the best pie i've ever made

i ain't lyin'.

i made an apple pie for the 4th of july that was the bomb.com. the fact that it was gluten-free was not even considered. because it was that good. it wasn't good for a gluten-free pie; it was just GOOD.

the only reason i'm tooting my own horn here, is because people still shake their heads a little when we tell them we still eat good food. well, this time the proof is in the pudding...err, uh, pie.

many of you have asked, and i'm finally delivering.

the pie pictured is actually peach. and it was just as good. so i'll give you both recipes, although the pie crust is the same.

gluten-free pie crust:
2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (i use Pamela's)
12 Tbsp butter (the real stuff)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ice-cold water

peach filling:
4-5 very ripe peaches (very soft, but not wrinkled or bruised)
1/4 cup natural cane sugar or turbinado
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp cinnamon*

apple filling:
4-5 medium sized granny smith apples
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup natural cane sugar or turbinado
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp cinnamon*

*i use the pampered chef's cinnamon plus spice blend; if you don't have this or access to it, add a dash of the following to your cinnamon: nutmeg, allspice, cloves, ginger

directions:

1. cube your butter and place in a bowl in the freezer while you prepare your fruit mixture

2. peel, core, and slice your fruit thinly (into eighths at least). mix in a bowl with the rest of your filling ingredients and refrigerate until needed

3. add all dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse quickly. add in your butter one cube at a time until mixed well (it will still be coarse). add apple cider vinegar, and then slowly add in cold water a little at the time until mixed well. remove mixture and work with your hands until it forms a smooth ball of dough. it should be firm, but not crumbly, and soft enough to work with--similar to clay. you can either roll out your crust right away or refrigerate it for an hour or so. refrigerating it will harden the butter again after it softens in your hands, so i usually refrigerate a bit. (if you make your crust more than an hour in advance, the dough will likely be a little hard to work with. you'll have to let it sit out for a while so it's pliable.)

{note: if you don't have a food processor, you can do this by hand, but just know that it will take a lot more elbow grease to get the butter chopped finely into the mixture. i did it once this way because my toddler was napping and i didn't want to wake her with the food processor noise, and frankly i couldn't make pies without nap time. it still worked fine, but i worked up a sweat!}

4. preheat oven to 350F and lightly butter a standard pie dish

5. with your ready-to-go ball of dough, roll it out evenly on a non-stick surface (you can also flour your surface and rolling pin slightly). it should be about 1/8" thick. it will roll out into a much bigger surface than your pie dish. gently lift your dough and place it in your dish. verrry gently press into your dish and tear off any that hangs over the dish. save your scraps for the top!

6. place your fruit filling in the pie.

note: peaches will "juice" upon baking, so ideally you want your mixture to be about half an inch to an inch lower than the top of the dish to prevent it bubbling over when baking. the apples, on the other hand, will shrink down a little--so fill that puppy up!

7. ball up your dough scraps and mold into a smooth ball again. roll it out thinly. you can choose to either make a full top crust or a lattice crust. if you choose full, just repeat the same process of placing it on top of your dish and trimming off any excess. press the two edges together with the tip of a fork, all the way around. cut small vent holes in the top. with a lattice crust, just cut your strips out and lay accordingly--press your edges in the same manner. you can even use tiny leftovers to create a star or heart or whatever you'd like, if you're feeling crafty.

8. bake for 45min - 1hr, or until crust is golden brown. note: without the gluten, i've noticed with baking that letting things get past the perfect golden brown stage will result in a tougher, chewy crust. with standard wheat flour, it will get a little flaky if it browns on the edges--not so much with gluten-free flours. just food for thought :)

9. if you wanna get real, serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream! mmmmmmm!!!!

here's a pic of my half-eaten apple pie on the 4th of july. i was so anxious to serve it and eat it that i didn't photograph the end result. my husband took this one :)

the juicy syrupy apply goodness that flowed from it got spooned on top of my ice cream. decadent, people. sent from above. 

happy eating, friends!!