So it is Fall (kind of... it's just starting too cool down in the Bay Area) and after seeing this post on tumblr, I decided that I wanted to bake an apple pie. My mom has an old tree in her backyard that grows these delicious red apples and always gives me a large bag of them to bring home.
Since I am still on the 30 Day Paleo Challenge, I looked up a paleo friendly recipe online and man, did I score. This recipe is not only simple but it is delicious too (and gluten free)! I found it over on Midlife Army Wife.
For the filling you will need:
10 apples – peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup raw honey
1 tablespoon cinnamon
The recipe calls for 10 apples but I don't think I needed quite that many so I would say use 6-10 apples depending on the size that you have.
Midlife Army Wife says, "Over medium heat, cook the filling ingredients until the sauce has thickened and coats the apple slices. You want the apples to stay a bit firm, or else they will end up too soft after baking. When thick, remove from heat and set aside to cool while you work on the crust."
For the crust you will need:
9 eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup of honey
1 cup of coconut oil (heated to liquify)
2 cups coconut flour (amount varies)
Preheat oven to 350.
Put eggs, honey, and coconut oil in the food processor and pulse until smooth. (I used a hand mixer and it worked out just fine.) Mix in the flour a little bit at a time until it looks like dough. Midlife Army Wife says, "If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour, but be careful not to dry it out."
Divide the dough into two halves, one for the bottom crust and one for the top.
Grease a 9 inch pie pan with coconut oil and then press the dough into the pan evenly to cover the bottom and the sides.
Fill the pan with your cooked cinnamon apples and then use the rest of the crust dough to cover the apples.
The dough was too delicate to roll out into one piece to cover the pie so instead, it is recommended to roll out smaller pieces and then place them together over the apples like a puzzle.
Bake the pie at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes and cover the edges of the pie with foil if they start to brown too much.
Midlife Army Wife recommended letting the pie cool over night before covering it. This will prevent the crust from becoming too soggy. I let mine cool over night and it was perfect the next morning.
The pie was delicious! It crust wasn't too sweet but if you took a bite of crust with a bite of the cinnamon apples, it was just right. I even heated a piece up in the morning and had it for breakfast.
All of my taste-testers, my parents and my boyfriend, all enjoyed the pie. My mom even requested that I bring her more! There will probably be more apple pies in the near future because this baby is definitely a guilt-free treat!
