poached apple pie 'pucks'

note : you can make the dough first and then the apple filling or vice versa

pie crust :

• measure out the dry ingredients for the crust (flour, sugar, salt), place in the bowl of a food-processor, blend (pulse) together for 2-3 seconds until well-mixed and chill in the refrigerator
• cut up the butter in small and thin square pieces, place and space them out on a plate (or two) and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes
• combine the apple cider vinegar with the brandy and the ice cubes, wait until the ice cubes melt and whisk in the egg yolk
• remove the butter from the freezer and the flour mixture from the refrigerator, toss the sliced butter pieces with a few pinches of the flour mixture to coat the pieces (to avoid them from sticking together and to keep them separated)
• add the chilled butter slices to the dry ingredients in the food-processor and pulse 2 times for 1 second each time, then add the liquid mixture in 3 additions, pulse 1 second each time until you have a grainy sandy mixture (do not pulse until creamy)

note : if your food-processor is small, you can do half of the mixture at a time

• empty the contents of the food processor into a bowl or on a work surface, divide into 4 equal weight piles, then divide each pile into 1/3 of the weight and 2/3 of the weight

note : a kitchen scale is very handy here; I had about 660 grams of dough, I weighed and separated it into 4 piles of 165 grams, then I divided the smaller piles into 1/3 which equals 55 grams and 2/3 which equals 110 grams … (yes, I love MATH) !

• place each pile of dough on a piece of plastic film, press into a ball and slightly flatten each dough disk and wrap tightly
• place inside the refrigerator and let hydrate, firm up and rest for at least 1 hour or even overnight for the next day (the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 days)

poached apple filling :

• in a large pot, combine the apple juice, butter, sugar and all spices and flavorings and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes (you can add the apple cores to increase the amount of pectin and thickening)

note concerning weights of apples before & after : for 1,5 kg of apples, the weight will be 17% less after peeling and coring or 1,25 kg and will decrease by an additional 10% in weight after poaching which will equal 1,125 kg total weight of poached apples … (math, again)

• squeeze the juice from 2 lemons, peel and core apples and slice in 4 and then cut into smaller quarter-circle shaped slices about 8-10mm thick and toss with lemon juice immediately to avoid browning
• add the apple slices to the hot poaching liquid and immediately remove from heat and let sit until cooled down and stir gently every 15 minutes for approximately 1- 2 hours (but not too much longer or the butter starts separating from the liquid and hardens)
• remove apple slices from the poaching liquid and let strain for a few minutes and reserve the apple slices in the refrigerator (if not spicy enough, you can toss with additional ground spices)

note : you can reuse the poaching liquid several times (which will be even more fragrant than the first time) so store it in an airtight container and either refrigerate for 2 weeks or freeze for much longer.

assembly :

• remove the dough disks one by one from the refrigerator, sprinkle flour on your work surface and flatten or roll out disks with a rolling pin to 4 mm thick and to the appropriate size (you should measure out the size that you will need before, see note below)

note : this recipe can be for 1 large apple pie (but it will more difficult to unmold it to double-bake it) but it is perfect for 4 medium sized pies or 6-8 small pies if using ramequins (you should use sizes that you can hold in your hand) … I used small metal 10cm x 5cm spring-form pans and also even smaller ceramic 7cm x 4,5 cm ramequins; the top part should be at least 10% wider than your baking dish (in these two cases, it was 11 cm in diameter for the medium-sized pies and almost 8 cm in diameter for the smaller ones) … for the bottom part of the dough, add up the diameter and sides of your baking dish (in these 2 cases, 10+5+5 =20cm for the medium pies and 7+4,5+4,5=15 cm for the smaller pies) but there is no need to increase the size because when you form them, there will be folds and some extra dough remaining …

• to form the top crust, make sure that it is slightly larger than your baking dish, cut out a few holes towards the middle (to allow the steam to escape) and rewrap and place back inside the refrigerator
• to form the bottom of the pie crusts, use something that is smaller (like a glass) than your baking dish to shape the bottom part of the dough, flour the disk well on both sides, drape over the smaller form and press together, the insert inside your baking dish with some extra dough falling over the sides, press into the dish and remove the cup or glass used for shaping
• brush the inside of your dough shell with some beaten egg white and sprinkle with some sugar to coat the insides (bottom and sides), then fill with your apple slices (you can alternate between firmer and softer slices, you’ll need 275 grams per pie for the medium ones or 175 grams for the smaller ones)
• after filling, brush the top edge with beaten egg white, place the top dough disk on top, pinch the edges well to seal it, slice off the extra dough on the sides using a sharp knife and brush with some beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar too, place inside the freezer for at least 1 hour

1st & 2nd baking : 

note : I sometimes bake all at the same time or I wrap 2 of the 4 of pies very well in plastic film and then aluminum foil and freeze them for later or up to 8 weeks; to bake the frozen ones, simply let them thaw for 45 minutes in the refrigerator before baking for the first baking period at 210°C for 45-50 minutes (thus approximately 20 minutes extra baking time as compared to the less frozen and fresher versions), covered with aluminium foil for the last 20-25 minutes, then you follow the same instructions for the cooling and unmolding time and then the second-baking time as the fresher apple pie versions !

• preheat your oven to 210°C for 30 minutes (high heat works best for this recipe but keep monitoring the pies as they bake)
• after all the assembled pies are very cold after spending 60 minutes in the freezer, place inside the oven on the lowest rack and bake for only 20 minutes until the top crust is puffy, slightly crispier and slightly golden and then loosely cover with a small sheet of aluminum foil and bake for another 10 minutes
• remove the partly-baked pies and let cool in their baking dishes for 30-40 minutes, then very carefully remove/unmold each from its baking dish, brush the sides and bottom with egg white and sprinkle with sugar and place back inside the oven on the lower rack with some baking paper (without the baking dishes) for an additional 15 minutes at 210°C until the sides and bottom are crispy and golden and don't forget to loosely cover the tops of the pies with some aluminum foil to avoid burning the previously baked and golden top crusts from the first baking period !
• when all sides appear equally well-baked, golden and crispy, remove apple pies from the oven and let cool and serve, cut up in 2 or 4 slices (using a bread knife).