The Millennium Falcon Makes a Perfect Apple Pie

Why would I make an apple pie that looks like the Millennium Falcon?

Why not?

A friend sent me a link last week describing an apple “pie-rate” ship. It was adorable, and it’s fun to see pie in different shapes; normally that only happens with cake. Cake gets all the glory – special molds, an Eddie Izzard bit – it’s not fair. I looked over the tutorial and I realized that with a little modification a 9” foil pie pan could become the coolest spaceship of all time (that’s not up for discussion).  It just takes a little time.

In case you want to make your very own Millennium Falcon pie, or cake if you must, here’s how:
Supplies
Reference pics, like these blueprints, or a toy

2 9” foil cake/pie pans (mine came in a pack of three from the supermarket)
Pen
Scissors
Aluminum foil
Stapler (wash it and the staples in really hot water first)
Ruler
Jelly rolly pan (cookie sheet with walls)

Step 1 - Reference

Step 1: Get a reference pic or toy. I fortunately have a magnet that is made from an original (I think) Millennium Falcon mold. Perfect.

Step 2 - Tracing the forward Millennium Falcon shape

Step 2: Rinse off two pie pans. On one pie pan, use the end of the pen (not the business end) to trace the shape of the front of the Falcon. It can be rough. Since the Falcon shape is so easily identifiable it’s okay if it’s not precise. When you are happy with the shape, carefully cut along your lines with sharp scissors. After it is cut, check the edges to make sure there aren’t any shards of aluminum. No one wants to eat those

Step 3 - Line up the forward section

Step 3: Line up the portion that you just cut with the whole pie pan. On the whole pie pan, use the end of the pen to trace where you will cut it off to attach the front of the Falcon. Carefully cut it with scissors and check the edges for bits of aluminum. [OR you can attach the front part without cutting the whole pie pan. It just means you’ll have some extra crust in the middle of your pie].

Step 4 - Attaching the forward section to the body

Step 4: Now for the fun of attaching everything together. I used a combination of aluminum foil and staples. Make sure you’ve rinsed the stapler and staple with hot water. You can even sterilize the staples with a lighter too (take them out of the stapler first please!). Line up the sides of the front of the Falcon with the back and use one staple on each side to attach the walls of the pan together.

Step 5 - Building walls on the forward section

Step 5: Where we cut the front for the missile tubes (between the forward mandibles), we need to build walls so that pie filling doesn’t spill out. Use pieces from the pie pan you’ve already cut up. You’ll cut three pieces to exactly fit the bend; you can use a ruler if you want to be precise. Once the pieces are cut, attach them one at a time. I attached mine to the forward area with staples and aluminum foil. Use the aluminum foil like clay.

Step 6

Step 6: Now that the pan is secure, check again for loose aluminum pieces. To prevent leaking (like I didn’t do), line the whole pan with one piece of aluminum foil and fold the extra over the top edge of the pan. Put your finished Millennium Falcon pan on a jelly roll sheet. Pause to make dough and pie filling (see recipe below). When the dough is ready, roll it out and carefully fit into the pan. Trim the extra dough off around the edges of the pan with a knife or pastry cutter. Fill it evenly with your apple mixture. Roll out the remaining half off your dough and put it on top and trim the edges.

Step 7 - Decorated ship! Yes, I know the cockpit is missing.

Step 7: Decorating a pie isn’t quite like decorating a cake, but you can still embellish a little. I took the leftover pieces from trimming the pie and rolled them out to about ¼” thick. I used various size glasses and cookie cutters to make circles and using my reference pic, I kind of put them where they should go. I lightly scored the lines from the top of the Falcon onto my pie, but they didn’t really show after it was baked. You can be as detailed as you want. I’m kind of lazy, and I’d reached my patience limit, so I put it in the oven. Leave the pan on the jelly roll when you bake it just in case juice leaks out the bottom.

Serve with an ice cream asteroid field!

Apple Pie Recipe
Crust
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, mixing lightly with fork until flour mixture is evenly moistened and clings together when pressed into a ball. Divide dough in half; shape each half into ½” thick round. Wrap each dough round in plastic wrap; refrigerate 15 minutes.

Filling
6 cups tart apples, thinly sliced (I used 4 large Granny Smith apples)
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Toss apples with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice in large bowl; set aside. Place 1 dough round between two large sheets of plastic wrap; roll out dough with rolling pin to flatten slightly, working from center of dough to the edge. Turn over; continue rolling until dough round is about 2 inches larger than diameter of your pie pan.

Pull off top piece of plastic wrap; invert dough into pie plate. Peel off remaining piece of plastic wrap; press dough evenly onto bottom and up side of pie plate, being careful not to stretch the dough. Trim any dough hanging over edge of pie plate with sharp knife or pastry cutter; reserve trimmings.

Fill with apple mixture. Roll out remaining dough as directed; place over filling. Trim top crust about ½” beyond edge of pie plate. Fold edge of top crust under edge of bottom crust; pinch edges together to form a ridge. Cut several slits near center of pie to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35-45 minutes or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly.