Last week my brother and I went to a local U-Pick apple orchard and loaded up on apples. It’s always been something our family does each Fall.

We left the orchard with three sacks of apples and a nice jug of apple cider (orchards always have the BEST cider). Apples are great for picking because they last a long time and can stay stacked on top of each other without smashing the fruit on the bottom (unlike strawberries or peaches).

 My first plan of attack for the bags of apples in our porch was this apple pie. The apple filling has almost a full cup of Southern Comfort in it, which cooks down into a slightly boozy caramel sauce. Yeah, I know.

Chef Mark’s Southern Comfort Apple Pie (recipe from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather)

Crust: (This is such an easy pie crust recipe…its a breeze to roll out)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup (11 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, and sugar on low speed about 30 seconds. Cut the chilled butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Add the butter to the flour mixture and combine on low speed 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until the mixture looks crumbly, with bits of dough the size of peas. Add 4 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing on low speed for 10 seconds after each addition. After the last addition, the dough should begin to clump together in a ball. If it doesn’t, continue mixing about 10 seconds longer. If it still looks too dry, add an additional tablespoon ice water. Gently mold the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour. While it chills, you can make the topping, chop apples, and make the apple filling.  When ready, transfer the dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Roll it into a 1/8 inch thick circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. To keep the dough from sticking, gently pick it up periodically as you roll it and and rotate it in place, adding more flour underneath if necessary. Wrap the dough lightly over the rolling pin and set it in the ungreased pie plate. Press it into place and use your fingers or a fork to crimp the outside edges. 

Topping:

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter

To make the topping, preheat the oven to 350 F. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast them in the oven 7-9 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic. Coarsely chop the nuts.

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process both sugars, the cinnamon, salt, and flour for about 1 minute. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the sugar-flour mixture. Pulse about 10 to 15 times, until the mixture is crumbly. Sitr in the pecans. Refrigerate the toping, covered, in a medium bowl until ready to use.

Apple Filling:

• 5 to 6 medium-size tart apples, such as Braeburn, Cortland, or Winesap
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup Southern Comfort liqueur
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Peel, core, and cut the apples into 1/4 inch thick slices. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the apples and saute for 5-8 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle it on the apples and stir to combine. Simmer the apples over medium-low heat for about 1 minute longer. Remove the apples from the skillet with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the butter-sugar mixture in the skillet as possible. Transfer the apples to a baking sheet and arrange in a single layer (If heaped in a pile, the hot apples will steam-cook and become soggy). Pour the Southern Comfort into the butter-sugar mixture in the skillet. Simmer the mixture over medium heat at least 5 minutes, until the alcohol burns off (carefully sniff the mixture at close range; if it burns the insides of your nose, the vapors are still burning off). Add the cream and continue cooking about 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is as thick as pourable caramel. Return the apples to the skillet.

Pour the apple filling into the pie crust and sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the topping is brown. Serve the pie warm or at room temperature.