Dutch apple pie, my all time favorite pie! I might be biased (go Holland!), but I am actually pretty sure you will love it too. Incredible pie crust, warm notes of cinnamon, melt in your mouth apple..
Fall is approaching (well, up north, not here in the nicaraguan jungle), so it’s apple time. Let’s bake apple pie… twice, no three times! Because I am sharing 3 apple pie recipes with you!
Apple pie 1: my grandma’s recipe
So why 3 apple pie recipes? The first one is my grandmother’s apple pie recipe which I have been making for years and years without changing a single thing. Honestly, it is the best EVER. And it’s simple to make. But not so healthy unfortunately; butter – all purpose flour – refined sugar. Nothing wrong with it if you eat it occasionally. But I wanted to see if I could get close to the OG, without compromising flavor and texture, using more wholesome ingredients.
My healthier take on my grandma’s apple pie
So I started off comparing and trying out vegan and gluten free apple pie recipes; I found a lot of difficult recipes out there with long ingredient lists with things I couldn’t even find here in Nicaragua. Those weren’t going to make it on here. So I gave up on a gluten free + vegan pie; an apple pie both vegan and gluten free that resembles a traditional dutch apple pie wasn’t going to happen.
Just a few simple adjustments
I went back to my original recipe and simply changed a few ingredients to make it healthier; (white) whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. I replaced butter by margarine (it barely made a difference in taste.. I was shocked!) and sugar by coconut sugar instead of liquid sweeteners in order to keep that sandy pie crust. So now I had a healthier apple pie. And it tasted really good! My test team actually said it was the best pie out of all 3 of them!
My gluten free apple pie (with vegan option)
second try…
I wasn’t satisfied though. I wanted a gluten free apple pie. So I did the same trick but this time I replaced the all purpose flour by finely home ground almond meal (almond flour would have been even better, but it is not always available here in Nicaragua). I changed butter for coconut oil, using only 3 tablespoons of it and refined sugar with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. I did use an egg, but after doing some research I am pretty sure you can replace the egg with a flaxseed egg (by mixing 1 tbsp of flaxseed meal and 3 tbsp of water) and end up with the same result. And doing this will make this pie both gluten free and vegan!
SWOON! It turned out great!
The pie came out great. It tasted good, but I have to admit it did resemble the original version less than the whole wheat apple pie. But still good enough to make it to the blog. My friend, who only tasted this pie and not the other two pies, said she loved it. So after that, I decided I just had to post 3 recipes for you.
A quick step-by-step apple pie making in pictures:
First…
Followed by…
Then…
Just before going into the oven:
TA-DA!!
With these 3 pies, rolling into fall isn’t too bad. I served my boys and some friends my new takes on dutch apple pie and they loved it! I hope you do too. They are:
simple to make – warm – sweet – loaded with apples – perfect with some (coconut) whipped cream (dutch style!) – the ultimate dessert when topped with vanilla ice cream
I serve a slice of it with our coffee on weekend mornings. The kids love it for dessert with a scoop of (vegan) ice cream, but to be honestly we eat it whatever time of the day. And every year when we celebrate Thanksgiving with our (American) friends this is what I bring (among others). But maybe this year I will bring my healthy pecan pie… or both, why not?
Want more apple inspo? What about these no bake apple pie bites? Or these healthy apple oatmeal muffins or perhaps this healthy, quick and easy apple pie oatmeal?
Grandma’s dutch apple pie (the OG)
Traditional dutch apple pie by my grandmother's recipe
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Servings 6 slices
Calories 637 kcal
Equipment
Springform pan 8 inch/20 cm
Ingredients
- 200 gr butter (=2 sticks)
- 200 gr sugar
- 400 gr all purpose flour
- 12 gr baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1½ kg apples (tart apples like Granny Smith or Golden Rennet)(more or less 5 big apples (3lbs))
- 75 gr sugar
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp bread crumbs (to sprinkle on the bottom of the pie crust to absorb the moisture from the apples)
Instructions
Break the egg in a bowl and stir to mix. Divide the mixture in two equal parts.
Add flour, baking powder, 2 tsp of cinnamon and salt to a medium mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
Add butter, ½ of the egg, sugar, vanilla extract and knead well to form a dough. Divide into 3 equal parts.
Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.
In the meantime cut apples in cubes. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a cup and add to the apples. Toss to coat.
Grease the springform with butter. Use 1/3 of the dough to cover the bottom of the form and the other 1/3 for the side. Using your fingers, spread and press the dough down. Sprinkle the bottom with bread crumbs (this is to absorb the moisture from the apples).
Roll out the leftover ⅓ of the dough and, with a knife, cut out strips (2cm/ 3/4 inch width) for a lattice.
Add the apple mixture to the pie crust in the springform. Now add strips of dough on top to make a lattice (see photos). Apply remaining egg mixture (egg wash) to the lattice.
Bake the pie for 60 minutes until golden brown.
Take the pie out of the oven and let cool off a bit. Serve a warm slice with whipped (coconut) cream or a scoop of ice cream. Store leftover pie covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutritional information:
the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Healthy dutch apple pie
WIth a pie crust made with (white) whole wheat flour, coconut sugar and margarine.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Servings 6 slices
Calories 572 kcal
Equipment
Springform pan 8 inch/20cm.
Ingredients
- 200 gr margarine
- 180 gr coconut sugar
- 400 gr (white) whole wheat flour (I used regular whole wheat flour, but using WWW flour will give an even better result)
- 12 gr baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg (can be replaced by a flaxseed egg (mix 1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp water)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1½ kg apples (tart apples like Granny Smith or Golden Rennet)(more or less 5 big apples (3lbs))
- 50 gr coconut sugar
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp oat flour (to sprinkle on the pie crust before adding the apples, to absorb the moisture of the apples)
Instructions
Break the egg in a bowl and stir to mix. Divide the mixture in two equal parts. Or if you opt to use a flaxseed egg here, combine flaxseed meal and water (don't divide in 2; everything is used in the dough).
Add flour, baking powder, 2 tsp of cinnamon and salt to a medium mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
Add ½ of the egg (or all flax egg), margarine, coconut sugar, vanilla extract and knead well to form a dough. Divide into 3 equal parts.
Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.
In the meantime cut apples in cubes. Mix coconut sugar and cinnamon together in a cup and add to the apples. Toss to coat.
Grease the springform with margarine or coconut oil. Use 1/3 of the dough to cover the bottom of the form and the other 1/3 for the side. Using your fingers, spread and press the dough down. Sprinkle the bottom with oat flour (this is to absorb the moisture from the apples).
Roll out the leftover ⅓ of the dough and, with a knife, cut out strips (2cm/ 3/4 inch width) for a lattice.
Add the apple mixture to the pie crust in the springform. Now add strips of dough on top to make a lattice (see photos). Apply remaining egg mixture (egg wash) to the lattice. If you are using a flaxseed egg skip this part.
Bake the pie for 60 minutes until golden brown.
Take the pie out of the oven and let cool off a bit. Serve a warm slice with whipped (coconut) cream or a scoop of (vegan) ice cream. Store leftover pie covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutritional information:
the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Gluten free dutch apple pie (with vegan option)
Apple pie crust made with almonds, coconut oil and (flaxseed) egg, filled with warm apples and cinnamon
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Servings 8 slices
Calories 464 kcal
Equipment
Springform pan 8 inch/20cm.
Ingredients
- 360 gr almond flour (preferably or otherwise use finely ground almond meal like I did)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4-4½ tbsp coconut oil (melted) (plus extra to grease the springform pan)
- 1 egg (or flaxseed egg>> mix 1 tbsp of flaxseed meal with 3 tbsp of water)
- 1½ kg apples (tart apples like Granny Smiths or even better Golden Rennet/Bramley) (more or less 5 big apples (3lbs))
- 50 gr coconut sugar
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp oat flour (from gluten free oats)(for moisture absorption)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F/175C
Add almond flour, baking powder, 2 tsp of cinnamon and salt to a medium size mixing bowl and mix well to combine.
Stir in maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix until you get a soft, sand-like texture. I usually just use my hands for this.
Add the (flaxseed) egg and vanilla extract and mix until a soft dough comes together. It might be a bit sticky.
Grease the springform pan with some coconut oil and transfer ⅔ of the dough to it (⅓ for the bottom and ⅓ for the side). Cover the bottom and side with it using your fingers to spread and press the dough down. The dough might feel a little oily at this point.
With a fork, poke a few holes in the crust, sprinkle oat flour on top and par bake it for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, peel and cut the apples in cubes. Mix coconut sugar and cinnamon and add to the apples and toss until all coated.
Roll out the leftover ⅓ of the dough and with a knife cut out strips (2cm/ ¾inch width) for a lattice.
Take the pie crust out of the oven and add the apple mixture to it. Now add strips of dough on top to make a lattice (see photos).
Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool off a bit. Serve a warm slice with whipped (coconut) cream or a scoop of (vegan) ice cream. Store leftover pie covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutritional information:
the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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