Apple Pie for Lazy People

Here’s kind of a weird, but good, shortcut recipe for apple pie. I got this recipe from the group of friends that my wife sometimes has “cooking club” with. They basically get together and cook a complete meal, including dessert.

The recipe I present was adapted from this blog, but other than that, I don’t really know that much about it. What I do know, however, is that it’s pretty easy to make, and one big change to the recipe would make it even better. More on that towards the end of this post.*

What you’ll need:

• 1 pound (2-3 large) granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/3-inch slices
• 4T unsalted butter (or vegan substitute)
• ¼ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1t ground cinnamon
• 2 sheets frozen puff-pastry (one package, depending on brand), thawed enough to be pliable (Pepperidge Farm is vegan. I checked.)
• Flour for dusting
• 1 egg, beaten for egg wash (a light olive oil or similar for vegan)
• Raw sugar for sprinkling
• Also needed: l sheet of parchment paper

What to do:

Begin heating your oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a large fry pan, melt the butter over med-high heat. When melted, add the sliced apples and cook, stirring, until slightly browned (6-8 min).

Reduce the heat to low and stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Continue to simmer, stirring until the apples have softened and caramelized (about 5 min).

Dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour and place one thawed puff-pastry sheet on it. Flatten it with a roller if needed.

Put the apples in the middle of the sheet and spread them evenly to within about 1 inch from each sheet edge. Pour any remaining syrup over the top of the apples.

Brush the egg wash on the edges of the puff-pastry, then carefully put the other sheet directly over the first one, ensuring that the edges are aligned.

Smoosh down the edges with a fork to make essentially a giant apple packet.

Cut about 6 slits into the top of the pastry sheet to create vents.

Brush the top with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle the top with sugar.

Move the parchment paper and apple packet to the oven, directly on the center rack. If this concerns you, just use a thin baking sheet.

Cook for about 15 minutes or until the top has a golden hue.

Remove and cool on a wire rack (minus the parchment paper) before serving.

*After making and eating the “pie,” I realized that it tastes a lot like a really really really good version of a McDonalds apple pie, without all the artificial crap in it. So I got to thinking that this recipe would be even better as smaller, individual pies. It wouldn’t be hard to make these individual pies, just cut the pastry sheet to accommodate that.