I decided to use up some apples today before they turned toward spoiling. Pie sounded good. In a spelt crust – I mean spelt is whole grain and apples are healthy, so maybe it’s a “good for you” dessert? LOL, I convinced myself. And I didn’t want to do my Caramel apple pie.
While I was rolling out the dough for the bottom crust, I spied the jar of almond butter I had taken out of the pantry. It’s been in there a while, we tend to grab peanut butter first. So I started thinking, apples and almond butter go together, how could I incorporate it into the pie?
chilled spelt pie crust
Turns out melting about 1/2 cup and drizzling it over the apples before I put on the top crust, and then melting a bit more to drizzle on top at serving time worked perfectly!
I know many people are afraid of making pie dough. It just takes practice. Once you master using plain white flour, try the spelt. It gives a different earthy taste, but is does handle a bit differently.
rolled out pie crust
I prefer using the food processor for the mixing, since all the ingredients are well incorporated this way. Any concerns over heating up the butter are negligible, and the refrigeration will harden butter bits back up again. Add some water to get started, and drizzle in more as needed via the shoot. the crust should just barely come together, and you can dump it out to shape. Do’t’ over-process into a gummy mess.
Be sure to dust your rolling pin and surface when rolling out dough so it doesn’t stick.
This could easily be turned into a slab pie as well, made in a large 9 x 13″ pan rather than a pie pan, and sliced into bars.
I never make an egg wash for the top crust, though certainly you can do that. I prefer a sprinkle of plain sugar, which will melt and crystallize a bit on top of the crust. Just one more thing Mom always did.
Variations I thought of:
- Add in spices of your choice for the holidays – cinnamon, or nutmeg would be great, maybe even a few drops of vanilla or almond extract
- Want a tropical twist? Sprinkle in some grated coconut.
- Something more savory? Add some grated cheddar cheese over top of the apples. As a side note, my grandmother always ate chunks of sharp cheddar cheese with apple pie
- add in other fruit and /or nuts – blackberries or pears could be mixed with the apples, or sprinkle in 1/2 cup chopped almonds or walnuts
fresh apple pie!
just out of the oven pie
What is your favorite apple pie?
Apple pie with almond butter Sauce
Making apple pie comes second nature to me, but adding in some almond butter took it in a new direction!
Ingredients
Spelt crust
- 1 cup white flour
- 1 cup spelt flour plus more for dusting
- 1/2 cup butter (one sitck)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lard
- 1/2 cup cold water
pie filling
- 6 apples, peeled and cored, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup spelt flour plus more for dusting the counter
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup sugar (I prefer cane sugar - it adds a bit of caramel flavor)
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup almond butter, melt about 30 seconds in a microwave
Instructions
Crust
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Whisk the flours and salt together, and place in a food processor. cut up the butter by tablespoons and drop in, along with the lard. Whir up a few pulses until butter and lard are cut in. Leave pieces teh size of peas or a bit larger.
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Add about 1/4 cup of water and pulse to start to form the dough. Add more water as needed until the crust dough comes together. Spelt flour absorbs a lot more water than plain white flour, so it will be more than you might be used to.
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As soon as it starts to come together, dump out on a floured surface and knead together, then cut into 2 pieces. Do not handle roughly, and as minimally as possible. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge to cool, at least 30 minutes, but up to a day in advance. This allows the flour to absorb all the moisture, and for the butter knobs left in it to harden. Flaky crusts are created when the moisture in the pieces of butter turn to steam during baking - and create the flaky texture.
Apple filling
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Put all the sliced apple in a very large bowl, and sprinkle over the flour, sugar, and salt. Squeeze the lemon over and around the bowl to distribute the lemon juice - it keeps the apples from browning and adds flavor. Feel free to zest the lemon first over the apples.
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Give the apple mix a good stir.
Putting it together
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Roll out one half of the dough a bit larger than your pie plate. Spray the plate with nonstick spray (it helps get our that perfect piece of pie!), and lay the rolled dough into the plate.
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Fill with the apple mix. Dot over the 4 tbsp of butter, which will mix with the flour to help thicken the juices from the apples as it cooks.
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Drizzle the melted almond butter all over the top.
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Roll out the top piece of dough, place on top of the pie and crimp the edges. Be sure to make some slits in the middle for steam to escape. If you like, use an egg wash on the top crust. I prefer to do what my Mom always did - just a sprinkle of white sugar, which will turn a bit crunchy.
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Bake 350F for 1 hour, or until the crust has browned lightly, and you may see some bubbly juices through the slits of the top crust. I like to put a tray on the shlf underneath the pie in the oven to catch any drips that can occur with pies!
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If desired, melt some more almond butter, and mix with a bit of cream to make a lovely sauce as a topping.
Recipe Notes
Be sure to leave bits of butter visible in the crust when mixing to ensure it's flaky.
Use a mix of apple varieties for the best tasting pie. I like Honey crisps, Cortland's and even Macintosh. We prefer to have the apples bake really soft and melt down, vs. having slices you can still see with a bit of crunch.