Grandma's Mile High Apple Pie (Gluten-Free)
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Why I Love This Recipe
Growing up, every family gathering during the months of September to January included my grandmother’s mile high apple pie. I would help her pick and peel the apples, she would bake. She made rolling out the crust look like a breeze. And when it came out of the oven it was always perfectly browned, with flakey layers made possible from a heavy dose of butter, the apples stacked a mile high. The top glistened with sugar and a little egg wash, a caramelly glaze stuck to the sides from the juices that escaped. Those sweet memories flowed through my mind and I longed to make my own gluten-free version, as I have a gluten intolerance and missed her pie and her so much. She had a rough recipe, so I made a whole grain crust, with a beautiful lattice top, using honey instead of sugar, but a whole lot of butter just like she did. I also added some fresh sage to the apples, and fried a few of the leaves for extra garnish. Admittedly I felt proud as I took it out of my oven, the classic cinnamon sugar scent covering me like perfume. When we sat down to share a slice as a family, it was true happiness and a bundle of memories.
Ingredients You'll Need
Crust:
makes 2 single crusts
305 grams of Cup4Cup Wholesome Gluten-Free Flour (if using a gluten-free flour blend that does not contain xanthum gum you should add 1 1/2 teaspoons to your mix)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons (1 stick + 6 tablespoons) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons ice cold water
Fillling:
2 3/4 pounds firm apples such as Honeycrisp, Pink Lady or SnowSweet (about 6-7 medium), peeled and cored
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons minced fresh sage + extra leaves for garnish (both are optional)
Directions
For the Crust:
Add flour, honey and salt to food processor. Pulse a couple of times to blend.
Then add cold butter and pulse until most of the butter is the size of peas. It’s okay if you see a few larger chunks.
Remove food processor base and stir water in by hand (I like to save on dishes so I don’t use another bowl, but you could).
Dump the scraggly dough onto your counter and work in together with your hands to form a tight circle.
Flatten the circle, wrap in saran wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one hour, up to overnight.
When chilled, divide the dough into two equal pieces.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line your counter with saran wrap, dust it with flour, then put your dough on top. Sprinkle top of crust with a little more flour, cover with large piece of saran and roll out into a large circle that will fit your pan.
Remove saran and gently lift into pie pan, fitting it into the sides. Trim and leave a one inch overhang.
Roll out the other piece of dough on a floured surface and cut the dough into even strips, 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch wide, depending on how thick you want your lattice strips. Set aside.
For the Filling:
Cut peeled apples into thin wedges and put into a large bowl. Stir in lemon juice.
In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cornstarch and minced sage. Add this mixture to the bowl of apples and stir to coat.
Dump into pie plate with bottom crust.
Top apples with the lattice strips that you have made, creating a weaved lattice pattern. (Using this great tutorial: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_a_lattice_top_for_a_pie_crust/)
Trim the edges of the strips flush with the dough of the underlying pie dish, which should be about half an inch over the sides.
Fold back the rim of the shell over the edge of the lattice strips, and crimp.
Bake pie on the bottom rack for 7 minutes, then move to the middle rack, placing pie on a metal baking sheet to catch spills.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for additional 40 minutes or until juices are bubbling and crust is nicely browned.
About midway through baking, put a foil lining around the edges of the crust to ensure that it does not burn.
If you want the crispy sage for a pretty garnish, heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a small saute pan over medium high heat.
Add clean sage leaves and fry until crispy, about 3 minutes.
Pie will keep for 3 days (do not refrigerate or will turn soggy) or you can freeze it.