Plum Apple Pandowdy

Our fresh pie, ready and waiting for Shabbos

I admit that traditional kugels are not my thing. I make potato kugel some of the time, and apple / lukshen kugel even less. What can I say? I'm just not a fan. This pandowdy (which is similar to a pie) really should be a dessert. But on Shabbos, I feel we have an excuse to serve it with the main. Hey, it can't be less healthy than potato kugel! Feel free to improvise and try this with pears, cranberries, peaches, or any other fruit you have handy. I'm sure it'll be delicious!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I clipped out of "Real Simple" long ago. I reduced the sugar a bit and made some other tweaks.

Plum Apple Pandowdy
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 stick cold margarine
1-2 tablespoons ice water
6 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch slices (I used a combination of Rome, granny smith, and McIntosh)
3 plums, cored and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon margarine
1 egg yolk, mixed with a bit of water to make an egg wash
2 teaspoons coarse sugar (I like turbinado)

Preheat the oven to 375*.

To make the crust, cut the margarine into the flour, sugar and salt. It should resemble coarse meal. You can do this by hand, with a mixer, or with a food processor. Add a tablespoon of water and mix. Add more water gradually only if you need it for the dough to come together. It'll still be crumbly but should hold together when squeezed. Put the dough on a large piece of saran wrap, then cover with another piece of saran wrap. Flatten into a disc about 1/4 inch thick and put in the fridge while you prep the fruit.

In a large bowl, combine the fruit, brown sugar, lemon juice, flour and salt. Transfer to a pie plate (here's the one I like). Dot with margarine.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it about 1/8-inch thick. (Leave it in the saran wrap.) Remove the top layer of saran wrap and cut it roughly into scraps about 3-inches square. Lay the squares on the fruit, overlapping slightly. Brush with the egg wash and then sprinkle with the coarse sugar.


Bake for about an hour until the fruit is bubbling and the crust is just beginning to brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

What do you serve instead of kugel on Shabbos? Share your ideas below!