Gluten Free RECIPE: Easy & amazing apple pie (with crumble or lattice top)

Apple pie is an all American classic - and a delicious addition to a holiday (or any day). I was always intimidated by making pies. I love baking and have been baking gluten free for over 20 years, but mostly stuck to cookies, brownies, and cakes. After having delicious gluten free apple crumble pie at Poshpop Bakeshop in New York City, I had to figure out how to make my own. I’ve tried this recipe many times - with latticework and with a crumble topping. While the latticework definitely is the prettiest, but the crumble topping tastes the best.

I’ll walk through how to make the apple pie a few different ways: 1) Apple pie with latticework and 2) Apple pie with crumble topping. You can make either of these with a homemade or gluten free pie crust (depending on how easy you want it to be - I usually go for the easy option).


Apple Filling:

Ingredients for apple filling:

  • 4-5 apples (depending on size of your pie crust and how large the apples are)

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp ginger

  • 1/4 tsp allspice

  • 2 Tbsp gluten free all-purpose flour

Steps to make apple filling:

  • Mix all the spices with the gluten free all-purpose flour together in a bowl.

  • Peel and chop 4-5 apples and add them into the bowl with the spices and gluten free flour. Mix everything together with a spoon and let sit while you put together the dough and pie crust. This allows for all the spices to soak into the apples when you fix the pie crust — it also means that you may have some liquid at the bottom of your bowl of apple slices, that’s good - you’ll pour it into the pie crust at the end.

Pie Crust:

Pie Crust option 1 - (easy pre-made crust):

Purchase gluten free pre-made pie crust at your local grocery store with gluten free products. Typically these are available in the freezer section in Whole Foods, Sprouts, and other stores that carry gluten free products.

  • Gluten free pre-made pie crust (typically frozen), place in a pie tin if it doesn’t already have one. I have recently used Wholly Wholesome Gluten Free Pie crust and it was delicious - found it at Sprouts. Defrost the pie crust before filling it with your apple filling. This ensures that the pie crust cooks fully in the oven. If you want an extra crispy pie crust, put the pie crust in the oven for 3-4 minutes by itself, then take it out and fill with your apple filling.

  • Once you finish your apple filling, pour all the apple filling into the pie crust and get ready for your top (crumble or lattice).

Pie Crust option 2 - (homemade crust):

When I don’t have a pre-made frozen pie crust, or I’m feeling really into baking, I make a gluten free pie crust from scratch. I use the recipe from Gluten Free Palate. When I don’t have time to make a homemade pie crust, I use a pre-made gluten free crust (see option 1).

  • 3 cups gluten free all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 cup unsalted butter

  • 8-10 Tbsp milk

For instructions on how to make the homemade gluten free pie crust, visit the recipe on Gluten Free Palate’s site. I think it’s delicious and I think you will too! Once you have made your pie crust and put it into a pie pan, then pour all the apple filling into the pie crust and get ready for your topping.

Pie Topping:

Pie Topping option 1 - crumble topping:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour

  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)

Steps to make:

Mix all ingredients together, I like to use a mixer to make sure that everything crumbles. Then I mix it together with my fingers and put in the freezer until you’re ready to use (so it doesn’t all melt together). Once your pie crust is filled with the apple filling, cover the top of the pie with your crumble topping. Use your hands to pack all of the crumble in and pat it down so nothing falls apart when you put it into the oven.

Pie Topping option 2 - latticework:

Take your pie crust (homemade or from a pre-made gluten free crust) and roll it out on the counter or on a cutting board (add a little gluten free all purpose flour first so it doesn’t stick). If your pre-made pie crust was in a pie tin already, take the one you are using for the top latticework out of the pie tin. If you’re using a homemade pie crust, roll out the pie crust so that it’s about the size of the pie top.

Once you have your pie crust rolled out, cut the dough into even strips about 1/2 inch thick. Then, after your pie is filled with your apple filling, lay out 4-6 parallel strips of the pie dough on top of the pie with about 1/2 inch between them. Fold back every other strip, then place one long strip perpendicular to the others and then fold the strips over the new piece of dough. Pull the opposite strips up from your 4-6 strips and place another strip of dough about 1/2 inch away from your first one. Alternate until the entire pie is covered in a basket-weave style latticework top. Once you’ve finished with all the strips, trip the edges of the strips and crimp the crust top of the pie so it’s even.


Bake the Pie:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and cook the pie for 30-45 minutes. Once you take it out of the oven, let it rest for about an hour before you eat it. *The waiting can be hard… sometimes I just wait until it’s cooled down enough that I don’t burn my entire mouth… it’s hard to wait!


Enjoy!

Comment below with your baking adventures, questions, and which pie do you like better - Apple Pie with crumble topping or with latticework topping??





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