Classic Apple Pie
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Recipe
6 medium apples, peeled and sliced thinly into bite sized pieces (about 5 cups of chopped apples)
Zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tbsp juice
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ginger, dash of cloves (optional)
3 tbsp butter or Nature’s Balance buttery spread, optional
egg wash: 1 egg whisked with 2 tsp cold water
Sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Prepare two pie shells.
Slice the apples and place in a large bowl.
In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples and toss to coat.
Pour apples into the prepared pie crust. Cover with the top pie crust and crimp crust together.
Bake pie at 375°F for about 25 minutes and then lower temperature to 350°F and bake until juices are bubbling and the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. If the edge of the crust browns too much crimp some foil around it to protect it.
Cool for at least 10 minutes and serve with ice cream or whipped cream (or whipped coconut cream!). This pie will keep in the fridge for a few days, but the crust may soften.
Pie Crust Recipe
Makes one 9-inch pie crust, for a top crust just double the recipe
1 ¼ cups (190 g) flour mix (see note)
1 tbsp (14 g) sugar
2 tbsp (16 g) cornstarch
1 tsp psyllium husk powder or xanthan gum
½ tsp salt
8 tbsp (113 g) butter or coconut oil (or Earth Balance buttery spread*)
2 tsp grapeseed oil or preferred oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
about 2-4 tbsp very cold water
Directions:
Slice refrigerated butter into about 8 equal sized pieces and place in a bowl in the fridge while you prepare the flour. (If you use a soft shortening, like Earth Balance, place it in the freezer for about fifteen minutes prior to adding it to the recipe. This is important because Earth Balance tends to be softer than butter and you don’t want the shortening to melt when added to the flour.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour mix, sugar, cornstarch, psyllium, and salt. Pour it into the food processor and add the butter. Pulse a few times until you see pea sized pieces and some large chunks of butter.
Add 2 teaspoons oil and pulse very briefly.
In a small bowl whisk together the egg, vinegar and vanilla. Add mixture to the flour and pulse briefly. You should see pea sized chunks of butter.
Pour the contents back into the large bowl. Add three tablespoons of ice water and mix gently with your hands or a spoon. The dough should still look pretty dry. Add more water if necessary until when you can squeeze the mixture together between your fingers it forms a dough.
Pour dough into a ziplock back, close the bag, and form a disc. Refrigerate for a minimum of twenty minutes.
Flour a surface and pour dough onto it. Then lightly flour work surface**, top of dough and rolling pin. Roll dough out to about a 10-inch diameter circle.
Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan, lining the tin with the dough. Cut off excess dough and refrigerate until ready to use.
*This recipes has been tested using Earth Balance and results in a tender, but fairly crumbly crust. You can also try other kinds of shortening. Coconut oil also works well for pie crusts but it has not been tested with this recipe yet.
**I recommend using a large cutting board or the back of a cookie sheet placed over a damp towel to prevent the cutting board from slipping.
NOTE:
Flour Blend
This is the flour mix/blend I use unless otherwise specified:
4.5 cups (495g) brown rice flour (see note)
1.5 cups (219g) potato starch
3/4 cup (81g) tapioca starch
I recommend Authentic Foods superfine brown rice flour because the grind is smaller than a lot of other brands.
You can find it on Amazon or here:
http://www.authenticfoods.com/products/item/35/Superfine-Brown-Rice-Flour
