apple

Classic Apple Pie

Apple is the quintessential American fruit: the story of Johnny Chapman Appleseed is still popular,  apples are a favorite fruit of elementary age students and apple pie is king for many pie lovers.  A ripe apple is a crunchy sweet treat. Just walk through an apple orchard in autumn: the delicious scent in the air will cause you to purchase lots of apples.  An apple pie in the oven always perfumes the house for hours, acting like a magnet for children and male friends! I normally make an apple crumb pie but sometimes I go that extra step to make a top crust, sure pleases my guy even through he professes to love crumb pies…

I put this scratch pie together in a few steps; make the double recipe of crust dough; put it in fridge to chill while I peeled, sliced and cut up the apples.  If you plan to pre-bake your crust those ten minutes of baking the empty pie crust are also a good time for preparing the apples.  Each step is fairly easy but the results are spectacular.  Of course, you could buy a ready-made unbaked crust but this crust I use is fairly easy if you use a stand mixer and it is really tasty: my mom hardly believes it is gluten free! I really don’t know how to convince her but this disbelief of hers is proof of the great flavor and texture of this particular basic gf pie crust.  I used a mixture of baking apples, but not Granny Smith unless they have gotten a tad soft and definitely no apples meant for only eating raw like Red Delicious.

It goes without saying that this pie is great with a slice of vanilla ice cream.

Fresh out of the oven!

The entire pie got eaten and no one remembered to take any more pictures of it; like of a single slice… sadly it is long gone.

Double Crust Apple Pie

Crust:

2 1/4 c brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

1/4 c sweet rice flour

2 Tbps. granulated sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

12 Tbps. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

2 lg eggs

4 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Directions: Spray a nine inch pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. Set aside.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add eggs and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into two balls with your hands. Put them on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust balls some; wrap well and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes.

Roll out one flattened ball of chilled into a pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in the pie pan, be sure to center it.  Remove other slice of wax paper.  Crimp edges all around or wait to do it with the top crust.

Filling:

6-8 medium-large sized apples, I like a mixture of yellow delicious and at least one other cooking variety; red Rome, Jonathan, empire, Courtland, or any tart apple you like to bake with.

Peel apples, quarter, cut out core, slice into 1/3 inch thick slices. Should have at least six cups. Place in a large bowl

¼ cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar (more if you like it sweet)

3 tbsp. minute tapioca or 3 tbsp. gf flour mix (recipe below or any decent blend)

1 tsp. cinnamon

A good sprinkle of ground nutmeg

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Mix the dry ingredients, sprinkle the apples with lemon juice; add the dry ingredients. Heap in pie crust, Top with:

1  Tbsp. cold butter cut into small bits (optional)

Roll out top crust after you put the filling in the pan that is lined with the first crust. Peel off wax or parchment and lay over apples, crimp edges with fingers to seal them.  Prick or slash the top to let out steam. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 55-65 minutes until bubbly and the crust is light brown.  You can cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes.  I have a bottom heat oven so my crust gets crisp but if you have issues with soggy bottom crusts; prebake your crust for 10 minutes; then fill, top and bake immediately.

Cool the pie at least 4 hours to allow the juices to reabsorb before serving at room temperature.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as  King Arthur basic gf blend)
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

The crust recipe is from Annalise Roberts’ great cookbook: Gluten-Free Baking Classics. My filling is slightly different.

Originally posted in 2017

Apple Crisp: Easy, Quick and Really Tasty

Apples are the centerpiece of the fall harvest culture.  Pumpkins are popular but they are a relatively new comer to the contest.  Some may think pumpkins are the way to go in baking but I firmly believe the apple is king in Autumn in America.  Crisp, sweet, flavorful and so very good for you. Apple crisp is nice as it goes together quickly and travels well. I took a pan of it camping last weekend and it was very good indeed warmed up on the campfire.

If you can, get the organic ones as the sprays they use on growing apples are not at all good for you.  I have made apple crisp with some baking apples from a pick it yourself farm near Milford NJ and it was very tasty indeed.  I especially suggest you get your apples at an actual apple orchard.  Another orchard just south of Hellertown is Bechdolt’s Orchard which grows many apple varieties.  Go there if you want the freshest tastiest apples in the Saucon Valley area.  Apples grow all over the globe so shop where you can get them fresh and crisp! The variety is up to you but I would not suggest any that are not meant for baking; don’t use red delicious as they are for eating only, same goes for honey crisp apples. apple-cart

This recipe is out of Gluten-Free Baking Classics Cookbook by Annalise G. Roberts with a few minor changes.  I am betting you can use any GF flour mix in this recipe, not like a cake or other baked goods that have very specific flour requirements.

And it is so much easier than a pie.  No crust to mix or roll out.  Just a simple mixed up topping to add to the cut up apples.  Bake it and voila: a yummy yet fairly healthy dessert!

I have made the topping several ways.  You can cut un-melted butter into the dry ingredients; it makes for a firmer crumb than the melted version below. I have made it egg free but it really somehow needs that egg to pull it together to mimic a wheat flour based crisp.  The oats can be left out if you don’t like them or can’t eat them. I personally love oats in my crisp.  A quarter cup of chopped nuts can be added to the topping; really a nice touch too!  I don’t like it too sweet so I use the lesser amount of sugar.  This is entirely a personal choice.  You can up the nutritional value by adding flaxmeal to the dry mix; 2-3 tbsp.

For those who love ice cream, this recipe is absolutely perfect with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream next to it.  I like it warm from the oven but it also is tasty cold the next day, if you have any left over that is!

pork tenderloin, banana choco cupcakes 007

Angie’s Apple Crisp

1 cup GF flour (mix below)

½ to ¾ cup sugar (I prefer brown sugar)

½ cup old fashioned gf oats

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Sprinkle of nutmeg

½ tsp xanthan gum

½ tsp. salt

1 large egg

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples

¼-1/3 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees.   Put rack in center level of oven.  Lightly butter a 9 inch square pan or spray with cooking spray.

Combine all the dry ingredients.  Add egg and stir to mix well.   Place apples in the baking pan, top with the dry mix and sprinkle with the melted butter.  Bake 40-50 minutes until bubbly and the topping is lightly browned. Let cool at least 10 minutes before dishing out. Six servings.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s Basic GF blend)
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

Originally posted by me October 2015.

Alsatian Apple Tart; Deliciously Creamy

 

I bought a great gf cookbook a few  years ago.. I have been too busy to do much fancy baking plus my wrist has made it impossible to roll out pie crust; this is my first rolled out crust since last June. Annalise G. Roberts wrote my favorite gf cookbook “Gluten-Free Baking Classics”.  In “ The Heirloom Collection” she re-creates many classic recipes we all love but in a gluten free version. Eighteen cakes, thirteen muffins, scones and quick breads, sixteen cookies, twenty breads as well as eleven tarts. And some other misc. baked goods. SO many yummy looking things to bake. All gluten free. And knowing Annalise Roberts, all yummy!  Of all I have made from it this is possibly my favorite recipe. I know you will enjoy it too.

She starts with a section on how to take a wheat flour based recipe and make it gluten free; very interesting: I have a few cherished recipes I would love to convert.  She is such a reliable and careful baker; all her recipes turn out exactly as promised. With so many great looking recipes and if you have any of her other cookbooks you will definitely want this one.

Anyway back to my tart: I was looking for an apple recipe that only needed a few apples, cause that’s all I had and this tart caught my eye. I had everything I needed and I remember how delightful it was last time. My brother ate two slices and his wife ate my crust happily; apparently she never does that.  Aiden loved it as well.  Definitely a hit.

It was a very easy recipe; make the tart shell and while it pre-bakes, peel and slice the apples and mix up the custard. Arranging the apples took me 3-4 minutes and another 30 seconds to pour over the custard and carefully place it in my oven for a transformational baking.alsatian apple tart 002

This tart has a lovely texture; the apple slices are soft but held their shape and the custard is silky and subtle. The long baking makes the crust very crisp. No ice cream needed; this is perfect just by itself.

alsatian apple tart 007

After making this tart the first time I noticed that this is the baked good featured on the back cover of the book; a place of honor for a fantastic apple treat. So freaking good; you must try it even if you use a wheat crust. Alsace-Lorraine is an area in Germany close to France; over the years it has been passed back and forth a few times. One of my ancestors is from this area so I was thrilled to find a recipe my great great grandmother might have baked!alsatian apple tart 004

Alsatian Apple Tart
6 large slices or 8 skinny ones

Crust:
1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 Tbps. granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbps. cold butter cut into 6 chunks
1 lg egg
2 tsp fresh orange, lemon juice, even lime juice works

Spray a nine – ten inch tart pan that has a 1 ½ inch side with cooking spray, set aside. I use a ceramic ten inch pan but if you have one of those tricky deep tart pans with a removable bottom that would work perfectly.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of a stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes.

Roll out the flattened ball into a pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! I like to sprinkle a bit of my flour mix on the crust as it gets thinner so it doesn’t stick to the pie bag/wax paper. Peel off one side of paper and place in the tart pan, be sure to center it. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes until light brown.  Let cool.

Filling:

3-4 medium to large sized apples, yellow delicious work particularly well as they don’t squish down too much. I have used Fuji in the past as it also doesn’t get too mushy.

Peel apples, quarter, cut out core, slice into 1/2 inch thick slices (8 for a medium apple)

Mix in a medium mixing bowl with:

6 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs; stir well
Add 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, ¼ tsp. cinnamon.

Arrange the apple slices in the warm/hot tart shell, squash them close together. Pour the custard filling over the apples.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 50-55 minutes until the custard is set and the crust is light brown

Cool the pie at least 1 hour before serving. You can sprinkle the slices with confectioner’s sugar if you like to gild the lily; not really necessary in my mind.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur GF Flour mix)
2 c brown rice flour, finely ground
2/3 c potato starch (Not potato flour)
1/3 c tapioca flour

This recipe is from Annalise Roberts’ great cookbook: Gluten-Free Baking Classics – The Heirloom Collection.

Originally published in November 2015, minor changes to text.

Apple Tart…Veganized But Still Yummy

 

My assignment was to make a vegan (and gluten free) dessert to take to a small gathering out of town. I have to confess I am not particularly fond of some vegan desserts I have tried: the mouth feel is sometimes odd and the texture can be heavy especially icings. But I felt those things could be avoided. There were still plenty of apples from our picking expedition in October so that seemed like a great place to plan from. I am not yet rolling out pie dough plus it has an egg in it so that’s a no…so I did a shortbread cookie crust made in my stand mixer in a few minutes with no real work. I really didn’t miss the rolled out crust; this simple press in crumb recipe by Annalise Roberts is the very best crust for sweetness and texture. And great for gimpy folks like me!

The tart was a complete success; the crust tasted delicious and not weird. All gone in moments; silence as everyone inhaled their slice. Shortly thereafter two other non-vegan guests sidled up to me and quietly thanked me for a great dessert; they were probably glad there was no weird icing involved, LOL! This could be an excellent holiday dessert if you need one that is vegan.  It travels great; I have a pie saver – big diameter, low cylinder tupperware meant just for pies and tarts.

Notes: I used a mixture of baking apples; some golden delicious and Jonagold. Any baking apples will work (Not red delicious as they are best eaten raw) …no honeycrisp either; best raw.

vegan apple tart unbaked

vegan apple tart baked

I forgot to take a picture of my slice before devouring it: sorry; it was great looking, everything held together perfectly.

Apple Tart with Vegan Cookie Crust

Ingredients:

CRUST:

1 cup gf flour (King Arthur basic gf blend)

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. xanthan gum

5  Tbsp. cold Earth Balance (sold in sticks just like butter)

FILLING:

3 -4 cups of peeled, cored and sliced cooking apples (4 good sized apples)

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. Tapioca flour or KA basic gf blend

1/3 c sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. coarse sugar for topping

DIRECTIONS: Crust: use a stand mixer; put dry ingredients in bowl, add cut up Earth Balance and mix on medium until crumbly. Spray 9 inch tart pan with cooking spray and press in crust, heat oven to 375 degrees.  My pan has a removable bottom but I don’t see why you couldn’t use a plain pan.

Filling: mix dry ingredients in a small bowl, Mix filling in medium bowl; dump in apples, sprinkle with lemon juice and then sprinkle over all with all of the dry mix. Gently place into tart pan on crust and sprinkle top with coarse sugar. I took the time to arrange mine in a pretty pattern but you can just pile it in if you are in a rush.

Bake on lowest shelf in oven, 35-40 minutes until lightly browned and bubbling. Remove from oven and cool at least 30-60 minutes before serving. Best eaten within 24 hours. Vanilla ice cream is great with apple tart! Enjoy.

Note: You can use the convection setting; takes about 25-30 minutes to bake.

Kitchen Sink Muffins – 2.0 Version

This healthy muffin is my own most recent mixture of muffin recipes from Annalise Roberts’s wonderful cookbook: Gluten Free Baking Classics and some morning glory muffins I saw somewhere, maybe King Arthur Flours.  They are breakfast muffins so not that sweet, great texture and totally yummy.  I also love them for snacks. They are healthy; more fruit and no sugary topping.  If you want to add extra sweetening use my oatmeal topping from my chocolate chip banana muffin recipe.  This time I used chopped apple, pumpkin puree, craisins and big curls of dried coconut; great combo!

Because they lose moisture if they sit around I freeze any I won’t eat in 2 days; I love using a Ziplock freezer bag for this but cool them first.  Label carefully with date and contents…be sure to eat them within a month.kitchen sink muffins and spring flowers 001

kitchen sink muffin 001

Kitchen Sink Muffins 2.0

2 cups brown rice flour mix (see below)

2/3 c coconut palm sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

2/3 cup finely shredded carrots or 2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 c finely chopped fresh apples

½ c flaked coconut (I used unsweetened big curls this time)

½ c craisins or raisins

½ c walnuts, chopped (optional)

2 large eggs beaten

½ c plus 2 Tbsp. milk, whole or 2 percent

½ c canola oil

Directions:

Heat oven to 375, placing the rack in middle of oven.  Spray muffin pans with cooking spray.  One batch makes 15-16 muffins.

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl of stand mixer or big bowl

Add fruits and nuts; stir to coat them with dry mix

Combine milk and oil, beat in eggs.  Add liquids to big bowl; stir until blended.  Note: If you used regular sugar you will need to leave out the extra 2 tbsp. of milk.

Fill muffin pans 3/4 full.  Bake 20-24 min until golden brown. Do not overbake or they will be dry.  Remove immediately from the pans and cool on a rack.   Freezes well for up to 3-4 weeks and keeps in fridge (well wrapped) a few days.

Brown Rice Flour Mix base mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Originally published in March 2016; minor recipe changes.