Sweet Desserts

Apple Pie

Apple Pie

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
Basic Pie Dough, 2 disks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
4 pounds apples
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces


Directions

Lightly flour a large piece of waxed paper; place a disk of dough in center. Rolling from center outward, form into a 12-inch circle. (Use paper to rotate dough, and flour rolling pin and paper as necessary to prevent sticking.) Transfer dough (still on paper) to a baking sheet; cover and refrigerate. Repeat with second disk of dough. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with a rack set in lowest position. Remove first circle of dough from refrigerator; wrap around rolling pin (discarding paper), and carefully unroll over a 9-inch pie plate. Gently lift edges and lower dough into the pie plate so it hugs bottom and sides. Avoid stretching the dough, which will make it shrink during baking. Refrigerate.

Place lemon juice in a large bowl. Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices; halve crosswise, and add to lemon juice (to keep them from turning brown) as you work. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt; toss to combine.

Remove dough-lined pie plate from refrigerator. Fill with apple mixture, gently packing apples and mounding slightly in center; dot with butter. Lightly brush rim of pie shell with water. Remove remaining circle of dough from refrigerator. Lay over apples; press along moistened rim to seal. Using kitchen shears, trim overhang to 1 inch.

With floured fingers, fold overhang under itself to form a thick rim;pinch between thumb and forefinger to form a uniform edge around the rim of the pie plate.

To crimp edges: With thumb and index finger of one hand, gently press dough against knuckle of other hand; continue around pie. (Deep indentations anchor dough on rim and prevent it from sliding down sides of pie plate during baking.)

With a floured paring knife, cut 5 to 6 slits in top of pie, radiating from center; place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes more. If edges brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Cool completely, at least 6 hours, before serving.

Labels: others

posted by Edwin Chew @ 4:20 AM Comments: 0

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

Black-Bottom Coconut Bars

Ingredients

FOR CHOCOLATE BASE:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

FOR COCONUT TOPPING:
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 package (7 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut; ½ cup reserved for sprinkling

Preparations

For chocolate base: Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 9-inch square baking pan
with aluminum foil, leaving a slight overhang;
butter bottom and sides of foil (not overhang).

Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl; melt in microwave.
Add sugar and salt; whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, then cocoa and
flour until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake just until sides begin to pull away from edges of pan,
10 to 15 minutes (do not overbake). Let cool slightly while
preparing coconut topping. Keep oven on for topping.

For coconut topping: In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with
sugar and vanilla. Gently mix in flour and coconut
(except ½ cup reserved for sprinkling).

Drop mounds of mixture over chocolate base; spread and
pat in gently and evenly with moistened fingers.
Sprinkle with reserved ½ cup coconut.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out
with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool completely in pan. Lift cake from pan, peel off foil, and
cut into 24 bars.
Store in an airtight container 3 to 4 days.

Labels: Cookies

posted by Edwin Chew @ 3:02 AM Comments: 0