Recipe: Serbian Apple Pita (13x9-inch, like deep-dish apple pie, not pita bread)

SERBIAN APPLE PITA

"Serbian Apple Pita is a recipe from a friend whose grandmother had handed it down to her. It is not a Middle Eastern Bread, as we think of pita, but a moist and mildly spiced dessert."

FOR THE PASTRY:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sour cream

FOR THE FILLING:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 cups sliced apples, peeled, thinly sliced, Jonathan or Northern Spy apples, about 4 pounds
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

FOR THE GLAZE (OPTIONAL):
Confectioner's sugar
Apple cider or light cream

TO PREPARE THE PASTRY:
Combine the butter and flour in a bowl; mix using your fingers. Add the 3 tablespoons sugar, egg yolks and sour cream and mix to form a stiff dough. Divide into 2 portions. Roll 1 portion on a lightly floured surface to fit a 13x9-inch baking pan. Roll the remaining pastry to fit the top.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the apples, tossing lightly to coat.

Spoon into the pastry lined pan. Top with the remaining pastry, sealing and fluting the edges. Prick the top with a fork and sprinkle with walnuts.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

Glaze, when cooled, with a mixture of confectioner's sugar and enough apple cider or light cream to make of spreading consistency or sprinkle it with confectioner sugar.

Serves 12
Source: The Dexter Cider Mill Apple Cookbook by Katherine Merkel Koziski, Cheri Smith, Andrew Sacks, and Esther J. Schooler