Five Spice Apple Pandowdy
So, I’ve come to realize that I love rustic baking because I don’t usually have the 2 requirements for fancy baking—patience and precision. But what I do love is family-style easy desserts with big flavor, and I love them even more if they involve anything apple. A pandowdy (or pan dowdy) dates back to the 18th century (it was a favorite of Abigail Adams, no less) and is essentially a combination of cobbler and pie. The apple filling is topped with a top crust (no soggy bottom crust, please) and baked to perfection, then when still hot, that crust is broken up into large pieces and some are pushed into the filling. However you cut it, it’s delicious.
I’ve given it a twist by using rugelach dough as the top crust—the cream cheese and butter lend a beautifully satisfying light and flaky yet tender dough and is perfect with the apples (I’ve added walnuts and golden raisins, which also add to the rugelach vibes). Feel free to use a mix of apples for more complex flavor—I’ve used Granny Smith, Gala and Fuji. Oh, and I’ve also added a touch of miso to enhance that depth of flavor. The result is a casual feed-a-crowd dessert that’s perfect for digging into any time of year, really. The pandowdy is delicious as is, but do gild the lily with ice cream or whipped cream as you see fit.
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
Crust
4 oz cream cheese
¼ lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tbsp sugar, divided
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
2 tbsp milk
Filling
2¾ lbs. apples (approximately 9), peeled, cored and sliced into ½” wedges
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp five spice
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ cup maple syrup
½ tbsp white miso
¼ cup water
1½ tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter, diced, plus more for pan
METHOD
To make the crust, cream the cheese and butter until fluffy, then mix in sugar, salt and vanilla. Turn mixer to low and add flour until combined into a shaggy dough (it will appear very crumbly at this point). Pour onto a floured surface and form into a disk that echoes the shape of your baking dish approximately 1” in height, then wrap tightly with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes—up to 1 hr.
Arrange oven rack on lowest setting, then preheat oven to 375F and butter a 9” x 9” pan.
Add apples, raisins and walnuts to a large bowl and toss with sugar, salt, five spice, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk maple syrup, miso and water until combined, then add and toss to evenly coat apples. Add flour and toss to coat. Spoon apples into prepared pan then dot with butter.
Roll out dough to fit pan and lay over apple. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar.
Bake for 70-80 minutes or until crust is golden brown. If crust is browning too quickly, tent with foil. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then use a sharp knife to cut crust in a random cross-hatch grid (pieces should be around 1/1/2” to 2” square ), pushing some of the crust (just some, no need to submerge all the pieces!), into the apple filling. Let cool 1 hour or longer, and serve.