pastry and then bake for 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove the pie dish from the oven. 

While crust is cooking you can prepare the apple filling. Peel the apples and core them (I love my handy dandy Pampered Chef apple peeler and corer, It's AWESOME!), then cut each apple into thin slices (if you don't have this slicer) and add them to the lemon juice as you are cutting them so they do not brown. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to the apples and set aside.

Heat the 2 tbsp of butter in a large saucepan until bubbling. Add the apples and cook at medium high heat for about 10 minutes until they begin to soften (yet still hold some shape). Using a colander over a bowl and drain all of the butter juice from the apples, transfer the apples and shake to drain the excess juices into the bowl.

Transfer the juices back into the sauce pan and add the heavy whipping cream. Cook this mixture, stirring occasionally until it thickens, about 6 - 10 minutes. 

While cream sauce is cooking add in the apples to the pie shell, when the sauce is finished pour hot syrup over the apples.

Lastly, combine the crumble ingredients, the flour and both sugars. Drizzle the melted butter into the mixture and crumble with a fork until it's well combined and the mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle this crumble over the apple mixture.

Up the heat in the oven to 375 degrees and return the pie to the oven to finish cooking. My oven took about 40 minutes. You want the apple pie to be hot and bubbly and the crumble mixture to be crispy on top. I covered the outer edges of the pie (the crust) with foil so that the crust did not burn.

Remove from the oven and cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. It will still be pipping hot. We (forgot) the icing, but didn't even miss it with the delicious vanilla ice cream on top.

If you wish to make the icing, combine the powered sugar and water together until you make a paste. You can drizzle this on with a fork or put into a ziploc bag and cut the corner off to drizzle.

Here is a list of my past Secret Recipe Club recipes:

• Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)
• Bean Roll-Up (extra post)
• Cucumber Salad
• Raspberry & Nutella Pizza (extra post)
• Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie 
• Frozen Breakfast Burritos
• Pink Pearl Applesauce (crock-pot)
• Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cake (extra post)
• Cake Mix Cinnamon Chip Brownies
• Sweet and Smokey Roasted Cauliflower
• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip
• Trail Mix Cookies
• Creamy Noodles
• German Chocolate Cracker Candy
• Brownie Trifle
• Raspberry Greek Breakfast Parfait