Recipe: Paleo Pie Crust plus Apple or Pumpkin Filling...

When marathon training kicks off the week of Thanksgiving, you are hosting, AND you're mostly Paleo, but strictly gluten-free, what's the one thing planted firmly at the top of your planning list? 

Pie.

Yes, pie.   What were you thinking about? Let's be honest, the majority of Thanksgiving dinner is easy to make Paleo and especially easy to make gluten-free. But the pie! Oh, the pie!

I've struggled with making quiche or pie, and trying to find an acceptable crust. The pre-made versions in store are wildly expensive, and the recipes out there just weren't cutting it. Most that were just gluten-free were.. well, weird. Rice flour, potato flour, a million eggs, etc.  And the Paleo recipes, my own included, were almond flour based. Almond flour is a lovely thing, and works for many, many recipes, but try as I might, I couldn't make a pie crust that wasn't insanely dense. And pie crusts are meant to be light!

I got to work, and made several complete failures. I forced upon my husband a quiche crust that was chewy... and only got worse when microwaved. But hey, it had like 8 eggs and 6 slices of bacon invested in it, so he was eating it! We both suffered through one that was quite salty. And then I made something that I doubted would work.. it was so wet, I didn't see how it would work. But it did! It did! I liked it! I really, really liked it!!

Sorry, having a Sally Field moment...

I tested this crust with both apple and pumpkin pie fillings (my Thanksgiving staples). I haven't tasted the Pumpkin, as I don't like Pumpkin, well, anything, but my husband swears to me that it's delicious.  The best part is that this crust is nut and egg free, which is something I know several friends are happy for. 

Without further ado, I present to you... Paleo Pie Crust!!!  (with more pictures than any previous post!)

Paleo Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup coconut flour
• 1 tbsp. arrowroot
• 1/8 Cup (or 2 tbsp.) Tapioca starch/flour
• 1/2 Cup Spectrum all-vegetable shortening
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup water  (start with 1/2 cup, add until you reach the consistency pictured)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325.

First, grease your pie round really well with either butter or coconut oil and lightly dust with coconut flour.

In a medium or large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (coconut, arrowroot, tapioca, salt) until thoroughly blended.

Use a fork to cut in and blend in the shortening. 

You will end up with something the consistency of frosting. Once you have the right consistency, spread it out a bit to make the next step easier. 

Add water and stir together slowly with a spoon until completely blended. You now have something somewhere between cake batter and cookie dough consistency (pretty wet and sticky).

Here's the hardest, most time-consuming part...

Spoon some of the mix into the pie dish, then use the spoon to spread it until it evenly covers, and is a fairly even, thin thickness.  This takes a bit of time and patience, and you will most likely need to use your hands at the end. 

Once spread, use a fork to poke holes in the dough.

Dough plopped into the prepared pie round...

Spreading the dough. I'm not kidding when I say this is thin, but sticky...

Dough spread, ready to pre-bake...

If you want lattice or a double pie, you'll need to prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper. After you prep your pie round, put the leftover dough onto the parchment paper, and spread into a rectangle of even thickness. You should have more than enough dough.

Cook the pie crust in the oven at 325 for 15 minutes. The top layer can go for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool! Time for fillings!!

Pre-baked crusts ready!!   To make lattice, use a sharp knife to slice the rectangle into slices and weave. To make a top, cut out shapes as desired. 

Paleo Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted organic butter
• 1/2 Cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp arrowroot
• cinnamon to taste
• 6 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. 

Prep the apples first. Put them into the pre-baked pie crust.

In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. 

Add the arrowroot and stir until completely smooth. Add desired amount of cinnamon (I use probably 1 TBSP...)

Add maple syrup, stir until blended. Bring just to boiling, but do not actually boil. 

While the sauce is cooking, make your lattice, or put your top on the apple pie. Sprinkle additional cinnamon on top as desired. 

Slowly pour the sauce over the lattice.

 Cover the entire pie with foil. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Decrease heat to 350.  At this point, I recommend that you remove the pie, remove the foil, and place either a pie shield, or create one out of foil to cover the outer ring of the crust. The tippy top will burn, but the liquid will keep the lattice from getting too burnt.

Bake an additional 35 minutes at 350.  Let cool, and enjoy!!!

Sorry the picture is sideways...  you can see here how the edges will crisp up if not protected.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 1 can of pumpkin (make your own if you want... I won't judge if you don't!)
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 Cup. maple syrup
• 2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. 

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in canned pumpkin. Mix in maple syrup.  Slightly beat the eggs, and then stir in until everything is well blended.

Pour into pre-baked pie crust. Smooth out with your spoon.

Pumpkin pie ready to go!

As you can see in the finished product, I recommend that you use a pie crust shield or make one.. The exposed part of the crust will burn a bit. 

Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425.   Reduce temp to 350 and bake an additional 40 minutes or until the center is set. 

My husband ate this by himself. In two days.