Dutch Apple Pie, 25 cents a serving

Dutch Apple Pie

By now, you might be wondering: does this woman live on cereal, crackers, and tequila?!  Actually, not at all!  I can’t drink right now, but I’m happy to share a great deal with my readers. As for all that cereal a few posts ago, I donate free groceries whenever possible!  Most of my food intake is based on healthy whole grains and lots of produce with lean proteins worked in.  But, as it’s the holidays, I’m starting my recipe series with a real crowd pleaser: Dutch apple pie.

I don’t mean “crowd pleaser” as a turn of phrase; my friend who took this pie I baked actually said everyone at her Thanksgiving table was enthused about it.  It started with a request for a vegan, dairy-free dessert, also accommodating someone with peanut allergies. My friend Gretchen wasn’t sure what to take that would meet these requirements, be easy to make, and taste good.  Apple pie sprang immediately to my mind!  It’s easy to customize and relatively healthy.

Recipe:
Crust:
The secret to the crust is to keep the shortening (butter or margarine) very cold. I use a recipe like this one from Epicurious, that my grandma taught me years ago. When you cut the shortening into the flour mixture, you want to make it into the size of peas, not blend it in entirely. Roll it as quickly as possible to keep it from getting tough. If this seems too hard, you can always use a no-roll crust recipe like this one, or a ready-made crust! You could even leave off the bottom crust and make it a cobbler. Easy as, well, pie.
Filling
6 cups cooking apples (I used 5 Golden Delicious)
1 T lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8-1/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like your pie)
3 T flour
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t nutmeg (or substitute 1 teaspoon apple pie spice for the last 3 ingredients)
Mix all together and let sit. Taste the juices that form to test for your sweetness level. Remember that more sugar will be going into the topping, so don’t overdo it. Put the filling into the crust, then make the topping.

Topping:
3/4 + 2T (7/8) cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening (butter or margarine), cold
Mix the flour and sugars together in a bowl. To add the shortening, use the same technique for the crust below–chop the shortening into pea-sized pieces so that it is distributed well throughout the mixture. Distribute atop the filling, and this bad boy is ready to go!

Once pie is formed, cook at 375 degrees for about 55 minutes. You can serve this with a sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream, but it stands alone.

Costs:

• I used flour from a 5 lb bag I got at a 99 cent sale before Thanksgiving.  Stores near you should be running specials like this again soon for Christmas bakers.  I didn’t have a specific purpose in mind for the 2 bags of flour when I bought them, but I knew I would use them.  Take advantage of sales like this when they happen and make it work!  At the same store, name brand flour can be 6 times that when not on sale. Cost for this?  20 cents tops.
• The Golden Delicious apples were on special for 39 cents/lb.  I used about 2 pounds, or 78 cents.
• I splurged on vegan margarine that I knew would meet my eaters’ needs, so this was my biggest expense.  82 cents for the portion used.
• The sugars I have had around for a while, and I honestly can’t remember what they cost when I bought them.  Because I used a small amount, I’m calling this as owned goods, along with the spices–no real cost incurred.
• I used a lime from the tree in my backyard in substitution for the lemon juice.
• Total Cost = under $2, or a little over if you figure, say, 50 cents for the sugar and spice amounts

It’s not coincidence that I picked an inexpensive dessert to make for the party.  It’s not that my friend Gretchen doesn’t deserve the best; she does!  I am using this example because I want to show you that you can make even an impressive, holiday-worthy, delicious, vegan, special-needs item on a budget!  That means it’s all easy from here, ladies and gents.

The next recipe will be something completely different: Korean food!