Autumn Baking
It’s hard to believe that we are already halfway through October! Halloween is coming up fast, then it will be Thanksgiving, and then Christmas before we even know it. Autumn is one of our favorite times of the year, as it’s when baking is one of the coziest and most comforting activities. Therefore, we are trying our best to come up with some autumnal versions of our favorite Scandinavian recipes.
Apple Pie Slices: A Variation on a Classic!
That brings us to today’s recipe, which is for æblesnitter. Technically this translates to “apple slices,” but we have decided that “apple pie slices” is a bit more flavor descriptive. The pastry base is buttery and flaky, covered in apples that have been cooked down with sugar and lots of warm spices, then topped with a lattice of the same buttery pastry. The balance of the sweet but slightly tart filling combined with the rich pastry is absolutely perfect! It’s a variation of our original recipe for hindbærsnitter, which you can find also with lattice here.
Tips & Tricks
The process of making this pastry itself is quite simple. Crumble the butter into the dry ingredients, then add egg and vanilla and mix until you have a dough. Cook down your apples with sugar and spices. Then, roll out your dough, top with the apple mixture and thinly sliced apples, and braid the lattice on top. The lattice itself may look complex, but it’s actually not too difficult once you get the hang of it! See our recipe below for more detail. We hope you try it out! If you do, please leave us a comment and a rating below! You can also tag us on Instagram – we love to see your recreations!
Æblesnitter (Apple Pie Slices)
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 300 grams (2 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 200 grams (14 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
FILLING
- 4 medium apples, cut into cubes
- 100 grams (about 1/2 cup) dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
TOPPING (optional)
- 1.5 medium apples (thinly sliced)
- Splash of lemon juice
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Sprinkle of cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine ingredients for the filling in a medium-sized pot: apples, sugar, spices, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Cook over medium to low heat for about 15 minutes until the apples have softened; Use a masher or a spoon to break the apples apart and create a jammy and spreadable consistency. Remove from heat and let cool in the fridge while preparing the dough.
- Combine flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. You can also do this by hand in a separate bowl!
- Add cold butter and pulse in the food processor until it looks like sand. If doing this by hand, just break up the cold butter with your fingers and crumble until you get to the sand-like consistency.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and pulse until the dough starts to come together. If working by hand, add to your bowl, mix to distribute, and gently press together until your dough forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- If you would like to add apple slices as a topping (you don’t have to but we love the extra apple flavor and texture!), prepare the apples by slicing thinly and then tossing with sugar, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). After refrigerating, take two-thirds of your dough and roll out the dough into one large rectangle. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. You may have a little extra from trimming the edges, so make sure to save it for the lattice!
- Transfer the rectangle to a parchment lined baking sheet. You can put this in the freezer to keep the dough cool while you prepare the lattice.
- Roll out the last third of the dough (plus any scraps) into a rectangle, and cut into strips of equal width. If you want to be precise about the length, you will need 4-6 long strips (the same length as the long side of the rectangle you rolled out in step 7) and 6-8 short strips (the same length as the short side of the step 7 rectangle). Honestly, though, we just cut a bunch of short strips and then perform some pastry surgery to make the long strips. It’s way easier and will still look great when it’s baked!
- After you have cut the strips, take out your dough from the freezer or fridge and spread on the cooled apple filling, going all the way to the edge.
- Now is also the time to add your apple slices, arranging in whatever pattern you would like!
- Make your lattice – this looks way harder than it actually is! Start by laying down all of the short strips on top of the jam layer. Now, fold back the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth short strips, so that they’re all still attached along the left side of the pastry but there’s room to lay down the first long strip. Lay down the long strip (farthest to the left in the picture) so that it goes over, under, over, under, over, under, etc all the short strips. Then, fold the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth strips back to where they were. Fold back the first, third, fifth, and seventh strips. Lay down the next long strip – this time the pattern should be under, over, under, over, etc. Fold the first, third, fifth, and seventh strips back to where they were. Repeat this process with the rest of the long strips, alternating which short strips you fold back. The pattern should alternate as well and this creates the lattice look!
- Optionally, you can add extra strips pressed around the edges for a cleaner look. If you don't add this, that is totally fine as well! You may just need to trim the sides after baking to get even squares/slices.
- Put in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until your dough looks golden on the top.
- Take it out of the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes, and then slice into whatever size rectangles/squares you prefer! You can serve it with whipped cream or ice cream (or plain, of course) and enjoy!
