An Apple Pie You'd like to meet

I love apple pie and have for a very long time. When I was a kid growing up in Toronto, Ontario we used to go Milton and visit Chudleigh's Apple Farm. It was a highlight every year. They had hay rides, a cool barn you could play in and to cry for apple pie with a crumble top. You could buy so many types of apples. You could sit down and order a slice of pie or take one home. We often had a slice while we were there and then bought a pie to take home.  Once we got home I remember the warm spices of the pie heating up in the oven and the excitement I would have when mom would say it was ready. It's a memory I still cherish to this day and I can still taste that Chudleigh apple pie crumble topping.

Living on Vancouver Island and selling at farmer's markets I see apples everywhere. In fact we have our very own apple and pear trees out back. This year we got an abundant crop and so we've been collecting them and finding all sorts of ways to use them. So naturally knowing we had too many apples and pears I decided to share with you our version of the Chudleigh apple pie that I treasured so many years ago as a kid.

As a side note this version comes from my time in Seattle, Washington. I got my bachelors degree in English in California and one of my good friends lived in Washington so I had the chance to spend time with her one summer.  Well, I ended up with a oven mitt (I think it was a gift). This is a twist on the Space Needle Apple Pie but it very similar to the Chudleigh Apple Farm version.

Okay let's get started.  

Apple Crumble Pie by Two Blooms

• 4 apples (as many as you think you'll need to fill a 9" pie plate or whatever container you decide to use
• 4 pears
• a dribble of lemon juice
• a shake or two of nutmeg
• 3-4 shakes of cinnamon
• 1 TBSP flour (can sub with gluten free flour or finely ground oatmeal)
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 cup of sugar

If you are following this portion to a T then peel and slice apples and pears (we leave the skin on). Then add all other ingredients and mix well. Put in a 9' pie plate. If you want you can use a store bought crust or whip up your own. We like to save on the calories so skip the crust part.

Now this above part is really ab lib so experiment. What Caron (the other bloom) and I did was skip all the additions and just cut up our apples and pears and plopped them in our corningware dish and then went straight to the topping part and it was still divine.

Okay onto the dreamy filling:

• 2 cups of flour (feel free to sub this with gluten free flour, we used oatmeal in our version and we didn't grind it either)
• 2 cups of brown sugar (we used only 1 cup and used that organic coconut sugar)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup of margarine (we subbed in 1/4 of olive oil and 1/4 cup of coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup of walnuts (optional) we skipped this part

Mix until moist, I found with our substitutions that we needed more moisture so just kept adding water until it looked just right.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheight for 40 minutes.

Have fun with this recipe. Add in other fruits for the crumble.  It's wonderful on it's own or pair it with frozen yogurt or ice cream. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you make it. This time of year it's perfect for autumn weather.

If your looking for skin food to compliment this recipe try our Organic Vanilla Earl Grey or Organic Tofino Morning Chai Soap.