My husband loves apple pie and considers himself an expert apple pie taster. I have varied my apple pie recipe over the years (cut from a newspaper article that appealed to me) but he has never commented on the small changes I made until this year when I added boiled cider. He usually makes a suggestion such as less cinnamon or more apples. But this year he said "this is your best ever pie."
The change I made was to switch the recipe's applejack brandy to boiled cider - and what a difference it made. The filing is cooked somewhat before the pie is baked and uses both Granny Smith apples and another flavorful apple (this year it was Jonathan apples) in equal amounts. The filing is also finished off with cream and rests overnight before the crust is filled and baked. Made this pie for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. So glad I used the boiled cider - it is a hit!
January 1, 2015 at 9:19pm