Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie –
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This year I attempted my first ever gluten-free Dutch Apple pie. And you know what? It was everything I dreamed it would be! Thanks to a recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring and some tips I learned from Linda Fedewa of Bake It Best, you can do it too!
When I need a recipe, there are a few bloggers that I rely on for no- nonsense recipes. Nicole Hunn is one of those, and her gluten-free Dutch Apple pie recipe is easy to follow. There are three main components- the crust, the filling, and the crumble. I still had enough pie crust dough left from the Inspiration Mix that was in my American Gluten Free Thanksgiving box, so I was able to skip making one from scratch. My husband was nice enough to slice all of the apples I needed, which was 5 to 6. I chose to use Golden Delicious, but you can use your own favorite apple.
Once he sliced all the apples, I coated them in the sugar, cinnamon and salt that the gluten-free Dutch Apple pie recipe calls for, and let them macerate. Next comes the trickiest part, in my opinion. The crust. The trick is to have a well-floured surface and to rotate the dough, between rolling, to prevent it from sticking. I’m not good at guessing how big to roll things, so I turned my pie tin over and traced the edge of it on my parchment paper with a pencil. Then I flipped the parchment paper over so I wasn’t actually getting pencil lead in my crust.
Once the crust is rolled out for your gluten-free Dutch apple pie, Nicole Hunn suggests chilling it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Once it has chilled, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and par-bake it at 425*. She suggests using pie weights to keep the crust from puffing. I used black beans on top of parchment paper instead. It worked just fine. Bake 10 minutes with the weights on, then remove the weights and bake 3 minutes more. Isn’t that crust beautiful? While that’s baking, make your crumble, which is a mixture of flour, sugar, salt, spices and softened butter.
Once the crust is par-baked, reduce the oven temp to 350 and assemble your gluten-free Dutch Apple pie. When adding the apples to the crust, be careful to leave any additional moisture from the apples OUT of your pie filling. It will result in a soggy crust. We want this pie to be firm and beautiful!
Nicole suggests chilling your crumble mixture prior to topping your gluten-free Dutch Apple pie. Being a rule follower, I did exactly that. Five minutes in the freezer should be sufficient. Then heap that beautiful brown sugar goodness on top, making sure it covers all of your apples. Bake in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. While it may be tempting to dig in right away, cool completely before serving. You want those baked apples to set up.
I made this gluten-free Dutch Apple pie for our local support group meeting and everyone loved it! Thank you to Nicole Hunn of Gluten Free on a Shoestring for providing recipes that are easy as pie to follow! And thank you to American Gluten-Free for including mixes in your box that make holiday meals easier!