Dairy, Egg & Nut-Free Apple Pie? Oh MY!
Oh, yeah... this one is good.
Desserts are always tricky, especially at Thanksgiving. Many families I know have an entire table dedicated to desserts at family gatherings during this time of year, and most kids with food allergies aren't going near it! I've always made it my mission to make one special, safe dessert that I know my boys will love for Thanksgiving dinner - and for years now, it's been this: apple pie.
But, here's the fun part. This year I decided to boycott the store-bought pie crust (finding an allergy-safe one is hard, y'all), and make my own. I was intimidated at first, but let me tell you... it's so much easier than you think! And, the taste of a homemade, flaky pie crust is 100% worth any bit of extra effort it takes to pull it off. While this particular crust is not gluten-free, I'm confident that with the right gluten-free flour blend, my g-free friends will find just as much success.
Dairy, Egg & Nut-Free Apple Pie
Pie Crust (makes two, 9-inch pie crusts)
2-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (or use your favorite gluten-free blend if making g-free)
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup of cold dairy-free butter (I use Earth Balance, soy-free)
Combine flour and salt. Divide butter into pieces, then cut it into flour (using two knives or a pastry blender). Mixture should become crumbly, with butter resembling little peas. (See picture!)
Slowly add 7-8 tablespoons of ice water to flour/butter mixture and toss with a fork until dough holds together. Kneed dough into one big ball, then separate into two separate balls and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour set the dough.
Move on to making pie filling.
Pie Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or your favorite gluten-free flour blend, if making g-free)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
6-7 Granny Smith apples (peeled and thinly sliced)
juice from 1/2-1 lemon
2 tablespoons dairy-free butter
1 Egg Replacer egg (1-1/2 tsp. of Egg Replacer powder, whisked with 2 tbsp. warm water, until frothy)
approximately 1 tablespoon additional sugar for sprinkling
Set oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
Peel apples and cut into very thin slices. Toss apple slices in lemon juice. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly on top of apples and toss well, ensuring that apples are evenly coated with mixture.
Take one of the wrapped pie crust halves out of the refrigerator and roll dough out on parchment paper that is coated with flour (to avoid sticking). Once dough is evenly rolled out in large circle, line the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan with dough. Trim the edges and fill the pie pan and crust with apple mixture. Take 2 tablespoons of butter and dot pie mixture evenly with it.
Take remaining ball of pie crust, roll out and gently place over pie filling. Trim edges of pie crust along the pie pan and flute with thumb around the edges. Cut slices in the middle of pie dough.
Whisk up one egg replacer egg (1-1/2 tsp. egg replacer powder with 2 tbsp. of warm water) until frothy and foamy. Brush a light coating of egg replacer mixture over entire pie crust. Sprinkle with sugar.
Cover edges of pie crust with tin foil to avoid burning and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. Remove foil from edges of pie, and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Keep checking pie in 5 minute increments of time toward the end of baking to ensure that it's baking evenly. Pie crust will be golden brown and filling will be bubbly when done.
Cool pie on a cooling rack when done baking and enjoy topped with dairy-free ice cream or whipped topping!
And, have a HAPPY Thanksgiving!
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home. See their original apple pie recipe here!
