Holiday (Or Any Day) Apple-Pecan Upside-Down Pie

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

So after I made this dessert, the family asked me to keep it a secret.  After much debate, however, I thought that more people should be able to enjoy this awesome recipe and decided to post it here.  I only have seven followers, so how bad could it be to share it with y'all?!  You can thank me after your first bite.  Upon searching through my pile of recipes I've stored up, I found one for Apple Upside-Down Pie.  Mmmm.  The picture above is this sweet/tart delicacy before being flipped over (I personally think it's prettier this way!)

My cousin and I baked this awesome pie the night before, and doubled the amount of pecans in the original recipe then compensated for the increase with more butter and brown sugar (YUM).  There is a reason this is regarded as a "holiday" pie in the title!

Once it's done, it is supposed to be flipped over and taken out of the pie pan and placed onto a serving plate.  I was busy with other things and the crust ended up sticking a bit to the pie pan upon cooling, so I would suggest either flipping once cooled for 15 minutes or adding a bit of grease under the upper pie crust.  If you forget, like I did, it's kind of a messy pie anyway and can be easily covered up.

It was a smash hit!  So much so that I didn't even take a picture of the inside of the pie.  Oops.  Like I said before, this isn't the "prettiest" of pies, but it definitely makes up for its appearance in flavor!  The mixture of Granny Smith and Jonagold apples makes for a sweet/tart combination and a wonderful texture.  These are two of only a few apples I know of that hold their texture when baked.  Serve it warm or cold, and enjoy!

Holiday Apple-Pecan Upside-Down Pie

Printable Version

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, Sept. 2009

Prep Time: 25 min  Bake Time: 1 hr  Cool Time: 1 hr

You Need:

• 2 C (roughly) loosely chopped pecans
• 1 C firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 C butter, melted
• 2 pie crusts ( I use refrigerated, don't hate), unbaked
• 4 med-size Granny Smith apples + 2 large Jonagold apples, peeled and cut into 1-in chunks
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  In a large mixing bowl, stir pecans, brown sugar and butter together.  Spread into bottom of deep-dish pie plate.  Cover with one of the pie crusts and let the excess hang over the sides of the plate.  In the same mixing bowl, stir Granny Smiths, Jonagolds, and remaining ingredients together.

2.  Spoon the apple mixture into the pie plate on top of the first pie crust, making sure it's packed in tightly and makes a mountain at the center.  This will bake down once it's in the oven.  Place second pie crust over apple filling.  Press the two pie crusts together, folding in edges and crimping them (I suck at this!  Good luck!) all nice n' pretty.  Cut a few slits (4 or so) in the top of the pie crust to allow steam to escape.

3.  Place pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or jelly-roll pan (it gets goopy and this keeps it from getting all over your oven!).  Bake at 375 on a lower oven rack for one hour or up to five minutes more, watching the crust.  If it starts to brown too much, loosely place foil over the pie about 50 minutes into it.  You're wanting the juices to be bubbly and thick, and the crust golden brown.  If you really want to be thorough, you can check the apples by poking them with a wooden pick.  If they're tender, it's ready to roll. 

4.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Take a serving plate of your choice and place it on top of the pie.  Carefully invert the two so as to dump (gracefully!) the pie onto the plate.  Remove the pie plate and put any pecans left over on the top of the pie or fill in gaps.  Let it cool completely then serve (or serve cold!).