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 Publisher: Fair Winds Press © 2011 by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman ISBN: 1592334555 |
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Reprinted with permission from the publisher,
Apple Pie with Pecan Crust (p. 237)
Yield: 8 servings
We don't really make a point of eating our pi, er, pie at 3:14 a.m. or p.m., but one thing we always do is add ice cream on top, because life's too short and our appetite for sweet goodness is pretty much endless.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 3/4 cup (74 g) pecan halves
- 1 1/2 cup (180 g) whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/4 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup (56 g) nondairy butter
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) nondairy milk, plus more as needed
For the Filling:
- 4 large Granny Smith or other good-for-baking apples, peeling optional, cored, quartered, and cubed into bite-size pieces
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) nondairy butter
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) nondairy milk or freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided
- 1/2 cup (110 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons (4.6 g) ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) apple cider vinegar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C or gas mark 5). Lightly coat a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate with cooking spray.
To make the crust: Add the pecans, flour, brown sugar, salt, and butter to a food processor. Pulse a few times to grind the pecans and combine. Add the milk, a little at a time, just until the dough sticks together when pinched.
Evenly crumble the dough into the prepared pie plate, and press it down to cover the whole bottom and sides of the plate. Make sure no cracks are left, so that the filling has no chance of seeping through. Alternatively, you can roll out the crust. You can also reserve a generous handful of the crust to crumble on top of the pie before baking.
Cover the crust with a piece of parchment paper and pie weights. Prebake for 24 minutes.
In the meantime, make the filling: Combine the apples, butter, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, vinegar, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium and cook for 14 minutes, stirring often, or until the syrup is rather thick and the apples are just barely tender without falling apart.
Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk and the cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the apple mixture, stirring well, and cook for 2 minutes longer, or until thickened.
Scrape the filling evenly into the crust. Bake for 24 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool.