Kitty Waters from Oh Crumbs Bakery prepared a Bacon Apple Rosette Pie (see recipe below). Oh Crumbs Bakery is located at 555 Flippen Rd. Lebanon, TN 37087. For more information, go to www.ohcrumbsbakery.com or call (615) 443-8099. Follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ohcrumbsbakerytn.
Bacon Apple Rosette Pie
3 components: pie shell, caramel, bacon-Apple rosettes.
Pie shell:
1-2-3 Cookie Dough
Ingredients
450 g sugar
910 g unsalted butter, soft
1 Tbsp vanilla paste (or extract)
255 g eggs, whole, at room temperature
1.36 kg all purpose flour, sifted
Instructions
1. Cream sugar and butter together until fluffy in stand mixer with paddle attachment.
2. Add your eggs gradually, allowing them to be mixed into your sugar and butter mixture.
3. Add your vanilla, or another extract if using.
4. Sift your flour, if you haven't done so. Yes, this is necessary. Then add your flour, 1 cup at a time to your dough batter.
5. Mix the dough until just combined and it all sticks together. Scoop out onto a floured work surface, knead slightly to roll into a ball, and wrap the dough in cling film.
6. Chill your dough at least 1 hour, but up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen and thawed as needed.
7. Roll out your dough to the desired thickness (usually about 1/4 inch) and use cutters or press into pie pan. Bake at 375 until edges are slightly brown and the middle of each form is light and dry. For most cookies, this can take about 8 minutes, but watch them.
Fudgey Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
120 g heavy cream
400 g granulated white sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice (or water in a pinch)
1 pinch salt
Instructions
1. Moisten your sugar with the lemon juice in the bottom of a sauce pan and heat without stirring on medium high until your sugar melts. Continue to let it bubble and use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down any sugar granules that stick to the sides of your pan.
2. Meanwhile, microwave your heavy cream for about a minute. Heating your cream helps to minimize spatter. (You can add herbs, etc, to your cream to steep and really grab extra interesting flavors at this step.)
3. When your sugar begins to turn an amber color and you can smell the toasting caramel, stand back and pour your hot cream into your melted sugar. Stir to mix, getting all the sugar and cream mixed evenly.
4. Remove from the heat, add the pinch of salt and pour your caramel into a clean glass jar. Try to wait for it to cool before licking your utensils!
The Bacon-Apple Rosettes:
Ingredients
1 lb bacon strips, fairly thick cut and with fat stripped away
2 lb apples with dark red skin, such as red delicious
1 C sugar
1 tbsp diced fresh ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 C apple juice
2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
1. Gently pan-fry your bacon strips until done but not crispy. Drain the cooked bacon on paper towels until cool enough to handle.
2. Slice apples with peel on into disks approximately 3/8 inch thick. A mandolin can come in handy here to make even pieces so they'll cook at the same rate.
3. Cover a single layer of sliced apples in the bottom of a wide pan with the apple juice and lemon juice. Toss in the ginger and cinnamon and sugar. Warm the apples gently to a simmer and turn the apple slices over. When the apple slices feel flexible enough to roll without snapping, take them out and let them drain on a paper towel.
4. Add more apple slices in a single layer to cook evenly. Don't overload your pan with apples or you won't have a good eye on when they're done.
5. When your apples have cooled enough to touch, take three slices and overlap them. Cut off the bottoms to create a straight edge and place a strip of bacon over the row of apple slices. Gently pick up one end of the bacon and apple strip and roll them up as tightly as you can. It helps to turn the pieces so the straight edge is on the bottom, touching your work surface. Add more apple slices to your spiral until your get a nice large rosette. Place your rosette on a clean plate to cool further, allowing the cooling to help firm up your flower.
The Assembly:
Into your cooled pie shell, pour some caramel. About a centimeter thick. Place your rosettes in the pie shell, making sure they touch. Let them lean into each other like rugby players in a scrum. Fill in the nooks and crannies between rosettes with extra small rosettes made with individual apple slices. Let your pie chill in the fridge; it helps your rosettes to be more firmly held in your pie.
Then warm some extra caramel and drizzle it on top — it doesn’t hurt, wink! Then stand back and prepare for the standing ovation. Have a crisp glass of viognier or prosecco to cut the caramel with … Delicious!
