It is difficult to find a person who would not like pies. The most interesting thing about the pies is, of course, the filling. It can be sweet, salty, meat, mushroom, vegetable, fish and any other. One of the simplest, but no less delicious, is the apple filling. Such pastries always turn out to be incredibly tender, soft, with a light pleasant sourness and an appetizing golden brown crust.
Apple pie filling
Pies start with a filling, well-cooked apples can save even a dough that is not very successful. Too liquid filling can ruin even the perfect dough - it will become damp and shapeless. To prevent this, try to pre-stew the apples in a pan, at this time excess moisture will go out of them.
Try to sweeten too sweet varieties of apples less, and sour ones, on the contrary, generously season with granulated sugar.
To keep the apples attractive and not darken, sprinkle with lemon juice immediately after peeling and slicing.
The ideal filling is made from apples slightly stewed in sugar, the resulting caramel gives the fruit a special aroma, juiciness, but by no means liquid. The pieces of fruit remain intact and do not fall apart, they are soft and tender, and the dough remains not soaked. This filling is perfect for baking from yeast, puff, curd dough, pies will be equally good both baked in the oven and fried in a pan.
For such a filling you will need:
- Sweet and sour apples - 7-8 pcs;
- Butter - 50 gr;
- Granulated sugar - 3-5 tbsp.;
- Cinnamon or nutmeg as desired and to your liking.
Let's start cooking:
First, choose the right apples. They should be ripe, moderately juicy, it is better if they are fruits of autumn or winter varieties. If you cook loose fruits, then when you stir them, they will simply fall apart and turn into a shapeless gruel. You should not go to the other extreme and make a pie filler from unripe apples. They can, of course, be used, but they will have to be stewed much longer and must be seasoned with spices to make the taste of the filling more expressive, because they do not yet have sufficient taste and aroma, and besides, they are tough.
Peeling apples from the skin is not at all necessary, especially if it is thin and delicate. It is subject to mandatory removal only if damage and wrinkles are visible on its surface. Rinse the apples, dry and cut into quarters, get rid of the boxes with seeds and spoiled areas.
Cut the quarters into wedges and then into small cubes. Apples should not be cut too small, the fruits will give too much juice, boil over and the filler for the pies will turn out to be watery.
Dissolve a piece of butter in a frying pan, half of the required amount, as soon as foam begins to appear, pour in the apples and stir. Increase the heat, the pulp will soften more quickly and give up its juice. You do not need to cover with a lid.
In about five minutes, almost all the juice will evaporate, and the apples themselves will acquire a brighter color, some places will become translucent. At this moment, the heating of the stove should be set to medium mode and granulated sugar should be added. The amount of sugar indicated in the recipe is relative: if your apples are sour, then add more sugar than indicated. If sugary, then reduce its amount. Mix everything well and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
When the sugar melts, it will thin the filling. It needs to be thickened again. Increase the heat of the stove for a couple of minutes more - the syrup will become thick, the caramelization process will begin. The pieces of apple will seem to be enveloped in thick syrup, while completely retaining their shape.
Now you can season the filling with cinnamon or nutmeg.
This filling can be prepared quickly and easily, but it must be cooled well before use. For this reason, if your pies are made from yeast dough, cook the filling while it is fermenting. And if the dough is flaky or rich, cook the apples first.
The classic recipe for oven baked apple pies
You will need:
- Wheat flour - 450 gr;
- Butter - 75 gr;
- Fresh milk - 170 ml;
- Chicken eggs - 3 pcs;
- Granulated sugar - 150 gr;
- Dry yeast - 20 g;
- A pinch of salt;
- Apples - 400 gr.
How to make the dough:
Heat the milk for three minutes - it should be warm, but not hot.
Pour it into a large bowl and add yeast and 50 grams of sugar. Stir well with a spoon to completely dissolve the dry ingredients in the milk.
Add a couple of eggs to a bowl. Melt the butter and add it to the mixture.
Place a sieve on top of the container and sift the flour.
Knead the dough, it should not be sticky and stick to your hands.
Form a ball out of it and leave it in a bowl under a towel, it will take about an hour or a little more.
Filling:
For her, you can use the recipe indicated above, or you can make a filling from raw fruits.
Wash the apples, cut into slices, peeling off the seeds. Then cut into small pieces and mix with the remaining sugar. Sprinkle the filling with lemon juice so that it does not take on an ugly dark shade.
Patties:
When the dough rises, cut it into small pieces. Roll each of them with a rolling pin, sprinkle the table with flour so that the dough does not stick to it.
Place a spoonful of the filling in the center of each flatbread, seal the edges.
Place baking paper on a baking sheet, cutting it to fit the pan. Brush it with vegetable oil and spread the pies. Brush the baking surface with a beaten egg and place in a hot oven. The temperature in it should be about 200 degrees. Bake for about half an hour.
Puff pastry apple pies
The apple puffs prepared according to this recipe are crispy and tender, and the thinnest dough allows you to fully enjoy the wonderful filling of the baked goods.
You will need:
- Ready-made puff pastry - 500 gr;
- Chicken egg - 1 pc;
- Butter - 30 gr;
- Apples - 5 pcs;
- Lemon juice - 40 ml;
- Sugar - 50 gr;
- Cinnamon.
How to cook:
Wash the apples, peel, remove the cores. Cut into slices. To prevent the apple slices from getting an unpleasant shade under the influence of oxygen, pour them with lemon juice.
Put a piece of butter in a frying pan, heat and melt. Pour the apples into the skillet and season with cinnamon and sugar. Simmer for three minutes. Cool it down.
The easiest way to get ready-made dough is at the supermarket. It is quite possible to prepare it at home, but it is a very laborious process that takes a lot of time.
Roll out the layers of dough in the form of a rectangle and divide it into ten identical squares.
Turn on the oven and set the heat to 200 degrees.
Spoon the apples into the center of the squares. Then pull the corners towards the center to form an envelope. Brush them with beaten egg white, place on a greased baking sheet and place in the oven.
You need to bake the pies for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle the finished products with icing sugar.
Deep-fried apple pies
Apple pies are especially delicious when deep-fried and fried. Juicy sweet filling goes well with crispy fried dough. This recipe is quick enough, it will take no more than 30-40 minutes. The output will be 10 pies, which are best eaten hot.
You will need:
- Wheat flour - 200-250 gr;
- Chicken eggs - 1 pc;
- Sour cream 20% - 3 tablespoons;
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon;
- Salt - a pinch;
- Soda - ½ tsp;
- Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. and for frying.
For apple filling:
- Apples - 500 gr;
- Butter - 1 tablespoon;
- Sugar - 2 tablespoons;
- A couple of pinches of cinnamon.
How to cook:
In a large bowl, beat a medium egg, add sour cream, sugar, salt and baking soda. Pour in refined vegetable oil. Stir well until smooth. Sour cream should be as fat as possible, not less than 20%.
Stir in the sifted flour slowly. Then knead the dough. The amount of flour may vary depending on the degree of grinding and moisture level of this product, the size of the egg, the thickness of the sour cream. Its volume can be increased or decreased as needed.
The dough should be pliable, elastic and soft. It takes about 5-7 minutes to knead so that it begins to easily leave your hands. Then it should be covered with a towel and left for twenty minutes - this time is enough for the reaction of soda and fermented milk product to complete.
For such pies, the filling described above is perfect. Cut the prepared fruit into medium cubes, fry in butter for a couple of minutes, season with sugar and cinnamon and simmer for another three minutes. Remove from heat and cool well.
Form a sausage from the dough, cut it into pieces. Form each piece into balls about the size of an egg. Roll the balls into thin cakes. Put the filling in a spoonful in the middle, pinch the edges well and form neat pies.
The height of the pies should not be more than one and a half centimeters, and their size should be too large. Otherwise, they will need to be fried for a very long time.
Pies should be cooked in a large amount of butter, and to keep their shape better, lay them down with a seam. You need to fry on moderate heat, without covering. Do not spare the oil, the dough will not take more than it needs, but it will be baked evenly from all sides.
They need to be served directly from the frying pan, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar on top.
Apple pies from yeast dough with kefir
You will need:
- Flour - 350-400 gr;
- Kefir - 1 tbsp;
- Sugar - 2 tablespoons;
- Salt - 1 tsp;
- Yeast - 20 gr;
- Vegetable oil - 125 gr.
How to cook:
Dissolve yeast in warm kefir, add sugar. After about five minutes add oil and salt. Slowly add flour, according to its amount, be guided by the consistency of the dough. It should be soft. You need to melt it in a warm place for forty minutes. After that, you can start sculpting pies and frying them.
Lazy puff pastry apple pies
You will need:
- Egg;
- Water - 80 ml;
- Chilled butter - 150 gr;
- Flour - 300 gr;
- Salt;
- Sugar - 1 tsp;
- Vinegar 9% - ½ tbsp
How to cook:
Combine sugar, salt, water, vinegar, egg in a bowl and stir well.
Separately sift the flour, add the grated butter to it and stir quickly until the butter has melted.
Combine both mixtures and quickly knead the dough. Put it in the refrigerator for an hour.
After the allotted time, roll out the dough into a thin layer. Cut into squares or triangles, place the filling on them and seal the edges with a fork.
Put the finished pies in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Then fry in plenty of oil.
Apple cakes made from curd dough
You will need:
- Flour - 150 gr;
- Sugar - 20 gr;
- 9% cottage cheese - 200 gr;
- Butter - 90 gr;
- Baking powder - 6 g;
- Egg;
- Salt - 3 gr.
For filling:
- Raisins to taste;
- Two apples;
- Sugar - 60 gr;
- Butter - 20 gr;
- Vanillin.
How to cook:
Grind the curd thoroughly in a sieve. Combine sugar, salt, butter and cottage cheese in a deep bowl.
Add the egg and whisk lightly.
Combine flour with baking powder.
Knead a soft and firm dough.
Shape the dough, cover it with a napkin and leave it alone for a while.
For the filling, peel the apples, cut them into small cubes.
Put apples, sugar and melted butter into a saucepan, put on low heat and simmer until the liquid evaporates.
Add raisins and vanillin. Preheat the oven, line the baking sheet with baking paper.
Cool the filling, mold the pies and put them in the oven for half an hour.
Filo dough apple and cinnamon patties
Pies made from this dough are aromatic, fried, with an appetizing crispy crust.
You will need:
- Filo dough - 200 gr;
- 4 apples;
- Egg;
- Sugar - 70 gr;
- Butter - 100 gr;
- Cinnamon to taste.
How to cook:
Peel the apples, cut into pieces. Add cinnamon to the apples.
Cut the finished dough into long strips, about 20x8 cm.
Melt the butter and spread over the dough.
Put apples on the edge of the strip, sprinkle them with sugar.
Tucking the edges, wrap the dough in a roll.
Place the finished blanks on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.
Arrange the patties and brush with a beaten egg. You can sprinkle sugar on top.
Pies are baked in the oven at 190 degrees until golden brown.
