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I have been hinting about this recipe all week, and I’m pretty excited to finally be sharing this honeycrisp apple pandowdy with you all today.
I’m sure you guys have noticed, but I have definitely switched into full-on fall mode. Don’t hate me, but I am loving creating these cozier recipes and using up all the perfectly sweet September apples.
I feel like this is OKAY. I mean, fall officially starts a week from today, so really I am just preparing you guys with all the delicious recipes…
You can thank me later when you’re baking up this pandowdy, smelling it’s amazingness as it bakes, and then enjoying every last warm, gooey bite. Yes, this apple pie is that good.
For those of you who don’t know what a pandowdy is, let me tell you. To make this real simple and clear, it’s an apple pie, baked in a skillet with cut up pieces of dough overtop of the apples, instead of one whole pie crust. The idea is that the dough sinks into the apples while baking, and in turn becomes very “doughy”. Think of this as an apple pie, but with a lot more of a “caramel” like sauce and a crust that is beyond perfect.
It. Is. Incredible.
The recipe starts off by browning the butter…that right there tells you things are going to be good. From there, you’ll toss in plenty of honeycrisp apples, brown sugar, maple, cinnamon, and all the apple pie essential spices. Then pour in some apple cider and top the pie with a layer of buttery, flakey pastry dough.
It’s traditional to use regular pie dough, but I am currently having a serious moment with puff pasty. It’s pretty much the best thing ever. Also? The only thing I need to do to prep it is remove it from the freezer and thaw it out. Yup, this is totally my kind of pastry making.
The key to a pandowdy though? Cutting the pastry into large pieces instead of leaving it whole. The caramel like sauce slowly seeps up and over some of the pastry, which in turn causes parts of the pastry to caramelize, while other parts remain softer and “doughier”.
The final step of this recipe is to spoon cream over top of the pandowdy just before it’s done baking. This creates more of a custard like pie and makes this recipe better than any other pandowdy. I was inspired to do this after seeing this Instagram photo. Once I saw that custard like cream sitting on top, I was sold.
The directions might sound kind of odd, and you might even be a little confused, but just follow them (even if you wonder if you’re not doing something right) and all will be good.
My only tip? You might need to cover the pandowdy with foil towards the end of baking to prevent the pastry from burning. You want the top of the pandowdy to get pretty dark golden brown, but during the last fifteen minutes I found I needed to cover mine to stop it from turning black all over. Just be sure to keep an eye on it while baking!
 
When the pandowdy comes out of the oven, the sauce will be bubbling up over the crust and its smell is going to make you want to dig right in…and you should!
This pie is meant to be eaten warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream…oh, and be sure to spoon the sauce left in the skillet over top…so good! Honestly, I’m not sure many apple pies can beat this one (okay…except the apple pie I have in the HBH cookbook) and I could not think of a better way to be ending the week than with this recipe.
And speaking of this week!? Man, what an unforgettable week it’s been. I launched my very first cookbook and you all were so incredibly kind. You guys made my year with your support and kind words. I know I’ve said this quite a bit now, but thank you all so very much!
Hoping that this pandowdy can serve as the perfect Friday treat!
I also hope your weekend plans include apple picking…because this pandowdy needs to be on your baking list for Saturday or Sunday. Again it’s really just an ooey, gooey, custardy apple pie…
Honeycrisp Apple Pandowdy
Servings: 8 servings
Calories Per Serving: 559 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 4 1/2 pounds honeycrisp apples, sliced into 1/4 inch wedges
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 egg, beaten
- coarse sugar, for topping
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 2. Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat and cook until lightly browned. Remove from the heat. 3. In a large bowl, combine the apples, brown sugar, flour, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and apple cider. Pour the mixture into the skillet with the butter and toss to evenly coat. 4. Place the pastry over the apples and press down gently to secure, tucking the sides of the pastry under the apples as best you can. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Place the skillet on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into large squares to create the "pandowdy". 4. Reduce the oven temp to 350. Return the skillet to the oven and continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling up through the cracks of the pastry. If needed cover the top with foil to prevent burning. Spoon the heavy cream over top and then return to the oven for another 10 minutes to "set" the cream. The pastry will turn a dark golden brown. 5. Using a spoon, press the pastry down into warm juices, but don’t submerge. Serve warm with ice cream. ENJOY!
Nothing beats this pandowdy, especially on a late September, cozy weekend in!
Can I prepare this dish in advance and heat it up at my friend’s place? I plan to make it on the same day that we’ll be eating it.
Hi Pamela! Yes, that should work just fine! 🙂 xT
This recipe has lower ratings than I’m used to seeing on HBH so I had to leave a comment! I followed the recipe almost exactly except I used about 3.5 pounds of apples as anything more I couldn’t get into my skillet. It was PERFECT, not too sweet, and everyone loved it at our Thanksgiving meal . Definitely try this, you won’t regret it!
Hey Inge,
Happy Sunday!!🎃 I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed!
Loved the flavor but I had a lot of liquid at the end. I think I imagined it would be thicker. Does this seem normal?
Hey Sarah,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! If you refer to the photos above, you can see that there is a decent amount of liquid due to the juices from the apples. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Do you peel the apples?
Hey there,
No, I do not peel the apples. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
My son requested apple pie for his birthday and this pandowdy looked interesting so I gave it a try. So happy I did! I did not know you could bake with honeycrisp apples and they are the perfect blend of sweet and tart. I didn’t having any problems with the crust burning. I actually left it in about 5 extra minutes to get a nice brown on. I altered the recipe for 6 people and there were no leftovers!
Hey! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for trying it out and Happy Halloween! xTieghan
Question for you…I am made the Apple pan rowdy as well as the apple maple cinnamon rolls and both were very liquidy. There was so much liquid in both that I got rid of some. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks for all you do! Your recipes are amazing!
Looks delicious, but is it really necessary to pour the cream over the top? Doesn’t it also make the crust somewhat soggy?
Hey Liza,
You could skip that part, it does not make anything soggy, just soft:) I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
YOU MUST MAKE THIS!!! I know what you’re doing…you’re looking at these comments wondering if it could POSSIBLY taste as good as it looks…well, I’m here to tell you that it DEFINITELY DOES!!! It’s really amazing and don’t forget the ice cream. Just delicious, warm, apple, ice creamy deliciousness. Tha’ts all there is to it!
I am so happy this recipe turned out so amazing for you! Thank you so much Gabe! xTieghan
This was really good- I wanted to share some with neighbors and my husband wouldn’t let me. I didn’t have any apple cider so I just did 1/4 cup of water. It was the right amount of juicy without being overly juicy like a lot of the reviewers mentioned.
Haha that is too great! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you, KT! Thank you! xTieghan
Is this something you can make a day ahead? Can you keep it in the cast iron pan and just warm it up before serving? Thanks!
HI! Yes, you can make ahead and keep in the pan, then warm. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Hello!
Great to know you can make this a day ahead – should it be refrigerated and then heated or do you recommend simply keeping it on the counter at room temp overnight and then re heated?
just bought both your books- you have such a talent and you’re inspiring me to cook!
I know the cast iron pan is likely preferred for this recipe but will a deep pie pan work as well or is it important to get that cooked in a cast iron rustic yumminess? asking for a friend.