Who wants pie?

This time of year always makes me crave my favorite dessert - apple pie.  Although Celiac disease has made this tricky for me to enjoy, I had to learn to bake it for myself - and Gluten-Free.

Using this recipe (also below) from allrecipes.com I was able to adapt the pie recipe to Gluten-Free standards, with a few minor adjustments.

You can use any gluten-free pie crust, or bake your own, but for this recipe I used the GF Pie Crust from Whole Foods GF Bakery.  I put it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes at 350 to thaw the frozen crust to room temperature.  This crust was easy to use but not the best for baking...it never became that yummy golden brown color.

I mixed the apple filling mixture almost exactly the same as this recipe, but I probably should have added some more GF flour to the mixture, as it was a bit runny/watery when it was done.

The crumble topping was tricky to make, as the brown sugar I had was in large chunks (I never remember the best way to soften brown sugar without cooking it?!) Any suggestions?  This made the mixing process difficult (and needless to say I had brown sugar all over my counter!)  In the end, the topping tasted good, but some bites were a bit sweeter than others ;). I will have to remember to mix better on my next attempt at this pie.

Another tip: I probably should have allowed the pie to vent while it was cooking.  The filling was pretty tight and the crumble covered most of the pie, leaving little breathing room.

This may have been why the pie was so full of liquid.  After a day in the fridge though, this pie was much better on day 2!

If anyone has other suggestions on apple pies, leave a comment!  Would love to be able to perfect this!! 

Apple Crumb Pie
INGREDIENTS

    * 1 (9 inch) pie shell (GF)
    * 6 cups thinly sliced apples
    * 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
    * 3/4 cup white sugar
    * 2 tablespoons GF flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    * 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
    * 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
    * 1/2 cup GF flour
    * 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    * 3 tablespoons butter


DIRECTIONS

   1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
   2. Place sliced apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice if desired. In a small bowl, mix together white sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated. Stir in raisins and walnuts if desired. Spoon mixture into pastry shell.
   3. In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over apple filling. Cover top loosely with aluminum foil (optional based on cooking times).
   4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.