Today we are celebrating my younger son’s birthday. He picked the meal and dessert. He loves apple pie so when he told me wanted apple pie it was no surprise. I have always played with variations on this classic dish with great success. Today’s version is one of my favorites.

The local orchard’s are selling the new crop and I picked up some local golden delicious apples and autumn crisps. Don’t be put off by small apples. We had a drier summer, but these seasons can produce some very tasty apples as the flavors a concentrated in the fruit and give great results in a baked dish. The apples should be firm when pressed and not give under your finger.

The original request for the second fruit was raspberries, but what the store had was kind of sad looking, but the blackberries looked amazing so I snatched them up.

Remember to taste the fruit you will use. This gives you a better idea of how much sweetener will be needed. The blackberries were a bit more on the sour side, but had great flavor so I did use a bit more sugar than listed below.

I love to add candied ginger to fruit pies, (even carrot cake) to make them even better. Wise Wife sugar is sold in Asian markets. The sugar is a deep brown, some varieties have spices mixed in. They are less sweet but have incredible flavor. I hope you explore the possibilities of these products.

Ingredients

1 prepared pie crust (I gave up on making my own crust long ago and I sleep just fine with that choice)

3 medium golden delicious apples
1 pink lady or similar apple
1 cup of additional fruit-(red plum, blackberries, raspberries-whatever is available and good quality)
1 Tbs lime juice

Spice mix
1/3 cup bergamot infused raw sugar (or plain raw sugar)
1/3 cup wise wife sugar (dark brown sugar)
1/3 cup candied ginger, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (don’t use pre-ground)
1 1/2 Tb cornstarch
1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)
1/2 cup pecans, broken

fine ground plain bread crumbs, as needed

Crumble topping

1 cup old fashion oats (not quick oats)
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, broken up
6 Tbs softened unsalted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Directions:

Making the pie in the morning of the day to serve is my best recommendation. This will give the pie time to cool completely, juices to set and flavors to blend. Do not refrigerate to speed this along as it will alter the crust texture when served (like bread put in the refrigerator).

Get out the pie crust, butter and apples from the refrigerator so they can warm to room temperature.
Prepare the spice mix and topping first.

In a small bowl, combine the spice mix ingredients and set aside.
In a different small bowl, combine the crumble topping and mix with your fingers until well mixed, put this into your refrigerator until ready to use.

When you are ready to peel and chop the apples, turn the oven on to 425F to preheat.

Put lime juice in the bottom of a medium bowl.
Peel apples and roll in the lime juice and leave them in the same bowl as you work on the rest.
Chop the peeled apples into chunks about 1 inch in size. Stir the pieces in the remaining lime juice to coat (better then a bowl of lemon water-keeps the fruit from becoming too wet) Add the spice mixture to the apples and stir well. Add the “+” fruit of choice. Berries are delicate so stir gently to keep damage to them at a minimum. I half large blackberries prior to adding.

Spray the pie pan with non-stick spray or very lightly grease the pan. Roll out the crust into your pie dish-trim off excess crust from top edge
Sprinkle an even layer of bread crumbs over the bottom of the crust (this absorbs the excess juices so the bottom crust will be flaky)

Add spiced fruit mixture to the pie shell and spread out across the shell. Sprinkle crumble topping over the fruit and spread to the edges of the pie.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes. Topping should be browned and fruit softened.
Let cool for several hours (4-6) before serving or filling will be too loose to hold together.

Serve with caramel ice cream or yogurt (I use plain low-fat yogurt and sweeten with a bit of honey and vanilla)

Enjoy!