Sweet Burbon Apple Pie (and bonus pinwheels)

A plus side to the horrendously wet New England summer we had was a bumper crop of apples. Dio brought me home a bag of Opalescents from the Farmer's Market last week. Time for pie! Apple pie is one of the two things I make every year without fail. You'll see the other one in December.

I am an inconsistent type of gal when it comes to baking. I like to fiddle with my recipes. This is basically Laa's Magic Apple Pie with a few changes to the apple part.

For the Crust: (makes enough for a full bottom and top crust, or bottom and lattice top with some to spare)

• 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
  
• 1 tbs. raw sugar
• 1/3 tsp. sea salt
• 2 sticks chilled butter*, cubed
• 4 tbs. cold water

For the Filling:

• 8-12 apples, peeled and cut into small chunks (use whatever apple you like and cut up enough to fill the pie shell you're using.
• 6 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. flour
• 4 tbs. ''ish" raw sugar* (Raw sugar is a personal preference. I like the richness. If you don't, just use white sugar)
  
• 4 tbs. ''ish'' white sugar*
• ground cinnamon
• ground clove
• ground nutmeg (grind it yourself! It takes two seconds and tastes fantastic!)
  
• about 1/2 cup-ish bourbon of choice* (I used Knob Creek since it's a house favorite and what we had on hand.)

*(notes on the ''ish''es: If you like your pie sweet, add more. Less sweet, add less. I'm a big fan of tasting as you go, so I keep my sugars and spices close so I can add more if I want. That's why my measurements are never that precise. I apologize.)

To make crust:

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Add butter and mix (preferably by hand) until mixture becomes mealy and the butter is in pea sized chunks.
3. Add water and mix gently until all ingredients are combined and there are chunks of butter throughout. Do not over-knead!!! I cannot emphasize this enough!
   
4. Roll into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 10 minutes. (I made mine around 9am and let it sit in the fridge until around 7 when I got home from work.)
   

To cook the apples:

1. Peel and cut your apples into small chunks and place aside.
2. In a large skillet or wok, melt the butter on medium heat, then add the flour sugars and bourbon, cooking until it starts to reduce into a syrupy consistency. This takes around 3-5 minutes (and smells fantastic).
   
3. Add apples and stir until coated in syrup. Allow the apples to cook until they start releasing juices.
4. Add cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg to taste. (Feel free to add other spices and herbs too, or to subtract some of the ones I added.)
5. When the apples are coated in the spices, you can add another dash of bourbon and cook until the alcohol comes off, or just take it off the heat and pour the apples into your pie plate.
   

The rest of it:

1. Roll out pie dough and place it in pie cooking device of choice.
2. Add apple mixture to the uncooked crust, if desired, add some small cubes of butter to the apple mixture,
   
3. Add top crust and pinch off edges. If you made a lattice top, you're fine. If you made a full top crust, use a pie bird or cut slits to allow steam to escape. You can either cut off the crust that hangs over or fold it over and make a super thick crust edge. I recommend placing aluminum foil around the outer crust to prevent it from burning. (If you feel so inclined, you can also brush a mixture of egg white and white sugar over the top crust to make it all shiny and sweet.)
4. Cook at 375-400 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until the top starts to brown nicely and the apples are sizzling.
5. Take out of the oven and let cool for at least 20 minutes.

If you have leftover crust, you can make some pinwheels!

Pinwheels:

• Take your leftover crust and gather it back up into a ball.
• Roll it out into a fairly rectangular shape
• Coat the top with butter, sugar and cinnamon
• Roll into a tube
• Slice 1/2 inch thick slices
• Place on a small pie sheet or aluminum foil tray while your pie is baking and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they look golden brown.