Quick and Easy “Open Face Apple Pie”

Let me start of by saying that if you have ever had apple pie, this is not the same thing. But if you have been living under a rock (like my poor daughter) and have never tasted a true apple pie before, this “open face apple pie” may be just become your favorite fall dessert. My 6 year old daughter can not eat processed sugar or wheat. Too much of the wrong kind of dairy also ruins her day. So when I was blessed with 2 huge bags of apples I set off to make an apple pie like recipe that she could enjoy along with the rest of our family.

I went for simple, minimal ingredients. There is no added sugar (not even honey). I think apples are sweet enough as it is when baked. My daughter loved the results. I also think it’s pretty yummy, and quite addicting when almond butter is added. Okay, my home made almond butter makes everything better. I could seriously sit and eat this whole pie in a day.

It’s also “Heather approved”. I brought a piece to my good friend Heather and she said said it was really good! And my hubs gave it the thumbs up, so it’s gotta be good right? Have I convinced you yet?!

This recipe calls for oat flour (which I make in my food processor or blender). I use Trader Joe’s gluten free oats. If you don’t buy gluten free you risk cross contamination and your oats may have trace amounts of gluten in it. This really is only a problem if you are extremely sensitive to gluten (which would be the case if you had celiac disease).

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

• 2 cups oat flour (you can blend some oats ahead of time to have on hand when you need them- just use a food processor or blender)
• 1 heaping TBS coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp salt. We buy our Redmonds Real Sea Salt at Thrive Market.
• 3/4 cup filtered water
• 1 farm fresh egg

Apple Filling:

• About 9 good sized apples (can be any kind you like)
• juice from one lemon (about 1 TBS)
• pinch of salt. We buy our Redmonds Real Sea Salt at Thrive Market.
• 1 TBS sweet cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• dash of ginger
• dash of cloves
• 1 TBS coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. If you haven’t already made your oat flour, blend 2 heaping cups of oats (in a blender  or food processor: this is mine and I just love it!) until you have made 2 cups of oat flour.

3. In a large bowl, beat one farm fresh egg.

3. Add your 2 cups of oat flour to the egg and mix thoroughly.

4. Add salt, filtered water, and coconut oil (works better if the oil is melted but you don’t have to if you are in a hurry) and mix until all ingredients are well blended together.

5. Scoop out your “crust” into your pie pan of choice. I love using glass Pyrex pie pans.

6. Spread the oatmeal like crust with a spoon. It will be very sticky so just try to spread it as evenly as possible. Set the pie pan aside.

7. Peel your apples and cut them up into small pieces. Put your apple pieces in the same bowl you mixed your crust in.

8. Add lemon juice, coconut oil, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves and mix until the apples are well coated.

9. Scoop the apples out of the bowl and onto the crust and fill your apple pie pan. You will have a heaping pile of apples but they will cook down a little in the oven.

10. Use your hands to press the apples down firmly into your pie pan.

11. Place foil over your pie and bake for 20 min.

12. Take the foil off and let the pie bake for about 20 more minutes. Make sure to watch the pie and now allow the apples to burn (they will get a little brown and crispy and that’s okay).

13. Take out your pie and allow it to cool.

My kiddos couldn’t wait to try a bite. Here they are taking in the aroma of the pie while I was trying to take photographs of my finished product.

My son and I really like this pie with a dollop of home made almond butter. My daughter likes it plain. And my husband would prefer a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream.

You can eat it any way you like! It could also be a breakfast (guilt free… if you skip the ice cream) since this is pretty much the same as eating apple oatmeal. Yum!

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