Dutch Apple Pi(e)

Happy Pi Day everyone! Let's celebrate and eat some pie!

As I had apples in the fridge...way too many apples...I chose to make an Apple pie. I've been battling a head cold and didn't much feel like fighting with a crust I also decided on a super easy funky version of a Dutch apple pie. (Insert Dutch joke from Austin Powers here.)

I found this recipe for an unconventional apple pie from Eat Good 4 Life. The crust is made from the same crumble topping that is usually seen on top of a Dutch Apple pie. Perfectly no fuss for my foggy head-cold brain.

The recipe from Eat Good 4 Life is actually an adaptation of a recipe for dutch apple pie found over at Taste of Home. I made a few changes and my version lies somewhere between the one on Eat Good 4 Life and the one over at Taste of Home.

I really liked how the glaze turned out.  I was surprised at how much it thickened up.  It looks just like the glaze that you find in the canned apple pie filling.  Hooray! (Although I do think it's odd when I'm happy something I make looks store bought.  I mean if something is going to look store bought, shouldn't I save myself the trouble of making it from scratch?)

While this recipe does taste best warm on the first day, I suggest that you wait more than 15 minutes to slice the pie.  As you can see in the picture above, I have a giant fork acting as a sort of pie filling dam.  If you are impatient and cut the pie too early your slice of pie will look like this:

It looks more like an apple crumble than a slice of pie.  I mean if you're going to get techincal, it really is a pie-crumble hybrid.  If you want it to look like a slice of pie on your plate, have patience!

Here's my version of this pie

Apple Crumble Crust Pie adapted from Taste of Home and Good Food 4 Life
Crust:
1c unbleached flour
1c Whole wheat flour
1c brown sugar
1/2 c old fashioned oats
1 stick (8 T) butter
2 T olive oil
2 heaping t cinnamon

Filling:
4-6 c peeled, chopped apples (I used a total of 5 1/2 c Fuji, Jonagold, and Honeycrisp, only because that's what I had.  Use apples of your preference.  The pie would have been ok with 4 cups, but more than 6 cups would have been too much.)
2 T lemon juice
1 t vanilla
1-2 t apple pie spice (see below)
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
3 T cornstarch
1 1/4 c water

In a large bowl, combine crust ingredients; set aside 1 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9-in. pie plate; set aside. For filling, place prepared apples in a large bowl. Toss with lemon juice, vanilla and apple pie spice. In a medium saucepan, combine sugars, cornstarch and water until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 min til thickened. Remove from the heat; pour over apples and combine. 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. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Apple Pie Spice from Baking Bites
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)

Combine all ingredients for desired mix and blend well. Store in a small, airtight container.