Lisa Ks Book Reviews

Friday, May 12, 2023

Today, my Cozy Food Friday Flashback is a dish from an author whose Orchard Mysteries I loved. Sadly author Sheila Conolly passed away in 2020. She has been missed. She has left us her wonderful books, and delicious recipes, like the one featured today.

September 15, 2017

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Apple-Cherry-Marzipan Pie

All photos are by and property of Shelia Connolly

Crust:

8 oz (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

1 lb plain white flour

1/4 cup white sugar
Pinch of salt
Water (about 5 Tblsp), chilled

Place the butter and flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the sugar and salt and pulse again.

Place the water in a cup or pitcher and add slowly until the mixture holds together to form a dough (you may not need all the water, but it shouldn’t be crumbly).

Knead on a floured surface long enough to combine. Wrap it in plastic wrap or put in a plastic ziplock bag and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Filling:

Zest of 1 lemon

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1/3 white sugar

4 Tblsp cornstarch

6 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2” slices (I used the last of my home-grown Cortlands)

7 oz marzipan, cut into small cubes

1 cup dried cherries (or you could substitute cranberries)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine the lemon zest, cinnamon, sugar and cornstarch.

Flour a board and a rolling pin. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator. Divide into two portions, one half the size of the other (bottom and top). Roll out the larger piece and fit it into a 9” pie pan (the pastry should overlap generously), pressing it against the sides of the pan. Place in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.

An aside: this recipe worked better than most of my pie crusts. For a 9” pan, this must be rolled fairly thin, but it held together well and was elastic enough to fit into the pan. When baked, it was nicely crumbly and light. It’s a keeper!

Arrange a layer of apple slices in the pie dish and sprinkle with the marzipan cubes and cherries. Repeat in layers until the pan is nearly full at the edges and heaped in the middle.

Roll out the smaller piece of dough to make a lid that fits over the apples. Crimp the edges of the bottom crust over this to seal. Make a hole in the center of the crust to let the steam escape.

If you like, beat an egg yolk with a little water and use as a glaze over the crust.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden-brown (test to make sure the apples are soft). If it’s getting too brown after 25 minutes, cover the top with foil to keep the edges from burning.