Good morning. It has been rainy and gloomy where we live and the days have been a little ho hum. So yesterday I decided to make individual Gluten Free & Sugar Free apple pies!  Talk about AROMATHERAPY! The house filled with wonderful warming smells of cooked apples, cinnamon, cloves, coriander & pie crust and our spirits were lifted!  It was a couple of hours project – but the payoff was worth it.  If you would like to make them, here is the recipe:

 

First make your pie dough about 1 hour prior to putting together the pies. This is important because you want to allow the butter to harden again before you roll it out. Also allowing it to cool in fridge will make it easier to roll out later:

 

Pie Crust:

Put the following in a food processor:

 

1 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (I use Bob Red Mills)

¾ cup of Tapioca Starch

¼ cup Cornstarch

2 Tablespoons Organic Turbinado – (Raw Sugar)

1 Teaspoon of Guar Gum

1 Teaspoon of Xanthan Gum

1/8 Teaspoon Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt

½ cup Shortening – (I used 1 stick of butter cut into cubes – keep this cool)

 

Now pulse until it is crumbly

 

Add:

 

½ cup of milk (any kind)

1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

 

Process until a ball forms. Then carefully remove the dough from the food processor and form a disc in your hands with it. Sit it on a plate and cover with wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

 

Remaining Ingredients:

 

5 Apples – medium in size

2 Tablespoons Coconut oil

2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

¼ Teaspoon Coriander

¼ Teaspoon Cloves

¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg

¼ Teaspoon Salt

½ Cup Agave Nectar

 

Optional:

Nuts: Pine, Almond, and/or Walnuts – about 2 tablespoons

 

Egg Wash:

1 Egg White

1-2 Tablespoons of Water – Whisk these 2 together thoroughly

 

About 45 minutes into waiting for your crust to cool in fridge you can start prepping the apples. I like to wash, peel, and cut them into cubes. Use about 5 apples or so depending on the size (I had medium sized)

 

Place apples in a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of Coconut Oil over med-high heat and start cooking them. Add the Cinnamon, Cloves, Coriander, Nutmeg, & Salt. Stir thoroughly. Now add in the Agave Nectar, stir and allow to cook until apples begin to soften. Turn off heat and cover while you prepare the pie crust.

 

*Note – you should have some liquid form in the bottom of pan. Be sure to save this for added yum. Further instructions on this are below…

 

Take the pie crust from fridge. Cut in half and cut in half again. You should have four sections.

 

Roll out each - one at a time – into a rectangle. Cut into eight sections – make them as even as you can – there is nothing wrong with rustic! After you line a baking sheet with parchment, place four of the sections on the sheet and spoon with a slotted spoon apples on top – be sure to leave a little room around the edges.  For added crunch and depth of flavor, add some Pine Nuts or Roasted Almonds/Walnuts (of course if there is no allergy) Take the remaining four sections of pie crust and put them on top of the apples. Scrunch the edges together – you can use a fork to do this.

 

Repeat the last paragraph for the remaining sections.

 

When you are done take the fork and poke holes into the tops of the pies. Take an egg white and add 1-2 tablespoons of water – whisk thoroughly. Using a baking brush, brush the egg white/ water over the tops of the pies. Bake at 350 Degrees for 15-20 mins.

 

While they are baking. Take the left over liquid from the apples – hopefully you have left it in the sauté pan. Bring it to a simmer by putting it over low – medium heat. Allow to bubble away for 5-10 min. It should thicken a bit. Once it gets thick enough for you, place in a side container to drizzle over the pies just before eating.

 

Enjoy!

 

BTW: I would really love to know if anyone has tried this. Look forward to hearing from you…☺