Apple Pandowdy with Blackberries

Apple Pandowdy with Blackberries

By Irvin Lin

A pandowdy is a rustic dessert that is basically a cross between a pie and a cobbler. It’s super easy to make as well. As with all rustic desserts, the more homemade it looks, the more attractive it is. Plus it has a pretty cool name – “pandowdy” which just scream old school country right? Choose a mix of apples if you can (my go-to apples include Jonagold, Gala, Granny Smith and if I can find them Gravenstein) to get a nice blend of flavors. And if you can’t find fresh blackberries, just use some frozen ones. No need to defrost them, just sprinkle them on the apple filling like the fresh blackberries before you add the crust on top.

Adapted from a Food & Wine recipe.

Ingredients
Pandowdy Crust
1 1/4 cups (175 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (115 g or 1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup ice cold water

Filling
2 1/2 pounds (about 6 medium-sized blend of varieties) apples
zest and juice from 1 medium lemon
1/4 cup (35 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (55 g) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (85 g) honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cup (6 ounces or 170 g) fresh or frozen blackberries

To assemble
2 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Spray an 8 x 11-inch baking pan with cooking oil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet.

2. Make the pandowdy crust by combining the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and sprinkle over the dry ingredients. Using your fingers and hands, first toss the butter in the flour, then smash the butter into thin slivers, breaking them up as you go. Once they’ve broken and flatten into small bits the size of peas, drizzle the water over the butter and flour. Toss with a fork until the dough starts to come together. Massage the mass with your hands until it forms a cohesive dough. Flatten into a disk about 1-inch thick, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and stick in the freezer while you make the filling.

2. Make the filling by peeling the apples, then coring, slicing and chopping the apple into 1-inch chunks. Place the apple chunks into a large bowl and add the zest and lemon juice. Add the flour, brown sugar, honey, vanilla and spices. Toss with a large spatula until the apple is evenly coated. Pour into the prepared baking pan, scraping any residual liquid in the bottom of the bowl into the pan. Sprinkle the blackberries over the apple filling.

3. Take the crust out from the freezer and place on a clean surface dusted with flour. Roll the dough out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough into rough 3 x 3-inch pieces (no need to be precise). Take half the dough squares and fold them over and tuck them all the way around the baking pan, forming an edge crust. Then “shingle’ the remaining dough squares decoratively all over the apple and blackberry filling, making sure that there are plenty of empty spaces to allow for steam to escape.

4. Brush the top of the crust with the milk and then sprinkle the sugar over the crust. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes then take the pan out of the oven and push down on the crust so that some of the juices of the filling come up over the crust. Place back in the oven and reduce the heat to 375˚F and bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling and thick. Let cool 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Make enough for 6 to 8 servings.