Despite the erratic weather, Fall always gets me itching to make apple pandowdy. Apparently, there are very different variations, but I like the one made with pie crust, because butter makes it better! I find it ironic that I post recipes here from time to time as I rarely follow any to a "T", but here goes my own adaptation of the version in Joy of Cooking.
Make your pie crust (any basic recipe will do), roll it out, wrap in plastic-wrap and refrigerate.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Cut about 4 apples in 1/4" slices
Toss around with a very scant 1/4 cup of maple syrup or dark brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour, some dashes of cinnamon, dash of salt or so and any other appley spices you'd like represented. Sometimes I just want to keep it simple, but go right ahead.
Stick the apple mixture into a buttered loaf pan.
Dot the top with a few tablespoons of butter.
Get the pie crust out of hiding and lay it over the top. Hmmm, doesn't fit, does it? Tuck the excess around the insides of the loaf pan, effectively wrapping the apples. It doesn't have to look pretty, unless the Queen is coming. In that case, make something else!
Bake for about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and smash down the top of the crust with a fork or spoon. Try to submerge the top with the apple juices a bit.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 F and put the pandowdy back in for another 30 minutes or so.
You're supposed to let it cool for 15 minutes, but I'd rather suffer a burnt tongue! You can try to extend your patience by busying yourself with making bourbon whipped cream to go along with it.
Don't plan on sharing it with more than 4 people- it goes pretty quick and you'll want a smidgen the next day for breakfast!
Yum! But I'm pie-crust impaired -- never made a decent pie crust in my life. :(
ReplyDeleteOh, Flora it's so easy! I swear! Try this recipe: 1 stick plus 2 tbsp cold butter, 1 and 1/4 cup flour and 2 tbsp water. Cut the butter up into smaller cubes and mix it all together with your hands, pinching the butter into the flour. If you're not using it for pandowdy, bake for 35 min in a 425 F oven (this is adapted from a European recipe hence the odd amounts!) It's been a never-fail recipe for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm a rotten cook (or at least an unmotivated one) but anything apple gets my juices flowing - I've never heard of a "pandowdy" before! One thing my 1960s Scottish education gave me was a good grounding in Latin and also in making pastry. The rubbing flower (oops - Freudian slip??) into butter technique comes in handy for declumping sphagnum moss I find! Maybe I'll try actual pastry making again (after I wash the moss off my hands!) - the trick is to keep everything chilled and to handle the mix as little as possible. I wonder if I remember how! Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDelete