The Perfect Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Thanksgiving Pie: Apple Crumb Pie

I happen to live near a Baker’s Square, and every time I drive by I think of my days in high school when I use to go there with my mom and even my girlfriends. My favorite pies were French Silk, Dutch Apple and Strawberry Rhubarb, and I always begged my mom to order these pies around Thanksgiving from my beloved Baker’s Square.

I still hang out with some of these same girlfriends, and recently we were out to lunch. One of my favorite things about these friends is that they ALWAYS order dessert with me, no matter how full everyone is. I love that about them. Because for me, a meal has to include something sweet at the end. These girls know how much I love an apple dessert, so they always humor me and let me order an apple crostata, crisp, etc. with a side of vanilla ice cream. Of course we order a few other desserts to sample as well!

This apple pie is essentially one of those crostata/crisp desserts I always seem to order when dining out. It combines all the things I love; cinnamon scented apples, flaky crust and a crunchy brown sugar topping. But what I love most about this pie is that it is perfect for any holiday table, especially Thanksgiving. Serve it alongside my dairy free pumpkin pie, and you’ve got dessert covered for Turkey Day.

DAIRY AND NUT FREE APPLE CRUMB PIE

• Yield: 1 9 inch pie
• 1/2 recipe Easy Pie Dough (follows) or 1 disk refrigerated pie dough (Pillsbury)

Pie Filling:

• 6 medium apples (I like a combination of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious), peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 2 T. unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Crumb Topping

• 1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. quick cooking oats
• 1/3 c. granulated sugar
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 c. dairy free margarine, cut into small dice (I use Fleischman’s Unsalted)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line pie plate with rolled out pie dough. Crimp edges and put aside.

In a large bowl, combine apples, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt until thoroughly combined. Pour filling into prepared pie dish.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in small diced dairy free margarine with a pastry blender (or your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Evenly scatter crumb topping over pie filling. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and loosly cover pie with foil to prevent overbrowning. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until juices are bubbling.

Remove pie from oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Easy Pie Dough

• Yield: Makes enough dough for a double-crust 9-inch pie
•  2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup dairy-free shortening (I like Crisco, plain), chilled and cut into small pieces
• 5–7 tablespoons ice water

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Add small pieces of shortening, and pulse a few times until mixture resembles small crumbs. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to flour mixture, pulsing until the dough just comes together. Transfer mixture to a sheet of plastic wrap. Use wrap to pull sides of dough together to form a rounded disk. Chill at least 30 minutes before using.