Crumble Crust Dutch Apple Pie

I love pie.

 LURVE it.

Making the crust...eh....not so much.

The thing is, I'm the only one in the house who really likes pie crusts.  Sometimes I just don't want to go to all that trouble when I'm the only one who will truly appreciate it.

Naturally, when I saw this recipe for dutch apple pie from My Culinary Companion that had a non traditional crust, I was all about making it.

You know how Dutch Apple pies have that crumbly goodness on top?  Imagine that as the crust, plus crumbled  on top of the apples. 

AW YEAH!

I guarantee no one will leave their crusts on their plates with this pie.  Unless they are aliens.  Aliens are weird like that.

The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was the amount of apples.  3 cups of apples for a 9" pie pan?  That seemed rather stingy to me, especially when you consider that apples shrink when you cook them.  So I increased the apples to a whopping 6 cups!

Crumble Crust Apple Pie slightly adapted from My Culinary Companion
2 c flour
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 c butter, melted
1 t cinnamon

filling
2/3 c sugar
3 T cornstarch
1-1/4 c cold water
6 c diced peeled tart apples  (I used
1 t vanilla
1 t apple pie spice

In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and butter; set aside 1 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9-in. pie plate; set aside.

For filling, combine sugar, cornstarch and water in a large saucepan until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in apples, spice and vanilla. Pour into crust; top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.  Cool completely before cutting and serving.