As promised, I'm going to share a treasured family recipe with y'all (yes, I have permission). My Oma brought this recipe with her from Germany. I have done countless Google searches to see if I could find out its origin, but I have yet to find anything. I'm going to assume it's either a recipe exclusive to the region Oma is from (near Munich), or a recipe that Oma or one of her ancestors created and named themselves.
It is somewhat similar to strudel, but not really. It's much simpler to make, and I would argue more delicious, too. This is one of the easiest desserts you will ever make. And probably the most addicting--just a fair warning.
This is a nice dessert to take to a party because it's good hot or cold, but it won't last very long. Or at least at our family reunions it's gone within 30 minutes. It's also great at breakfast!
It's a nice recipe to make with a friend or family member. One person takes care of the dough, while the other slices the apples.
I'm not going to put a serving size here, because honestly, it just depends on how hungry you are. Mom and I made three pans today at around noon, and we've already eaten one and half of another between us, my sister, her four kids, and my dad. I fully expect the rest will be eaten by dinnertime.
My family named our first miniature schnauzer after this recipe (schnauzers are a German dog breed). When I told my niece today that we were making dachi for dessert, she looked horrified. In hindsight, maybe it was weird that we named her Dachi, but the name really does suit her somehow.
Here's the recipe!
Makes 3 pans for sharing
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup Crisco
3/4-1 cup ice water
6 apples, peeled and sliced thin
Cinnamon
Sugar
1-1 and 1/2 sticks of butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Beat in the Crisco with a pastry blender. Slowly add ice water and combine into a dough. Do not add more than needed, or it will stick to the rolling pin. Roll out the dough onto a flour-covered surface, and use a rolling pin to get the dough very thin. You should cut the dough in half to make this easier, and work with one piece at a time. When the dough is thin enough that it is almost translucent, carefully transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet. Put a little flour on your hands and use them to mold the dough to the sides of the baking sheet. If there is any excess dough, cut it off from the sides and add it to the rest of the dough. Continue this process until you are out of dough. It should cover at least two full size, standard baking sheets and another slightly smaller pan.
Layer the sliced apples in four columns lengthwise (see photo). Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar generously over the apples. Finally, drizzle the melted butter on top. Place the first pan it the oven and bake for between 18-20 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is golden brown. Repeat with the other pans.
Note:
The secret to this recipe is getting the dough and apple slices as thin as possible. You will inevitably have some apple slices that are thicker than others, so try to alternate thick and thin ones while you layer to keep the pastry from getting too thick.
Enjoy!
