I have been baking apple pies for as long as I can remember. (Thanks Mom!)
In our house, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving or Christmas without one on the table!
Of course, as my nutritional knowledge and dietary needs changed, so did our pie.
Over the years, we took out gluten and dairy, and lowered the sugar. All in all, it is still a fabulous, delicious pie we all enjoy.
The absolute best time to make these pies is right after apple picking at your favorite Apple Farm. This makes the freshest, most flavorful pie.
Save this tip
We bake and freeze our pies to save for the holidays, and they are still fantastic when it’s time to eat.
This is a total time-saver – making the pies when you have more time in the fall, over trying to squeeze in pie baking on top of all the holiday happenings!
In this season of Thankfulness, we would like to share our pie with you!
You will need:
Apples – we like to use about 8-10 apples, depending on the size, and mix up the types. We are always trying different combinations. Use your favorite apples. You want enough to mound up in the pie dish, as they will settle down as they bake. (Harder apples bake well.)
2T organic brown rice flour or sweet rice flour
2t ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
½ medium-size lemon
2T pure maple syrup
Steps to make your apple pie:
Clean, peel, and slice up your apples. You can have a chunky pie, cutting the wedges into small chunks, or thin-slice the apples to make a fancy spiral in your pie. This is your preference – it is fun to create your own style.
For now, however you slice the apples, put them all into a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples and toss to coat.
Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and maple syrup. Stir it up and let it sit.
As it rests, all the juices start to flow, and all the flavors blend. Already, the smell is fabulous!
Let’s make the pie crust:
We have tried so many gluten-free pie crusts, blending multiple different flours, butter, and oils.
This is the one we stick with for our pies and our quiche. It has a blend of flours that provides a good result- just make sure you cook it through completely.
To make the pie crust, you need:
1 cup organic brown rice flour
½ cup sweet rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
½ t guar gum
2 T coconut sugar
One cup of Earth Balance Butter (or 4 Tbsp coconut oil + 4 Tbsp dairy-free butter) – cold
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup cold water
2t apple cider vinegar
In a bowl, combine the flours, sugar, guar gum, and salt. Mix well.
Using cold butter, cut into pieces, then use a hand-held pastry blender or fork, and work the butter into the flour mixture.
Keep working until it comes together, forming little pea-sized balls.
Make a well in the middle and slowly add in the water and the vinegar.
Mix until combined.
Knead the dough a bit with your hands. If the dough is too wet, add a little bit of rice flour. Do not overdo it, as too much flour will dry out the dough.
Once you have a nice ball, place it back in the bowl. Put it in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes, covered.
This makes the dough easier to work with when you are ready to assemble the pie.
If the dough gets too hard, let it sit out a bit before working with it.
Take the dough out of the fridge and cut it in half.
Take one half and place it in the middle of a 9-inch pie plate. Using your fingertips and the heel of your hand, slowly push the dough out to fill the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. You need a little extra to create the ridges around the top of the plate when complete.
Once you have the bottom dough set, pour your apple mixture into the pie plate and gently pat it down to fit it all in, mounding it up in the middle.
If you want to be fancy, lay the apple slices in the pie crust, forming a beautiful spiral.
To make the top crust, take a sheet of Saran wrap or wax paper and shake a little bit of rice flour over the paper.
Place the other half of the dough on top and roll it out – you’ll need to add a little bit of flour so it doesn’t all stick together, but not too much.
Using a knife, cut the dough into long strips. You can be fancy and criss-cross them over each other as you place them on top of the pie, make your own design, or have an open-faced pie as well (no top crust).
If using a top layer, crimp the edges all the way around, pinching the top and bottom layers together. You can add little bits of butter (Earth Balance or coconut oil) across the top of the pie to help give your pie a beautiful color. I also like to lightly sprinkle more cinnamon across the top.
Place in a preheated 425 oven and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake another 45-50 minutes, until the pie crust is nicely browned (but not burnt!) and the apples are bubbling beautifully.
While baking, if you notice the edges of the pie crust browning too quickly, you can cover them with foil (just the edges) to allow the pie to continue to bake.
Let cool completely. Bask in this delicious smell in your house. Enjoy!
Busy Mom Tip:
Make a couple of pie crusts at once and freeze the ones you do not use right away.
On a busy day, take the crust out of the freezer in the morning. For dinner, throw together a quick quiche and bake. While the quiche is cooking, you can put together a salad or another great side, and dinner is set.
Even better, you can also bake the quiche the night before and serve it cold. Leftovers also make a great lunch.
If you try this recipe, please come back and let us know how it worked out for you.
Sending you happiness for a splendid Holiday Season!
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