Apple Crumb Pie Recipe. Berry and Stone Fruit Variation.
Apple Crumb Pie
Here’s is the all-time American favorite! No crust, all fruit and crumb, oozing with juicy and tart deliciousness! It is as easy to make as the proverbial…. apple crumb pie! One of my favorite comfort foods. And all good healthy food too: oats, nuts, fruit? What’s not to love? And with all this fruit, you need only very reasonable amounts of sugar.
No crust, loads of crunchy topping
All Gluten-Free Friends: apple crumb pie is a snap to make the gluten-free way too, so go for it. Lots of perfect gluten-free flour you can use: oat, rice, sorghum etc…
I love love love all things with apples: Here is a great apple gift for you! Ginormous, as my grandchildren say. You’re welcome!
Berry Crumb Pie or Stone Fruit Crumb Pie
Great dessert to make when stone fruit and berries are plentiful. Everything will work: plums, peaches, cherries, blueberries. Hmm, i wouldn’t do strawberries or raspberries, they’re just way to moist and will likely disintegrate in a wet mess.
Scroll down to the bottom to find instructions!
Frozen Berries
I love all frozen berries and stone fruit! I gravitate towards frozen even when their season is in full swing. They are heavenly. Nothing beats their sweetness and ripeness. And they are always ready when you are! It has gotten increasingly easy to get larger bags even in your supermarkets and health food stores: that’s a lot of awesome pies and smoothies waiting to happen!
Small Pies
If you get ambitious, make 6-8 apple individual crumb pie desserts in 3-4 inch ramekins, or in mini skillets. It will add a little prep work, but will be beautiful.
Although I recommend serving apple crumb pie warm, room temperature will work too.
Ingredients
Fruit mixture:
- 6 large granny smith apples, peeled and diced small (about 8 cups)
- 1/4 cup corn starch, or better yet, arrowroot or tapioca flour (health food stores)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or Sucanat (health food stores)
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons brandy or rum
Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup flour, any kind including Gluten-Free
- 2/3 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
- 1/3 cup natural margarine spread
- 3/4 cup brown sugar or Sucanat
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 35oF.
Mix the fruit mixture ingredients gently and without squeezing, so as not to extract moisture, and pour into a greased 12-inch pie pan, or 11x14 inch baking pan. Mix the topping ingredients lightly with your fingers until you get a mealy texture. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the apple mixture, using it all up. Bake for about 45 minutes, or a little longer, until the top is bubbly and golden. Best served warm (room temperature OK too), alone or with vanilla ice cream or sorbet.
Variation: Blueberry or Stone-Fruit Crumb Pie
Use 8 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, cranberries, rhubarb (cranberries and rhubarb are tart, so add a little more sugar) or pitted cherries, diced plums, peaches etc... These fruit releasing more moisture than apples, simply follow the recipe, increasing the arrowroot to 1/2 cup. In this case, replace the cinnamon with ground ginger or cardamom, either of which will be a great spice match. Replace the rum with creme de cassis.
which natural margarine spread do you like?
Beth I look for the fat content more than I look for the brand. I want 80 to 100 calories per serving, it’s my guarantee it won’t be watery and won’t separate. Where we need fat, we must use fat. Smart balance is good, Heart Balance, and a few other brands that are not coming to me, available in health food stores.
HI!
this recipe listed above is slightly different than the original recipe in your cookbook. Specifically, 1 1/2 cups of oats vs 1 c (in book), 2/3 c flour vs 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 c margarine spread vs 1/4.
please clarify!
thanks
Chayie This is the exact same recipe. The one on my blog is a little larger, hence the larger ingredient amount everywhere.
Non-alcoholic substitutes for the brandy or rum?
Karen, sure. Just skip the liqueur. If you find pomegranate molasses, add 2-3 tablespoons.
brown sugar is the sticky kind or raw sugar?
thanks
Gitty Brown sugar is the sticky molasses-y kind. I prefer raw sugar or sucanat across the board
Hi, it looks great and I would be interested to know what would be your regular recipe for those of us who B”H are fine with gluten. Also most importantly for those of us who are allergic to tree nuts what can be used in place of the walnuts/pecans? I also don’t mind the pie being chalavi so can I use butter instead and if so which one regular sweet or unsalted?
Adah, the pie contains gluten, plus a gluten-free option. Allergic to nuts: Skip them. Wanna to use butter? Unsalted please.
Hi! Can I use coconut oil instead Margarine?
Iliana my experience tells me oil (any oil) won’t yield a crust as flaky as the natural margarine spread.
Looks yummy! However if you’re making it for a gluten intolerant person be aware that oats are an issue! Believe gluten free oats are possible but the more popular/common brands (i.e. Quaker) aren’t gluten free. (Steel cut oats aren’t an issue, all are gf.)
Hi Marcy, people who need to buy GF are perfectly aware that Oats are a gluten-free grain in of itself: It just needs to be labeled as GF, which means it was process in machinery that doesn’t process wheat.
Yum! I get discouraged by the thought of having to make a traditional apple pie, which is why this is such a great alternative! Looks impressive too