Apple Pecan Crumble Pie
Apple Pecan Crumble Pie is everything I love about apple pie: the tender apples, sweet but not too sweet, all beneath a crunchy, nutty, lightly spiced crumble topping. There’s balance. The crumble doesn’t overpower the apples. They get to remain the star of the show, and we love it that way.
Recipe Development
Each year, I try to infuse my Thanksgiving desserts with a touch of novelty while sticking to the classic flavor profile I love. This can be a bit challenging, balancing tradition with innovation, trying to showcase classic Thanksgiving dessert while keeping my inner pastry chef entertained.
What Went Wrong
I’ve already made a traditional apple pie AND a pecan tart, both of which hold a special place in my heart. My initial idea was to create a lattice pie with ground pecan in the pie dough and pecan pieces interspersed in the apples. However, I soon discovered that lattice tops are not as straightforward as they seem and I am not very good at making them yet. Adding pecan flour to the dough also made it softer and more challenging to work with and you couldn’t even taste the pecans in the crust!
Additionally, cooking pecan pieces with the apples in the pie resulted in a not-so-great outcome—they became bland and soft yet oddly crumbly. It was not great. Even the apples themselves weren’t quite right—they lacked…something. They weren’t quite sweet enough, and there was too much cinnamon.On top of all of that the underside of my pie wasn’t baking properly. Everything was just off and needed to change.
Changes
Introducing the crumble topping effectively resolved many of my problems. With the crumble in place, I could parbake the crust, ensuring I wouldn’t end up with a soggy bottom. Pre-cooking the apples, which I normally do, but this time, I simmered them in apple juice concentrate along with sugar. This intensified the apple flavor. I also took out the cinnamon from the apple filling, allowing the apples to shine by themselves, and instead incorporated it into the crumble. This way, the cinnamon flavor remained without overpowering the apples. Lastly, to maintain juiciness without creating a soupy mess, I reduced the extra liquid from the filling, cooled it, mixed it with cornstarch, and then mixed it back into the filling.
Results
I’m genuinely thrilled with how this pie turned out. The only thing missing when I enjoyed it was a scoop of ice cream. Next time! I think it would pair beautifully with vanilla ice cream or malted milk ice cream.
Apple Pecan Crumble Pie is a delightful twist on classic apple pie. It’s a winning combination of tender apples and crunchy crumble that will have you going back for seconds. Whether served warm or with a scoop of your favorite ice cream, it’s bound to be a hit at Thanksgiving.
Apple Pecan Crumble Pie
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 200 g butter
- 100 g water
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg for egg wash
Apple Filling
- 10-12 assorted apples
- 100 g apple concentrate
- 100 g sugar
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 lemon
- A splash of vanilla extract
Crumble
- 100 g pecans
- 50 g brown sugar
- 50 g sugar
- 100 g butter
- 100 g flour
- A pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Pie Dough:
- To make the pie dough, grate fridge cold butter.
- Mix with the flour, salt, and sugar until pea-sized pieces form.
- Add half of the water, mix, and then add the remaining half.
- Knead the dough until it just comes together, leaving some butter flakes in it.
- Form it into a round, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour (preferably overnight).
Preparing the Apples:
- Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze all the juice from the lemon into it.
- Peel and slice all the apples, letting them sit in the acidulated water as you work so they don’t brown.
- Strain the water from the apples and place them in a large pot with the sugar and apple concentrate.
- Cook over medium heat until the apples are al dente.
- Turn off the heat and pour off as much liquid as possible, set that to the side.
- Transfer the apples to a container and refrigerate them to cool.
Apple Syrup:
- Boil the excess liquid until it is reduced and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Reserve until ready to make the pie. Do not worry if it gets a little gloopy, it’s just the pectin from the apple.
Pecan Crumble:
- Roughly chop all of the pecans. Do not toast. They will toast when baked in the crumble and can burn if already toasted.
- Grate fridge cold butter, then mix with cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar, flour, and the toasted pecans using your hands until a crumble forms.
- Refrigerate or freeze the crumble until ready to bake the pie.
Baking the Pie Shell:
- Roll out the rested pie dough to about ⅓cm or ¼in thick.
- Transfer it to a pie plate and shape the edge.
- Line the shell with foil and baking beans.
- Bake at 200°C for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and beans, brush the shell with beaten egg, and bake until light golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Assembling the Pie:
- Once the pie shell has cooled, take the apples out of the fridge.
- Stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into the apple syrup.
- Mix the syrup and the apples together.
- Pour into the pie shell.
- Top with all of the crumble mixture.
Baking the Pie:
- Bake the assembled pie in a 350°F oven for around 30-40 minutes.
- Start checking after around 20 minutes and tent the edges with foil if they start to get too brown.
- Pull from the oven when the pie is bubbling and golden brown on top.
- Let cool slightly and enjoy!