Apple Squares
A rich and tasty apple pie.
Servings Prep Time
9pieces 1hour
Cook Time Passive Time
45minutes 1hour
Servings Prep Time
9pieces 1hour
Cook Time Passive Time
45minutes 1hour
Ingredients
Filling
Dough
Glazing
  • 1 egglarge, beaten
Instructions
Filling
  1. Peel the apples and grate on the large holes of a box grater. In a medium bowl, toss the apples with lemon juice.
  2. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the apples.
  3. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  4. Squeeze excess juices from the apples, one handful at a time.
  5. In a large bowl, mix together the apples with sugar, raisins, bread crumbs, and cinnamon.
Dough
  1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and salt.
  2. Using pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
  3. In a small bowl, combine together sour cream, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with fork until the mixture starts to clump together. Finish off with your hands by quickly forming solid dough. Don’t overwork it! Just need to obtain roughly shaped, compact dough.
  4. Divide the dough into two sections, 1/3 and 2/3. From each section, form a flat, thick square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Assembly
  1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 176°C (350°F).
  2. Lightly butter or line with parchment paper, a 20 cm (8″) square baking pan.
  3. Cut a 30 cm (12″) square of plastic wrap and place on a clean working surface. The plastic wrap will stick flat to the surface. Dust it with flour and roll out the larger piece of dough to a 24 cm (9 1/2″) square, 6 mm (1/4″) thick shape.
  4. Fit the dough into the baking pan, pressing against the sides of the pan, making sure that the plastic wrap stays on the outside of the dough. The plastic wrap will insure the integrity of the dough during the transfer to the pan. It will also allow for proper fitting of the pan while preventing sticking to your fingers and accidental tear of the dough. Carefully peel off the plastic wrap.
  5. Brush the dough with a beaten egg including bottom and the sides. Fill with the apple mixture and level it off so that it’s smooth.
  6. Roll out the second smaller piece of dough in a similar fashion, on top of the plastic wrap. The rolled out dough shape should be a square approximately 20 cm (8″), 6 mm (1/4″) thick.
  7. Place the second dough piece over the apples and peel off the plastic film. Press the edges of two the layers of the pastry together to make a seal. I overlapped the edges and used a fork laid flat to create a seal pattern. Trim away any excess pastry to make a tight pastry box, enclosing the apples. Pierce the top crust in a few places with the fork.
  8. Brush the top pastry lightly with the beaten egg.
  9. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
  10. Hold a baking sheet over the pan and invert the pastry onto the sheet. Re-invert, right side up, onto a cutting board. Cut the pastry and serve.