My parents have been camping out here in my place since it’s day #5 with no power for them, thanks to Frankenstorm Sandy! Thankfully I am up & running with power.  Last night we made a fabulous dinner consisting of quinoa crusted tofu (I’m addicted!), roasted local farm-fresh chioggia beets & purple haze carrots, beet greens, and organic rice.   For a treat, I thought I’d bake up a simple apple pie.  No thrills, nothing new, just the perfect back to basics apple pie, regardless if it’s gluten-free & vegan!

*This fabulous pie can be made with any fruit filling…peaches, pears, cherries, blueberries, strawberries…any combination your heart desires!

Ingredients:

• 8 organic apples (I used Honey Crisp, any kind will be delicious!)
• 2 batches of my perfect pastry dough (gluten-free & vegan)
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoons dark maple syrup + more to drizzle on top of crust

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare two separate batches of pastry dough (recipe and instruction link above).  Wrap each batch in plastic and place in fridge until you’re ready to rock & roll your dough.
2. Wash, peel, and slice your apples.  Fill a large sauce pan with 1 inch of water (you may need to add more) and place your apples, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in your pan.  Turn your heat to medium and keep an eye on your apples.  Once they start to soften, add your maple syrup and whisk in your cornstarch (add 1 Tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached). 
3. Rolling and transferring your pie crust is the most difficult in gluten-free baking.  If you’ve worked with gluten-free pastry dough before, you know that once you roll out your dough, it’s not moving from that surface!  Solution:  you will need 2 pieces of plastic wrap large enough to roll out your crusts (about the same size), a rolling pin, and 1 ball of dough per crust.  Lay one piece of plastic wrap on your working surface, place your dough ball in the center, top with the second piece piece of plastic wrap, and gently roll away!
   
4. Once your crust is rolled out, you’ll need to transfer it to a greased pie dish.  Remove the top layer of plastic wrap, and carefully slip your hand under your bottom layer of plastic, under your crust, and lift up.  Slowly & gently flip over your crust into your pie dish (it’s okay if it tears a little, just patch it; mine didn’t look perfect but tasted oh-so delicious).   Press down and form to your dish.
5. Bake your bottom crust for about 10 minutes in the oven, until it just starts to turn golden.
6. Add your pie filling.
   
7. Roll out your top crust and lay it over your pie filling (see step 3). 
8. Remove excess dough & form your top crust and crimp your edges together (you can use your fingers or a fork.  If you take the fork route, be sure to dip your fork in water every few crimps (otherwise your fork will stick to the dough).  Poke your fork in the center of your pie (I made a square in the center) for the steam’s escape route. I had some leftover dough, so I made little decorative leaves; be creative!  I sprinkled organic vegan cane sugar & drizzled local dark maple syrup on top; completely optional!  Bake your pie for 20 minutes, until golden.  It’s delicious topped with coconut whipped cream, maple cashew cream (see below), and of course – vanilla ice cream!
9. Enjoy eating whole!

Maple Cashew Cream

In a blender combine:

• 1/2 cup organic cashews (these may be soaked overnight, for easier blending)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• 4 Tablespoons maple syrup

Blend until creamy.  If sauce is too thick, add 1 Tablespoon of water at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.