DEEP DISH APPLE PIE FILLING

Deep Dish Apple Pie Filling image

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

4 pounds Pink Lady, Fuji or other pie apples
1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 handful All-purpose flour (for surface)
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg
2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 handful Demerara sugar (for sprinkling)

Steps:

Toss apples with brown sugar, granulated sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, allspice, and cardamom in a large bowl to coat. Let apples sit until they start to release their juices, at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°. Place apple cider in a medium saucepan and scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add pod. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking occasionally, until reduced by two-thirds. Pour off juices that have accumulated in bowl of apples and add to apple cider. Return to a boil and cook until reduced to about ½ cup; remove vanilla pod. Stir cornstarch into 3 Tbsp. water in a small bowl to dissolve, then whisk into apple cider. Cook, whisking constantly, until cider mixture is very thick and bubbling, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly, then scrape over apples; toss to coat.
Carefully transfer dough round to pie dish. Lift up edges and allow dough to slump down into dish (if too cold to be pliable, let it warm up slightly first). Trim, leaving about 1" overhang. Beat egg with 1 tsp. water in a small bowl and brush over edges of dough. Scrape in apple filling, creating a mound in the center; dot filling with butter. Place remaining dough round over filling. Trim edges of top round, leaving a ½" overhang. Fold edge of bottom round up and over; press together to seal. Crimp edge and brush top with remaining egg wash. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and cut a few vents in top. Place pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and chill in freezer 10 minutes.
Bake pie until crust is deep golden brown and juices are thick and bubbling, 1½-2 hours (yes: 2 hours!). Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool at least 4 hours before serving.