Door County Autumn Fruit Pie
Ingredients
One recipe of a favorite pie dough for a double-crusted pie
2lbs. apples and pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4" slices (about 5 cups)
1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1/4 cup dried apricots, cut into slivers
1/2 cup frozen or fresh cranberries
3/4 cup Island Orchard pear hard cider
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons hard cider
2 teaspoons coarse sanding sugar for top of the pie
1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons half and half or heavy cream
Instructions
Place the dried cranberries or cherries and dried apricots in a sauce pot along with the brown sugar, white sugar, 3/4 cup hard cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook mixture on medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons hard cider with the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. With the heat on medium-low, drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the dried fruit mixture. The mixture should come to a low boil and thicken. Remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl, place the sliced apples and pear. Toss with the lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Fold in the dried fruit mixture.
Preheat oven to 375º F. Combine the egg and cream mixture and set aside. Roll out pastry to create an 11-inch round. Place pastry in a 9-inch pie pan. Place the fruit mixture evenly in the pie crust. Top with either another 11-inch round to create a double crust, or create a lattice top by weaving 1/2-inch strips of pie dough on top of the pie. Trim and crimp pie edges. Brush top of pie crust with the egg-cream wash and sprinkle with the sanding sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place foil around the edge of the pie crust. Reduce heat to 350º and bake an additional 30–35 minutes or until crust is nicely browned.
Remove from oven. Remove foil. Let rest for 1 hour before serving.
