Dr. Ron Bronitsky grew up in Albuquerque helping his mother bake. Some 30 years ago, he entered a blueberry pie in the New Mexico State Fair’s baking competition and was stunned and delighted when he won a blue ribbon. That hooked him on baking competitions. He was a contestant on the Netflix series, Blue Ribbon Baking Championship. Ron says his goal was to avoid being the first person eliminated. He accomplished that, and then some.
Autumn Harvest Pie Recipe
The retired pulmonary critical care specialist mentions that his science background has played a role in his continual experimentation with baking formulas and ingredients and their proportions. He created his “autumn harvest” pie just for this event. It was popular for its creative and delicious mix of nuts, apples, carrots, maple syrup, and more, all artfully blended in a flaky crust. Ron is also the reigning grand champion, three years running, of the fall Pie Town Pie Festival.
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Dr. Ron Bronitsky’s Autumn Harvest Pie
- Yield: Makes a 9-inch pie 1x
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust (makes two; save one for next time):
- 2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut in small cubes
- ½ cup Crisco vegetable shortening, chilled
- ¼ cup ice water
- ¼ cup ice cold plain vodka
For the Pie Filling:
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, divided use
- ½ cup toasted pecan pieces
- ½ cup toasted walnut pieces
- ½ cup toasted slivered almonds
- ¾ cup cored and peeled apple, such as Jonagold, Pink Lady, or Granny Smith, cut in medium dice
- 1/2 cup peeled and shredded carrots
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup maple syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
For the Pie Crust:
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a food processor. Add butter and pulse 6-8 times, to cut the mixture into pea-size pieces. Add the Crisco and pulse anther 6-8 times, to combine.
- Dump the mixture into a mixing bowl. Add water and vodka slowly, mixing with a fork until evenly combined. Use a spatula to press the dough together. Form the dough into 2 fat disks and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Roll out one disk of dough on a floured surface into a round an inch or so larger than a 9-inch pie plate.
- Arrange one round of dough in the pie plate, avoiding stretching it.
- Blind bake the chilled crust. Line the crust with foil all the way up the sides and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
- Bake for 20 minutes with the weights. Remove foil and weights and bake an additional 3-5 minutes, until lightly golden.
- Set aside and let cool completely while you prepare the filling.
For the Pie Filling:
- Mix the raisins with bourbon in a small bowl and let sit a few minutes.
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in nuts, apples, carrots, and raisins with any remaining bourbon. Cook several minutes until apple and carrots are tender, stirring frequently. Set mixture aside to cool.
- In the top pan of a double boiler over simmering water, melt the remaining 4 tbsp butter.
- Add the brown sugar and salt, and stir until completely mixed, then stir in the maple syrup, and remove from the heat.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, flour, and spices. Place the pan again over the double boiler’s simmering water. Whisking the mixture, heat it to 130 degrees, measured on a candy thermometer. Remove again from the heat and stir in the mixture of nuts, fruit, and carrots.
- Pour into the prebaked pie crust. Bake in a preheated 275 degree oven 60-75 minutes, until filling barely jiggles when moved.
- Allow to cool completely, and serve.
Recipe by Dr. Ron Bronitsky
Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Photography by Tira Howard
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