Apple Pan Dowdy
Servings 8 people
This Apple Pandowdy Recipe is loaded with sweetly spiced tender apples and covered in a pie crust that's been sprinkled with cinnamon sugar! It takes only 30 minutes to prep this baked cozy apple dessert!
Ingredients
Filling
- 8 Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples see notes
- ½ cup 100% pure maple syrup 156ml, see notes
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar 140g, packed
- 1 ounce lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon speculaas or apple pie spice see notes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup salted butter 57g
Topping
- 1 (16 oz.) box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Peel, core, and slice 8 Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples into ¼-inch thick slices and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add ⅔ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup 100% pure maple syrup, 1 ounce lemon juice, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon speculaas or apple pie spice, and ¼ teaspoon salt and toss to coat.
- Add the coated apple mixture to a 10-inch cast iron skillet. If you only have an 8-inch cast iron skillet, that's okay; just reduce the apples by 1!
- Cut the ¼ cup salted butter into small cubes and dot them all over the top of the apple mixture.
- Top with one crust from the 1 (16 oz.) box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts and press the edges of the pie crust down into the pan around the edges a bit.
- Brush the top of the pie crust with 1 of the 2 tablespoons milk.
- In a small prep bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and sprinkle the crust with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with the other pie crust on top of the first.
- Cut 6 slits around the center of the pie crust.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The filling should be bubbling around the edges, and the crust should be golden brown. I recommend checking on the crust around the 30 minute mark to make sure it's not getting too brown, if it is, I would tent some aluminum foil over the top.
- Remove from the oven and immediately use a sharp chef's knife to slice across the top of the crust in lines about 2-inches apart, then slice in the opposite direction, leaving square pieces on top of the pie.
- Then use a spoon to press the pieces of crust down into the filling just enough for the sauce to run over the top of the crust. This is the signature pandowdy style; the sauce will dry to create a glaze on the crust.
- Let the pandowdy sit for 2 hours to cool so the juices thicken some. Then serve in a bowl with ice cream.
Notes
- You need about 3.5 lbs whole (around 1500g) or 2.5 lbs peeled (around 875g) and cored for the apples.
- Speculaas spice (Dutch Spice) is one of my favorites to use in baking. Popular in Europe, it's the spice that gives Speculoos/Biscoff biscuits their distinct flavor. It is harder to locate in the US, but you can find it on Amazon or make your own blend with this recipe. Apple pie spice is a good substitute. If you don't have either, then I would recommend adding an additional 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon with tiny pinches of nutmeg, ginger, clove, and cardamom.
- We tested this recipe with two styles of 10-inch pans. My traditional deep cast iron skillet worked beautifully. My Staub skillet is just a bit shallower, and the filling began to bubble out a little around the 30-minute mark. If you feel your castiron skillet might be on the shallow side, I recommend baking this with a rimmed baking sheet under the cast iron.
- A homemade crust recipe can be used, but the idea of pandowdy is that it's simple, so we opted to use storebought to make this fairly quick and easy in comparison with traditional apple pie.
Nutrition
Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 129mg | Potassium: 279mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Find it online: www.sugarandsoul.co/apple-pandowdy-recipe/