Thursday, March 22, 2012

Dense Apple Crumble Pie

We had a gathering last week and I wanted to bring an apple pie. Since I only decided that very morning to make an apple pie, I wanted a crust that is simple and quick to put together. Found this easy crust, actually it is more a crumble than a crust, but it works pefectly as the base for the apple filling. The only changes I did was, I use golden raisins instead of dates as the original recipes calls for.


Since I do not own a food processor (on wishlist!), I mixed the crumbles by using a pastry blender, which takes about 5 minutes or so. I'm sure with the food processor, it takes only seconds!! The ingredients for the crust are mixed until the coarse crumbs can stay together when mould into a ball. More than half of the amount are then used to line the lightly greased tart pan, at the base and halfway up the sides. Do not fill the sides to the top, as it bakes, surprisingly it will puff up right to the rim of the tart pan. Use the back of a spoon to evenly spread crumbles. I use Fuji Apples and golden raisins for the filling.


Melt some butter and stir in the chunky apples, stirring for about 3-5 minutes until apples are somewhat soften. Add in the brown sugar, raisins or dates, and lemon juice. Stir for a minute or two and remove from heat, cool for about 5 minutes.


Spread apple filling onto pie shell, spread out evenly. Scatter the balance crumbles over the top, evenly cover apples as much as possible, pressing gently over the apples.


Bake in a preheated oven until pie is golden brown and apples are tender.


Brought the pan of pie to my sis's place and of course by the time we wanted to have this for dessert, it had already gone cold. Simply reheat in the oven for about 10 minutes to warm it again.


Dense Apple Crumble Pie
(Adapted from "Apple Pie" by Ken Haedrich)
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Crumb Crust and Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1-1/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces


Filling :
3 large apples, peeled, quartered, and cored
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  1. To make the crust and topping, put the flour, oats, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse several times to mix. Remove the lid and scatter the butter pieces over the surface. Pulse again until the mixture forms coarse crumbs that hold together when you press them between your fingers. Stop the machine after several pulses to fluff the crumbs with a fork, pulling them up from the bottom of the processor.
  2. Evenly spread a little more than half of the crumbs in the bottom and halfway up the sides of a lightly buttered 9-inch pie pan, pressing them into the pan. Refrigerate the crust and set the remaining crumbs aside as you make the filling. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  3. Cut each quarter section of the apple in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into chunks. Melt the butter in a medium-size nonreactive skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring, to soften somewhat, about 3 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, dates and lemon juice and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Scrape the filling and all the juice into the pie shell and spead it out evenly. Scatter the remaining crumbs evenly over the top of the pie, pressing them gently into the apples.
  5. Put the pie directly on the center oven rack and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until the top of the pie is golden brown and the apples are tender, another 20 to 25 minutes.
  6. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before slicing.



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31 comments:

  1. Its been a while we last had apple crumble. Yours is bringing back memories.

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  2. Oh my God,this is one of the most beautiful and yummy apple desserts I have ever seen!I love it!I will definitely try it since I adore desserts with apples!Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe,dear!Kisses from sunny Greece!

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  3. in fact this sound so healthy and yummy!

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  4. This looks very good and adding oats makes it a lot healthier, superb..

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  5. this whole book is on apple pies?? wow, i know you love making tarts and pies and yes, whenever i make crust, i will use the food processor, dont want to dirty my hands! LOL!

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  6. apple crumble pie? It sounds good, love to add this healthy choice in my recipe list :)

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  7. I love apple crumble pie. Can I have some pls!! This looks yummy!

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  8. I need to bake an apple pie for an office project, looks I found THE recipe!

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  9. Yeah can see perfectly crumbled pie. Looks yum...

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  10. There is nothing more delicious than an apple pie and I love this dense, crumbly version!

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  11. I love the quick and easy crumb crust. Hmm... you didn't reduce the sugar this time? :)

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    1. Hi KY, No I did not reduce the sugar, it is not overly sweet, just right! Have a nice day!

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  12. Apple pie is one of our favorites. The topping with coconut flakes sound really good. Have a great weekend!

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  13. That last pic...whoa, baby! Apple pie is my favorite non-chocolate dessert and I love one with a crumble topping. Thanks for sharing with See Ya In the Gumbo.

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  14. Never tired of eating apple crumble. Please share with me :)

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  15. This pie looks like it would be heavenly with a scoop of ice cream. Great dessert!

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  16. Yummy apple crumble pie. This is a traditional pie which is well received by everyone, I guess! There is a patisserie in Sydney which made very nice apple crumble pie & I used to buy it a lot but has stopped doing it now since I'm baking very often these days.

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  17. Now that's my kinda Apple Pie! Not only am I terrible at pie crust, "crummy" pie tastes so much better especially with a dollop of ice cream! Love that you added the coconut too!!!

    Thanks for sharing Joyce...

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  18. Woah, lovely looking dessert... and I love apples...

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  19. Delicious Apple pie, I can almost taste the crumbles!
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  20. Te ha quedado hermosa soy una fan de este postre delicioso,abrazos y abrazos.-

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  21. The denser the better :D
    This looks insanely delicious!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru
    Latest: Colossal Caramel Peanut Monster Cookies

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  22. I love all kinds of apple pie! This one looks amazing!

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  23. denser = more apple goodness!! looks absolutely delicious!

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  24. I love this scrumptious looking pie, would be so delicious with a cup of coffee!:D Have a good sunday!

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  25. This looks like a wonderful apple pie, Joyce, and I love that you use the crumble mixture to make both the base and the topping. Definitely one to try.

    Thanks so much for sharing this at Cookbook Sundays.

    Sue xo

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  26. Oh my goodness, that looks so good! I love crumbles and such a great idea for a crust...delicious!

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  27. These look and sound so yummy. Think I'll make some this weekend.

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  28. Oh! I have to make this soon. Sounds just heavenly.

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