LIMONCELLO APPLE-BLUEBERRY PIE

It’s not too late to make an apple pie.  And the cold weather begs for such a comforting dessert.  Rome and Stayman apples are available at most grocers and both make great pies because of their mildly tart flavors and firm texture after being baked. 

Blueberries add another layer of flavor and a tart edge that further complements the apples.  Baking the apples twice and using apple juice concentrate for some of the sweetener develops even more apple flavor.  There’s no cinnamon in this pie, but you won’t miss it.  Lemon, limoncello and brown sugar impart a wonderful flavor, bringing out the best in the apples and the blueberries for a tangy, just-sweet-enough pie. 

A crunchy, crispy topping made of whole wheat flour, oats, brown sugar and almonds takes this dessert over the top.  Garnish with creme fraiche, lightly sweetened whipped cream or ice cream, and you’ll be all warm and cozy as the wind whips by.

Limoncello Apple-Blueberry Pie Rating:  9 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

CRUST:  Cook’s Illustrated Vodka Pie Crust (Use Limoncello instead of vodka.)  Roll out pie crust to fit an 8” or 9” pie dish.  Chill in fridge while preparing pie. CRUMB TOPPING: 1/4 cup Old-Fashioned Oats 6 Tbsp. light brown sugar 1/4 tsp. Morton Kosher salt 5 Tbsp. softened unsalted butter 1/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour In work  bowl of food processor, pulse ingredients several times, till oats and almonds are finely ground, or to the consistency you prefer.  Set aside. PIE FILLING: 3 cups tart, firm apples, peeled, cored, quartered then sliced into 3 pieces ea. quarter 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 2 Tbsp. butter, cut into 6 pieces 1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest 1/4 cup Limoncello 1/2 cup apple juice concentrate 1/3 cup brown sugar 1-1/4 cups frozen or fresh blueberries Heat oven to 400F.  Combine apples, lemon juice, butter, zest, Limoncello, apple juice concentrate and brown sugar in 9 x 13 baking pan.  Bake 30 minutes, or till apples are just barely tender.  Transfer apples to a clean baking pan to cool, reserving juice.  Add blueberries to reserved juice in the still hot 9 x 13 baking pan and place in oven till syrup boils down and blueberries are tender, about 15-20 minutes.  Combine with apples to cool completely. Adjust oven rack to bottom position.  Place cooled filling in chilled pie crust.  Bake on bottom rack of oven 30 minutes.  Take pie out of oven and distribute topping evenly over filling.  Return to oven and bake an additional 30 minutes, or till apples are tender and crust is cooked through.  Cool pie 1 hour before serving.  Yield:  8 servings