It's been a while since I've used my cookbook of Pillsbury Bake-Off recipes from 1949-1958. I want to try all of the Grand Prize winning recipes at some point; so far I've made the 1955 and 1957 winners. Since apple season has arrived, I decided to try the 1958 winning recipe: "Spicy Apple Twists." They're like miniature apple dumplings -- slices of apple wrapped in pastry and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before being baked.
To make the pastry, you cut shortening into flour and salt until the mixture is the size of small peas; add in cold water; and stir until the dough is moist enough to hold together. You roll out the dough into a square; spread on soft butter; fold opposite sides of the square into the center; roll out the dough again into a rectangle; and cut it into sixteen 10-inch by 1-inch strips. My dough was soft and difficult to handle so I chilled it for a bit before assembling the twists. After a brief chill, I wrapped each strip of dough around a slice of peeled and cored Granny Smith apple. The pastries in the full-page color photo in the cookbook have dough strips that were cut with a fluted pastry wheel, so that's what I did as well.
The recipe directions get a little strange from here. You place all of the wrapped apple slices in a 13-inch by 9-inch pan, brush them with a ton of melted butter, and sprinkle on a lot of cinnamon sugar. Then you pour 3/4 cup of water into the pan and bake the twists at very high temperature (450 degrees) for 20-30 minutes.
I didn't know what would happen with the water in the bottom of the pan. There was a lot of loose cinnamon sugar in the pan that combined with the water to form a sort of thin sauce during baking -- but I just pulled the baked twists out of the sauce and threw out all of the extra liquid. I was worried that the bottoms of the twists would be soggy, but they weren't -- although they were softer than pastry on top. I'm guessing that the water helps insulate the bottom of the twists to prevent them from burning.
These twists were wonderful. Each one was just a few bites, but what flavorful and satisfying bites they were! There's nothing not to like about apples with cinnamon and buttery pastry. This recipe is a winner in my book.
Recipe: "Spicy Apple Twists" by Mrs. Don DeVault of Delaware, Ohio, Grand Prize Winner of the 1958 Pillsbury Bake-Off. Recipe available in Pillsbury's Best 1000 Recipes: Best of the Bake-Off Collection and a slightly adapted version is available here at the Pillsbury website.
Previous Pillsbury Bake-Off Recipe Posts:
To make the pastry, you cut shortening into flour and salt until the mixture is the size of small peas; add in cold water; and stir until the dough is moist enough to hold together. You roll out the dough into a square; spread on soft butter; fold opposite sides of the square into the center; roll out the dough again into a rectangle; and cut it into sixteen 10-inch by 1-inch strips. My dough was soft and difficult to handle so I chilled it for a bit before assembling the twists. After a brief chill, I wrapped each strip of dough around a slice of peeled and cored Granny Smith apple. The pastries in the full-page color photo in the cookbook have dough strips that were cut with a fluted pastry wheel, so that's what I did as well.
The recipe directions get a little strange from here. You place all of the wrapped apple slices in a 13-inch by 9-inch pan, brush them with a ton of melted butter, and sprinkle on a lot of cinnamon sugar. Then you pour 3/4 cup of water into the pan and bake the twists at very high temperature (450 degrees) for 20-30 minutes.
These twists were wonderful. Each one was just a few bites, but what flavorful and satisfying bites they were! There's nothing not to like about apples with cinnamon and buttery pastry. This recipe is a winner in my book.
Recipe: "Spicy Apple Twists" by Mrs. Don DeVault of Delaware, Ohio, Grand Prize Winner of the 1958 Pillsbury Bake-Off. Recipe available in Pillsbury's Best 1000 Recipes: Best of the Bake-Off Collection and a slightly adapted version is available here at the Pillsbury website.
Previous Pillsbury Bake-Off Recipe Posts:
- "Pastry with a Sweet Twist: Starlight Sugar Crisps," November 16, 2014.
- "Wunnerful, Wunnerful!: Accordion Treats," November 29, 2013.
- "I Miss the Crisp: Cinnamon Nut Crisps," November 21, 2013.
- "Eight is Too Much: Empire Torte," November 16, 2013.
- "You Can Ring My Bell: Ring-A-Lings," November 3, 2013.
- "Walk, Don't Run: Gold Rush Cake," October 31, 2013.
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