Brown Butter Apple Pie

One of my favorite apple pies is a Julian Dutch Apple Pie from a bakery out in Julian, California. Those dutch apple pies always had a streusel topping, which I like much more than a regular pie crust. This pie reminds me of those pies growing up. This recipe is courtesy of Pillsbury. It's a little more involved than a regular apple pie, but it has a lot more flavors going on.

Brown Butter Apple Pie

Filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 Tb. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla
5 cups sliced, peeled Granny Smith apples (approx. 5 apples)

Streusel:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (can use light or dark)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

1 frozen pie crust

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and lightly browned. (I would suggest cutting the apples while the butter is melting.) Once melted, cool completely, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup sugar and the egg with wire whisk until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat in cooled butter. Gently stir in apples. Pour into crust-lined pie plate.

In medium bowl, stir together all streusel ingredients except butter. With pastry cutter or fork, cut 1/4 cup cup butter into mixture until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apples.

Place pie on cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and cover edge of crust with strips of foil to prevent a brunt crust. Bake 40-50 minutes longer until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cool for 2 hours before serving.

Mmm... Look at that golden streusel on top.

The hardest part is waiting the two hours for the pie to cool. This definitely needs to be served warm and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum.

The mixture with the apples gives the pie a nice creaminess to the pie. And depending on how thin you slice your apples, it could cause the filling to be a bit soggy. So don't cut your apples too thin. Nice chunky apples is what apple pie is all about anyway, right? The filling is a nice contrast to the crunch of the streusel on top. And then you have the buttery crust on the bottom. So good!

The recipe seems involved, but it's not that hard. Just a lot of steps. Give it a try. You'll love it.

Enjoy!