Clean Eating Classic Apple Pie
So Thanksgiving was this last week. For the last 8 years we’ve lived in Arizona and had to make a day’s drive to another state, with our kids and dogs, to spend Thanksgiving with family. Every year I have wanted to help with the Thanksgiving cooking, but Tim’s grandmother was pretty serious about her meal. She had a certain way of cooking it, with a plan and a menu, and wanted to do it herself.
So we just cooked our own Thanksgiving meal when we got back home so that we could have leftovers, and I would get to cook and enjoy my own dishes. But this year, having just moved to Colorado, we were finally near family for the big cooking holiday of the year, and I was actually assigned a number of dishes to make for the big meal. It wasn’t a problem as the drive was just a short jaunt over to his parent’s house.
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It turns out that my apple pies were requested by my husband, so my mother-in-law agreed, and I got to make these delicious pies for the whole family. You’ll see from the pictures below that I had a hard time getting pictures of the final product, as my husband pulled the pies out of the oven and packed them in the car while I was upstairs with the kids, and the family tore into them before I could get pictures. I just take that as a huge compliment.
Thankfully I got the great picture above before popping it into the oven so you could see how it was going to look. I hope you enjoy these pies as much as my family did over the holidays. Let me show you how I pulled them together! It’s much easier than it looks.
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Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup coconut oil, (this is the one I use!)
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar, (this is what I use!)
- 1/2 cup or so ice water
Filling:
- 5 baking apples, (I like Fuji or Gala)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and grease you pie pan with some coconut oil. I greased two pie pans and doubled the recipe to make two apple pies.
- Then we’re going to start with the crust first.
- Measure out your coconut oil onto a plate and smooth it out into a thin layer. You need your coconut oil super cold, and not just firm, for this crust recipe to truly work.
- Pop the plate of coconut oil into the freezer for a few minutes while we prepare your other ingredients.
- In your food processor, add your flour.
- On the side, cut up your cold butter into small squares and add that also to your food processor.
- Then pull the coconut oil back out of the freezer and chip it off of your plate into small chunks. Scrape these into your food processor.
- Blend your mixture just until it’s crumbly and there’s no more big chunks of butter or coconut oil.
- Pour your crust mixture into a mixing bowl and add your salt and sugar. Mix well.
- Now add a little bit of your ice water at a time until your dough comes together without being sticky.
- You’ll want to dump it out on a clean surface and knead it with your hands to combine all ingredients thoroughly. You’ll want a nice, soft dough.
- When mixed, split it in half for your two pie crusts, and roll out one side until it’s just bigger than your pie pan.
- Transfer to your pie pan. I like to fold mine gently twice to get it off of the counter and into the pie pan without tearing. I then just unfold it over the pie pan and press it in place.
- Now it’s time for your filling. Slice your apples in half and core them with a melon baller. Slice into small pieces and dump them into a large mixing bowl.
- Add your lemon juice, sugar and spices and mix well. Pour your pie filling into your crust. It will heap over the top, which is fine, as the apples will cook down in the oven.
- Finally, roll out your second crust, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick and as big as you can get it. If you want a solid pie crust for the top, you only need it bigger than the pie pan and then transfer over.
- For a basket-weave top, you’ll want to cut it into long 1 inch thick strips. One at a time, lay them over your pie, spaced out about 1 inch apart. Just cut a little bigger than your pie.
- For the basket weave look, you’ll want to do one more layer going the other direction, space out accordingly. I didn’t weave mine together because I was a little preoccupied with two small kids and a deadline, so I skipped that part thinking it looked great already.
- Regardless of what type of crust you went with, roll the outside of your two crusts together all the way around your pie for a finished look. Cut vents in the top if you used a solid pie crust for the top.
- Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 45 minutes.
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Serving size: 1 | |
Calories | 170 |
Calories from Fat | 54 |
% Daily Value * | |
Fat 6 g | 9% |
Saturated fat 2 g | 10% |
Unsaturated fat 1 g | |
Carbohydrates 29 g | 10% |
Sugar 5 g | |
Fiber 3 g | 12% |
Protein 1 g | 2% |
Cholesterol 0 mg | |
Sodium 12 mg | 1% |
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. |
Suffice to say, the pies turned out great, and I was even asked to leave what remained behind for them to finish. We had 7 pies at our meal, so I’m not worried about there being pie leftover. I do still need to get my pie dishes back though. haha
We have decided this year to keep our Thanksgiving tradition of making our own Thanksgiving meal again here at home, but with our friends, for a Friendsgiving this weekend. My husband insisted that I go get more apples and make my apple pies again for him this weekend. I would say that these were a success.
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Honestly, I really think they came out beautiful and there’s no reason to tell anyone that they were made with lots of wonderfully healthy ingredients, rather than the loads of sugar that apple pie is traditionally made with. And not only do I enjoy baking, but I don’t mind having them around knowing that even with my homemade whipped cream or homemade vanilla ice cream, my family is essentially getting a good meal in a yummy plate of pie.
Give it a try yourself and then go give some of my other amazing clean eating pies a shot this holiday season, like my clean eating pecan pie. You won’t regret it!
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