Candied Ginger Is The Powerful Ingredient Swap For Bold Apple Pie

When it comes to tasty desserts for warming up on a cold night, a steaming hot plate of apple pie is always a great choice. Not only is it just delicious, but it's full of cozy spices such as cinnamon, allspice, and ginger, which add to the warm feel of the dish.

But, rather than sticking with these standard spices, why not mix things up a little bit and crank up the volume by swapping ground ginger, a staple in many variations of this dessert recipe, for a candied variety instead? Candied ginger, sometimes called crystalized ginger, is fresh ginger that's been cut into chunks or slices, cooked, and then doused and crystallized in sugar. It tends to be a bit stronger and has more of a kick to it than ground ginger, which can give your dessert a bold flavor.

So, how do you use this variation of ginger in your apple pie? Knowing the answer is the key to trying this ingredient swap for yourself. And, there are a few additions to add to your candied ginger apple pie to really complement the flavor.

The first step to making this ingredient swap is to select your candied ginger. Both a store-bought or a homemade variety work here. You can use anywhere from 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup, depending on how spicy you want your pie to be. Just remember, candied ginger has more of a bite than ground ginger. Feel free to experiment with the quantity until you get it just how you like it. 

Once you've chosen which you'll use, note that it's in fairly large chunks. If you add it to your pie like this, you won't be able to distribute the flavor as evenly. Plus, you'll wind up with random large bits in your pie. To avoid this, you'll need to chop it into small pieces. You can also pop it in the food processor to help get it evenly cut. 

Whichever method you use, you'll then want to mix it with your other pie spices and toss it with the apples. This will help distribute the ginger throughout your pie in an equal manner, ensuring you don't get some bites that are far spicier than others. Then, finish making the dessert as you usually would, adding the apple filling to your favorite pie crust recipe and baking the treat.

If you make this recipe, there are a couple of other additions that you can toss in to boost the flavor even more and to pair with this ingredient swap. For one thing, you can try ramping up the taste of the ginger by throwing in a bit of a freshly grated variety of it as well. It's not as sweet as its candied counterpart, but has that extra kick, which can really help turn up the warm, spicy feel of your pie. A different choice could be to play up some of the other pie spices in your dessert. For instance, you could sprinkle your pie crust with a bit of cinnamon sugar.

Another complementary ingredient to add to your pie is a dash of booze. Whiskey has a strong, sharp taste that can work well with the strong flavor of the candied ginger. Or, use a brandy, which has sweet and fruity notes that pair perfectly with the apples in your dessert. Another choice could be to add some spiced rum to play up the buttery notes of the crust and make the candied ginger sing. Whether you choose one of these add-ins or not, try throwing crystallized ginger into your next apple pie for an even bolder-tasting dessert!