YEARS OF Holiday Favorites

Looking for more iconic New England recipes like these? Each issue, Aimee profiles a classic Yankee dish in her “Recipe With a History” column. We’re looking for great stories that capture the spirit of our region. Got a favorite you’d like to share? E-mail editors@yankee pub.com and put “Recipe With a History” in the subject heading.

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Webb House Damask wallpaper courtesy of Adelphi Paper Hangings, LLC

Preheat your oven to 400° and set a rack to the middle position. On a floured surface, roll out one disc of dough (freeze the other disc for later), working from the center, into a 10-inch circle, about 8/1 inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough to a pie plate and press into the sides. Drape any excess crust over the edge; then fold under and crimp. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the dough. Line the dough with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 8 minutes. Remove the weights and foil carefully; then continue baking another 5 minutes (the crust will still look pale). Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°. Using a box grater, grate the apples down to the core. Transfer to a medium-size bowl and stir in the lemon juice and sherry. In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over mediumhigh heat, melt the butter; then add the apples (with their liquid) and the sugar, and cook, stirring, until the -liq uid begins to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer; then continue cooking, -stir ring occasionally, until the apples are tender and most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in the apple -mix ture. Pour the filling into the crust; then bake until the custard is set but not browned, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack 30 minutes; then serve warm or at room temperature.

¼ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup light cream

3 large eggs

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons salted butter

3 tablespoons dry sherry

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 large firm-sweet apples (about 1 pound total), such as Pink Lady, peeled and cored

2 large firm-tart apples (about 1 pound total), such as Granny Smith or Northern Spy, peeled and cored

½ recipe Double-Crust Pastry, prepared and chilled

All-purpose flour (for work surface)

HAND - ON TIME : 50 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME : 2 HOURS

MARLBOROUGH PIE

Yield: 8 servings

Reduce the heat to 350° and bake until the topping is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool on a rack at least 45 minutes before serving; the apples stay very hot for quite a while, and the pie slices better if you give it a chance to set up.

Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake on the bottom rack 15 minutes.

Carefully transfer the dough to a pie plate and press into the sides. Drape any excess crust over the edge; then fold under and crimp. Fill the crust with the apple mixture, then top evenly with the streusel. (Press down a bit to make the topping as even as possible.)

Preheat your oven to 400° and set a rack to the lowest position. Make the streusel: Stir together the pecans, flour, brown sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Add the melted butter, and stir with a fork until small clumps form. Set aside. On a floured surface, roll out one disc of dough (freeze the other disc for later), working from the center, into a 10-inch circle, about 8/1 inch thick.

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt. Set aside.

Note: You may prepare the dough in advance and refrigerate it for up to five days, or freeze it for up to three months. Defrost it overnight in the refrigerator before using it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead three times, or just enough to make it cohesive. Don’t overmix! Gather the dough into a ball; then divide it into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other if you’re using both crusts for one pie. Press each piece into a disc and wrap them in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until well combined. Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour mixture, and use your fingers to smear them in. Stop when the mixture looks like cornmeal with some pea-sized bits of butter remaining. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water on top, and stir with a fork until the dough begins to come together. If needed, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of ice water.

6–8 tablespoons ice water

18 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

DOUBLE-CRUST PASTRY

7 tablespoons salted butter, melted

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup packed light-brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup pecan halves, chopped fine

FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:

½ recipe Double-Crust Pastry, prepared and chilled

All-purpose flour (for work surface)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons firmly packed light-brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1½ pounds (about 3 large) firm-sweet apples, such as Pink Lady, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges or slices firm-tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Northern Spy, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges or slices

TOTAL

APPLE PIE WITH CRUMB TOPPING

Sharp cheddar cheese (for serving)

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugars, lemon juice, cornstarch, -cinna mon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside. Preheat your oven to 425° and set a rack to the lowest position. Unwrap the larger disc of dough. On a floured surface, roll it out from the center to form a 13-inch circle about 8/1 inch thick. Transfer to a pie plate and press the crust into the sides, draping any excess over the edge. Fill the crust with the apple mixture, making the pile a bit higher in the center. Set aside. (If it’s a warm day, transfer to your refrigerator to chill while you roll out the top crust.) Unwrap the smaller disc of dough and roll out as before into a 10-inch circle. Transfer the dough to the pie. Using a sharp knife, make two 3-inch slashes in the top crust, to let steam escape. Fold the bottom crust up over the top crust and crimp to seal. (For a fancier look, cut the dough into even strips and arrange in a lattice pattern, as we did here.) Brush the crust all over with milk. Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake on the lowest rack 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° and bake until juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown, another 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool on a rack at least 45 minutes before serving. Serve with a wedge of sharp cheddar cheese.

Milk (for brushing crust)

1 recipe Double-Crust Pastry, prepared and chilled

All-purpose flour (for work surface)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons firmly packed light-brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1½ pounds (about 3 large) firm-sweet apples, such as Pink Lady, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges

1½ pounds (about 3 large) firm-tart apples, such as Granny Smith or Northern Spy, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges

HAND - ON TIME : 50 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME : 2 HOURS

DOUBLE-CRUST APPLE PIE land as apple pie. Following are three of our ritefavo variations—classic doublecrust, crumb-topped, and custardfilled—all from The Apple Lover’s -Cook book . Each starts with double-crust pastry. If you need only one crust, just freeze the other half for future baking.

All are delicious. So this year, when planning your holiday menu, why not try all three? Wherever you live, your holiday celebration will be as New -Eng crisp and apple pie all in one package.” Another elegant, -long time favorite in New England, Marlborough pie, boasts an apple-infused custard flavored with lemon and sherry. lifestyle editor Amy Traverso named her recipe for “Apple Pie with Crumb Topping” her favorite, calling it “the best of apple

In her award-winning Apple Lover’s Cookbook, Yankee senior of all things sweet, savory, and covered in gravy. Prized dishes will vary, but one thing is certain: After the feast (but before the nap) there will be apple pie for dessert. Apple pie is so beloved in our communal culture that it’s earned its own emblematic idiom (“as American as apple pie”) and consistently beats out contenders like pumpkin and chocolate cream as the nation’s favorite. That’s especially true in New England, where orchards are plentiful, and tradition calls for a wedge of local sharp cheddar to be served with each slice. Our love of apple pie reaches deep and permanent places. That’s also why we don’t mind when a little historical digging reveals that neither the pie nor the apples are native to our region. At first, the only apples in America were crabapples, so all the sweet apples we enjoy today had to be imported, bred, or otherwise cultivated. It’s likely that the -motiva tion for growing apples was hard cider, but apples were also used in cooking. During medieval times, pies were prized for being hearty and portable, but they also tended to be savory and were baked in nearly inedible shells known as “coffins.” Improvement came with better ingredients. During the 16th century, butter and cream made the pastry more palatable, and later, the increasing affordability of sugar meant that sweet and fruity pies, like apple, were primed for popularity just as 18th-century cooks began -bak ing them in earnest. Before long, a dish with centuries of history behind it had found a welcome home in the New World. And, like most American foods with European roots, regional variations were plentiful. Although deep-dish, double-crust beauties filled with -fra grant apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg are the you-know-what of many a baker’s eye, they’re not the only apple pies in town. ach holiday season, dining-room tables across America begin their month-long showcase

by catrine kelty

BY AIMEE SEAVEY food and prop styling