Not Your Grandma's Apple Pie (But She'd Approve)

Recipe

Nov 16

This pie is the apple of my eye this year.

I love apple pie but…sometimes it tastes a little boring to me. The apples are a little too sour, or the crust is too dry and dull. So I wanted to create a version that was packed with flavor, texture and of course–crumble.

I also have a bone to pick with the fellow who decided apples would be cut into slices for pies…I mean, why?! I prefer to chop my apples into tiny pieces–so that they all get fully coated in as much of the gooey cinnamon butter mixture as possible! Because honestly, that is my favorite part of a pie. There needs to be enough gooey love in the middle to not only hold the pie together but to make the crust that perfect flaky rich texture.

So here we go. This is my first apple pie–and I’ll be the first to admit if I’m wrong about chopping the apples instead of slicing them…but I really don’t think I am on this one!

Ingredients
For the dough
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, ice cold)
1/2 cup ice water

For the filling
6-8 green apples
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp butter

For the crumble
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup rolled oats (quick cooking is best)
1/2 cup butter, unsalted (cold is fine, or room temp works)
1 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon (or 2 tsp if you like a punch of flavor!)
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Make the dough. In a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients. Add the butter and pulse gently. While pulsing, add the ice water until the mixture is mostly smooth with pea-sized clumps of butter. Pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently work with your hands until it forms into a solid ball. Break into two and form 2 discs. Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

Make the filling. Peel and chop the apples. I like chopping mine into small pieces! About the size of a pea will be perfect. In a large pan, add the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the apples and lemon juice. Let them cook down for about 5 minutes. Add the sugars, salt, spices and arrowroot powder. Gently stir until combined, then add the vanilla and butter. Let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the apples are tender (not turning to mush!) and are coated by the cinnamon, sugar and butter.

Make the crumble. In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients. Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together until a rough crumble forms. There will be clumps–that’s the point!

Once the dough has chilled for at least 2 hours (or ideally overnight)–roll it out on a flat, lightly floured surface. You’re going to want a perfect circle, about 10 inches in diameter. Transfer to a pie dish and gently press, removing any excess dough from the sides.

Fill the dough-lined pie dish with the filling. Top with the crumble mixture, patting it gently into the filling so that it’s evenly coated.

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Then turn down to 375 and bake for another 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and your whole home starts smelling like a delicious apple pie.

Let the pie cool for as long as you can, its hard–I know!

Serve topped with powdered sugar or of course vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!