Easy Apple Pandowdy | Gimme Some Oven

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This Easy Apple Pandowdy recipe is made with the yummiest baked apple pie filling topped with toasted puff pastry bites and a light dusting of powdered sugar.  All of the great flavors of apple pie…without all of the work required to make a pie!

To all of my fellow apple pie lovers out there…have you ever tried making apple pandowdy? ♡

I first heard about this old-fashioned dish, which is said to have originated in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, years ago from Martha Stewart.  And I was immediately intrigued because it was basically everything I love about apple pie…without all of the work of having to assemble a pie!

Details about the exact heritage of this dish seem to be a little fuzzy.  But from everything I’ve read, apple pandowdy is traditionally a dessert made in a baking dish (or cast-iron skillet) with a cinnamon apple filling sprinkled with a layer of overlapping bite-sized pieces of pie dough.  Together, everything bakes up in the oven to toasty, bubbly, sweet perfection.  Then once the dish is pulled out from the oven, you take a spoon and briefly press the topping down gently into the filling so that it can soak up some of those hot apple juices, and finally, serve the pandowdy nice and warm with a generous scoop of cold vanilla ice cream.

It’s all exactly as delicious as you would imagine.  And so much quicker and easier to make than apple pie!  So since I figure we could all use some easy shortcuts for our lower-key holiday season this year, this seemed like the perfect time to bring this old-fashioned dish back to the future.

We have loved making this dish with homemade (or store-bought) pie crust in our house over the years.  But I actually recently saw a fun version from Bon Appetit that used fluffy puff pastry as an apple pandowdy topping, and have to say that we’ve loved it even more than the original!  Granted, I’ve made a few tweaks to their recipe to make it a bit quicker and easier.  And I’ve also been on a big vanilla chai kick this winter, so I’ve added a few extra chai-inspired spices to the apple filling to make it extra-special too.

So today, I wanted to pop in before Thanksgiving and share the apple pandowdy recipe that we’ve been loving lately.  If you love apple pie as much as I do, I think you’re going to love it!

Apple Pandowdy Ingredients:

Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this apple pandowdy:

• Store-bought puff pastry: One package of store-bought frozen puff pastry, which we will let thaw on the countertop while the apple filling is prepared so that it becomes a bit more soft and pliable.  (That said, if you live in a country outside of the USA where puff pastry is sold refrigerated instead of frozen, no need to let the package thaw — you can just unfold and cut it immediately after removing it from the fridge.)
• Apples: I used Granny Smith apples, whose tart flavor and firm texture I love in apple pie filling.  But feel free to use any type of apples that you prefer — peeled or unpeeled, cut into either 1/2-inch-thick slices or chunks.
• Lemon: We will toss both the zest and juice of 1 lemon with the apple, which will add a hint of tartness to the filling and help prevent the apples from browning.
• Brown sugar: Or you are welcome to use any other type of sugar or sweetener that you prefer.
• Melted butter: Half of which we will mix into the apple pie filling, and half of which we will brush over the puff pastry.
• Flour: To thicken the apple filling a bit.
• Warming spices: I used a chai-inspired blend of warming spices for the apple filling, including ground cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, nutmeg (plus some fine sea salt).  But if you don’t have all of these spices on hand, you can keep things simple with just cinnamon and cardamom.  Or you could also use pre-made apple pie spice (or pumpkin pie spice) for the apple filling instead, if you prefer.
• Vanilla extract: To compliment all of those delicious warming spices in the apple pie filling.
• Powdered sugar: To dust on top of the pandowdy before serving.

How To Make Apple Pandowdy:

Full recipe instructions are included below, but here is a brief overview of the process for how to make apple pandowdy:

1. Thaw the puff pastry. We want the puff pastry to be cool but not frozen for this recipe.  So in order for it to thaw, I recommend setting the frozen puff pastry package on the countertop for about 20 minutes or so, while you prepare the apple filling, then you can unfold and cut it into bite-sized pieces using either a pizza cutter (easiest method!) or a knife.
2. Prepare the apples. It’s up to you whether or not you would like to peel the apples!  I went the traditional apple pie route and peeled and cut mine into 1/2-inch slices.  But you could leave yours peeled and/or cut them into smaller chunks instead, if you prefer.  We’ll also toss them with the zest and juice of a lemon, to keep them from browning.
3. Combine the filling. Once your apples are ready to go, gently toss them with the brown sugar, half of the melted butter, flour, cinnamon, vanilla extract, cardamom, ginger, sea salt and cloves until combined.  Then spread the mixture out in an even layer (you don’t want it to be too uneven, otherwise the topping may burn in spots) in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
4. Prepare the puff pastry topping. Next, we’ll sprinkle the puff pastry squares in an overlapping layer atop the apples, and brush them with the remaining melted butter so that they will toast up nice and golden.  (Again, I recommend pressing down any puff pastry corners that happen to be poking up, otherwise they may burn.)
5. Bake. Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until the puff pastry is lightly golden on top.  (Keep an eye on it though, and if it starts to look too dark, you can gently lay a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the puff pastry to prevent it from toasting further.)  Then lower the oven heat to 350°F and bake for 30 more minutes until the filling is bubbly.
6. Press down the topping. Finally, use a spoon to gently press the puff pastry topping down into the bubbly filling, so that it can soak up some of those delicious juices.  (Don’t submerge the puff pastry completely — you just want to give it a brief soak.)
7. Serve warm. Then sprinkle with a dusting of powdered sugar, serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!!

Possible Variations:

Here are a few more ways that you could potentially customize this apple pandowdy recipe…

• Use different fruits: This recipe would also work deliciously with pears instead of apples.  Or you are welcome to add in some fresh cranberries to go with the apples (or pears) too.
• Use different spices: As mentioned above, I really love tossing the apple filling with a generous amount of chai-inspired warming spices.  But feel free to keep things simple with just cinnamon and ginger, if you prefer, or add in any other warming spices that you love.  Pumpkin pie spice would be another delicious option for the apple filling too.
• Add nuts: Feel free to add in a handful of walnuts, pecans, or almonds to the apple filling if you would like too.  (I don’t recommend sprinkling them on top with the puff pastry as they could burn under that high heat.)
• Add a caramel drizzle: If you would really like to indulge, this apple pandowdy would be delicious drizzled with some warm caramel sauce.  (I’m especially partial to my bourbon caramel sauce.)

More Favorite Apple Recipes:

Looking for more delicious apple recipes to try?  Here are a few of my faves…

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