Apple-Cranberry-Currant Pie with French Topping

Yield > 10
Ingredients :
1/4 cup Brandy
1/4 cup Currants
1 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen
cranberries
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar - (about)
6 tbl unbleached or regular allpurpose
flour plus
1 cup unbleached or regular allpurpose
flour
1 tbl grated orange peel
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
6 cup sliced peeled Granny Smith
apples - (abt 2 1/4 lbs)
Pie Pastry (see recipe)
(10" pastry for a singlecrust
pie)
2/3 cup brown sugar - (firmly
packed)
1/2 cup butter or margarine - (1/4
Method :
• In a small bowl, combine brandy and currants. Cover and
let stand until currants are plump, at least 1 hour or up to 1
day.
• Sort cranberries and discard any that are bruised or
decayed. Rinse and drain berries.
• In a large bowl, mix 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 6
tablespoons flour, orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
With a slotted spoon, lift currants from brandy; reserve
brandy. Add currants, cranberries, and apples to sugar mixture
and mix well. Taste and add more granulated sugar if desired.
Pour filling into unbaked 10-inch pie pastry in pan. Drizzle
evenly with reserved brandy.
• In another bowl, mix 1 cup flour and the brown sugar.
Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub with your
fingers until mixture forms small lumps. Sprinkle topping
evenly over filling. Set pie in a foil-lined 12-inch pizza pan or
10- by 15-inch baking pan.
• Bake on the bottom rack of a 375 degree oven until
juices bubble around edges and through topping, 55 to 65
minutes. If pie browns too quickly (check after 30 minutes),
cover loosely with foil.
• Set pie, uncovered, on a rack until cool to touch, 2 1/2 to
3 hours. Cut into wedges.
• This recipe yields 10 to 12 servings.
• Comments: Beth Secrest once baked four to eight pies a
day at the Northern Lights Saloon on the border of Glacier
National Park. Now she puts her baking expertise to use at
home, where she created this dressed-up apple pie. If making
it up to 1 day ahead, cover and chill. To warm the cold pie,
bake uncovered in a 350 degrees oven 10 to 15 minutes.