Apple Crumb Pie

Recipe courtesy of al320

Hint: I didn’t blanch the almonds, I just bought slivered almonds from the store and it worked out just fine. Also, you might want to make extra crumb crust, I needed to make more to fully cover the pie.

Makes one 9-inch pie

Almond crust (recipe below)

3½ pounds assorted apples (such as Macoun, Cortland, Jonagold, Empire or Rome), peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

1/3 cup sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Hint: I threw in an extra dash of ground clove and ginger; I think it might have been better without it.

Preheat the over to 350°F. Evenly and firmly press a little more than half of the crumbs (about 2 ½ cups) into the bottom, up the sides, and onto the rim of a 9-inch glass pie plate. Press firmly into the edges. Freeze pie shell until firm, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss together apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour mixture into the chilled pie shell, mounding apples slightly in the center. Dot with butter. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs in clumps over the apples to cover completely.

Bake, rotating halfway through, until the crust turns golden and the juices begin to bubble, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The pie can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.

Almond Crumb Crust

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons blanched almonds, finely ground

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almonds, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining. Using your fingers, squeeze the mixture together to create pea-size to ¾-inch pieces. If not using right away, cover and chill until ready to proceed.