BROWN-BUTTER APPLE PIE

Brown-Butter Apple Pie image

Brown butter imparts a rich nuttiness to the apple filling for this next-level pie.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Pie & Tarts Recipes

Time 10h

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 pounds Granny Smith apples (6 to 7), peeled, cored, and cut into eighths
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
Double-Crust Pie Dough
Water, for brushing
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Steps:

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is golden brown and fragrant, about 8 minutes; let cool. Toss together apples and lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine flour, salt, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla-bean seeds in another bowl, breaking up clumps and combining with a fork or fingers. Add browned butter to apples. Stir in flour mixture.
Roll out 1 disk of dough to just under 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Roll out remaining disk of dough to a 13-inch round. Rolled-out dough can be refrigerated up to 8 hours. (Be sure to let the 13-inch round sit at room temperature until pliable before topping pie, or it will break.) Place apples in pie shell, brush edges with water, and cover pie with top crust. Trim excess, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold top edge over bottom crust to seal, and crimp as desired. Cut steam vents in top crust. Freeze pie 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in lowest position. Brush pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Place a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on floor of oven to catch any drips. Bake pie on lowest rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until well browned, about 1 hour. Tent pie with foil and continue to bake until bubbling through vents, about 20 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack, at least 6 hours. Pie can be made 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.