Easy as Apple Pie: a Healthy Crust You'll Actually Want to Make

Our Halloween inspired apple pie!

What says autumn more than an apple picking excursion and baking an apple pie? Especially when there is a gigantic bag of apples waiting on the screened porch and children asking to bake at least twice a day! In the past, I would rather buy than bake -- making pie crust seems like such an effort. But this two-ingredient crust has got me now! I'm talking delicious, easy and no hydrogenated nonsense.

Epic views at Pochuck Farms in Glenwood, NJ. Are orchards always on a big hill? I wished I brought the wagon that day. A half-bushel only sounds small.

The new album cover.

Apparently "make a silly face" means the same thing to them!

Apple Pie with Easy Crust

(adapted from Minimalist Baker)

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 2/3 cup coconut oil (soft and scoopable)

• 3-6 Tbsp ice cold water

• 6-7 apples, peeled

• 1/2 - 1 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of apples)

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 5 pats of butter (optional)

**We doubled the crust ingredients, but make two batches instead of combining. Your hands will thank you -- SO difficult to mix the ingredients when I doubled it in one bowl. Also, I think it has a better texture when you make one batch at a time.

Instructions

• Ensure the coconut oil is scoopable -- not hard and not melted. See photo below.

• Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

• Next add coconut oil in spoonfuls and use a pastry cutter to cut the two together, until it resembles wet sand. We like this pastry cutter from Williams Sonoma because it has a built-in scraper.

This is the crust ingredients doubled. Before I knew the difficulty of mixing all this at once. Do two batches!

Totally love the built-in scraper on this pastry cutter. It attaches to the handle with a magnet.

• Add ice cold water 1 Tbsp at a time and use a wooden spoon to gently mix. Add only as much water as needed to help it come together and form a dough - about 3-4 Tbsp.

• Use your hands to gently knead/form the dough in the bowl and gather any loose scraps. Then transfer directly to parchment paper and form into a disc with your hands.

• Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll it out to 1/4-inch thickness. Drape your dough in your pie pan. Cut around the rim of the pie pan and patch any holes. Cut out your shapes with crust stamps for the top.

Time to get artsy.

• Peel and slice apples. Add sugar and cinnamon and mix thoroughly.

• Add apple mixture to pie pan (plus butter, if desired) and create your design!

• Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. If browning too quickly, tent the edges with foil to prevent burning.