Fruit pie is my husband’s very favorite,
and this is the apple pie recipe he grew up loving.
Lucky for us, it’s generally very allergy-friendly.
No egg, no nuts, and you can easily make it soy-free and dairy-free with the right margarine.
Check out Melt brand or the right variety of Earth Balance for milk and soy free butter.
As you can see, I don’t make the most beautiful pies.
And it’s ok if you don’t either!
In this recipe, you will learn technique for the best flaky apple pie crust.
That texture and soul-satisfying taste are what matter.
Am I right?
We can’t wait to share grandma’s classic apple pie recipe with you!
APPLE PIE DAIRY EGG FREE
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Makes two 9″ pie crusts for both top and bottom
CRUST INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup + 2 tbs shortening or solid coconut oil
4-6 tablespoons ice water
CRUST DIRECTIONS
Spoon flour into measuring cup and level it off with the flat side of a butter knife.
Place the flour into your Kitchen Aid bowl or large mixing bowl.
Add salt to the flour and mix it through.
Cut the shortening or solid coconut oil into the flour mixture until the flour becomes the size of small peas. The Kitchen Aid Mixer (affiliate) on the lowest speed makes this easy to do. Or use a pastry cutter (affiliate).
Sprinkle the crumbly flour with ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork (or lowest speed of Kitchen Aid mixer) JUST until all the flour is moistened and pinches together with your fingers.
Don’t overmix the dough or add too much water.
Gather dough together with your hands until it cleans the bowl.
Press the dough firmly into a ball.
Divide the ball of dough in half.
Press dough into two firm balls, equal size.
Cover rolling pin and a pastry mat lightly in flour.
Roll each ball of dough lightly into a flat 12″ circle, by going from center to edges. Rotate 45 degrees after each roll to prevent sticking to surface.
Be careful not to add much extra flour as that makes the pastry tough.
You can always pinch the dough back together if it falls apart as opposed to rolling it out again.
Remember, the less you handle the dough the better.
FILLING INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6-7 cups of crisp, peeled, sliced apples
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of dairy-free butter (to add right before the top crust).
FILLING DIRECTIONS
Peel and slice apples easily in this apple machine (affiliate).
Or hand-cut the apples into bite-size pieces.
Mix sugar with cinnamon in a small bowl.
Toss apples, cinnamon, and sugar in a large bowl until the apples are coated.
PIE DIRECTIONS
Pick up the first flat dough by rolling it over your rolling pin.
Then roll the dough over the pie plate.
Or transfer the crust using a flat cookie sheet (affiliate).
Lift the edges to let the crust gently fall into the corners of the dish, don’t firmly press them into the corners.
Try not to spend too much time working the dough or it may not bake up flaky.
Cut any excess dough beyond the pie plate and save it for a bonus treat shown below.
Put the filling in the pan on top of the dough.
Dot the filling with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of dairy-free margarine.
Pick up the second flat dough by rolling it over your rolling pin like before.
Then gently roll the dough over the top of the pie.
Cut any excess dough that extends past the pie plate. Save the dough for a bonus treat, shown below.
Seal the bottom and top layers of dough by pinching them together.
Mine never pinches together beautifully. I think my pies are more rugged, but the crust is always flaky!
Then cut four slits in the top of the pie.
Bake on 425 for 50-60 minutes until the crust is nicely browned, not just golden and the apples are fully cooked.
Let pie cool for hours, see below.
HOW LONG DO PIES NEED TO COOL
Sadly, this ain’t Krispy Kreme and your apple pie shouldn’t be eaten hot and fresh.
Unless you don’t want to eat an intact pie.
Instead, it takes 4 hours for an apple pie to fully cool before eating.
So be sure to allow plenty of time for the prep, the baking, and the cooling.
About one hour to prepare your apple pie from scratch.
About one hour to bake.
And four hours to completely cool.
Six hours total to enjoy your homemade, old fashioned apple pie.
It’s certainly a labor of love.
But in hubby’s opinion, totally worth it.
WHAT TO DO WITH EXTRA PIE CRUST
My husband has even more special memories about his mom’s and grandma’s apple pies…
getting to enjoy the extra bits of pie crust while the blasted pie cooled for four hours, ha!
Maybe it was their way to tide him over.
Simple gather those extra pieces of dough that you cut off the edge…
and roll them out again to make mini crust. Don’t over work the dough or it will get tough.
Brush some dairy-free butter on the mini bonus crust.
Then sprinkle the dough liberally with cinnamon and sugar.
Bake alongside your pie until it’s golden brown, not as long as the pie or it will burn.
And tell your hubby and kids they can enjoy this crust while the apple pie bakes and cools.
Or enjoy this bonus crust for yourself, you deserve it you hard-working pie-maker!
TIPS FOR THE BEST APPLE PIE
Let’s recap real quick our best tips for making dynamite apple pie your family will love for years and years.
First, Grandma’s tip is don’t overwork the dough.
Then, there are my modern time-saving tips.
Use a Kitchen Aid Mixer, on the lowest speed, to cut the dairy-free butter in easily and to mix the dough.
Use an Apple Machine (affiliate) to peel and slice your apples! HUGE time-saver.
Finally, pick up your pie dough by sliding it on and off a cookie sheet (affiliate).
Voila! My biggest problem solved.
Hope you enjoy this old fashioned homemade apple pie as much as we have for decades!
Gladys
Saturday 3rd of October 2020
When do you put the coconut oil in???
Jamie Kaufmann
Saturday 3rd of October 2020
Hi Gladys! The solid coconut oil can replace the crisco if you prefer. :) Hope that helps!
Anonymous
Tuesday 31st of March 2020
I still don’t understand do I need 1 or 2 cups of flour.Because if I need 2,then can’t I just sift it into the bowl?Im confused
Jamie Kaufmann
Thursday 2nd of April 2020
It's 2 cups of flour. :)