Missy Auge is employed in the hospitality trade but, not as a baker or food professional. She’s currently the wine director working at Bishops’ Lodge Resort in Tesuque. Credit a father who loved apple pie, and a sister whose Rio Rancho fruit trees are always prolific, for Missy’s version of the all-American favorite. Growing up in Belen, she also had two grandmothers who baked, one of whom was a local home economics instructor.
Apple Pie Recipe
Missy moved to New York after college but found her way back to New Mexico in her mid-20s. She had a several-year run as owner of modern Italian eatery, Tanti Luce, in downtown Santa Fe. Her chef at the time was very “into” wine, which became her passion as well. In her professional life today, she’s certified through the Court of Masters as Wine Director/Sommelier for Bishop’s Lodge. Tasters praised her pie’s balance of sweet and tart fruit flavors, along with its flaky crust. Her apple pie was described as a “classic autumn comfort — simple, elegant, rustic.”
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Missy Auge’s Dad’s Favorite Apple Pie
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
- 2½ cups Blue Bird all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into little cubes
- 1/4 cup vodka, ice cold
- 2–4 tbsp ice water
For the Pie Filling:
- 10–12 apples of at least 2 kinds (I used 5 Granny Smith, 3 Gala, and 3 Honey Crisp), peeled and sliced (leave the peel on a couple of the apples of contrasting colors, if you like)
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp Chimayó red chile powder
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- 7 dashes angostura bitters (an old bartender trick!)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch, made into a slurry with 1 tbsp water
- 4–5 pats unsalted butter
- Egg wash, made with 1 egg and 1 tbsp whipping cream
- Turbinado or other coarse sugar and ground cinnamon
- Vanilla ice cream, optional
Instructions
For the Pie Crust:
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate briefly.
- Combine in a food processor the dry ingredients and butter cubes. Pulse a few times, just until crumbly. Through the feed tube, add vodka and ice water slowly, until the dough barely comes together.
- Dump dough onto a floured work surface. Form dough into two fat disks, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least an hour. The crust tastes better if you refrigerate it overnight.
For the Pie Filling:
- Toss apple slices in large bowl with the lemon juice. Add the sugars, spices, lemon zest, and bitters. Let the mixture macerate in the bowl for about 30 minutes, letting the apples and other ingredients get friendly. Just before you are ready to add the apple filling to the pie crust, stir in the cornstarch slurry. Pile the filling high in the center. Dot with the pats of butter.
- Arrange the top dough round over the filling. Trim it and crimp decoratively. Decorate the top with any other dough you have left. I usually make decorative leaves or stars, easy things I can eyeball with a sharp knife.
- Brush top of pie with the egg wash, cut some holes for vents (I love to use pie birds given to me by my grandma). Sprinkle with coarse sugar and a cinnamon dusting.
- Place your pie on a sheet pan before it goes in the oven, because it will drip butter. Cover the edges with foil.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees. Turn down the oven to 375 about half-way through baking, if it gets too brown too fast. Try though to cook it at the high temperature. The crust likes it. Cook for about an hour, checking every 25 minutes or so.
- Serve hot with vanilla ice cream, dad’s favorite.
Notes
Missy’s Note on Zia Sign: “I made the zia with two different sized wine glasses. I don’t have a cookie cutter at my house, but I have multiple styles of proper glassware. Go figure. I cut rays of the zia with a paring knife, just eyeballing it.”
Recipe by Missy Auge
Story by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Photography by Tira Howard
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