Easier Than Apple Pie

Americans love pie. Pies are part of America’s British roots. But instead of kidney pies, Americans crave sweet fruit pies made with apples, strawberries, cherries, and blueberries, and for the holidays pumpkin and mincemeat pies.

Pies take healthy, low calorie fruit, add lots of sugar to make the filling, and then surround the filling in a high calorie, high fat crust made with refined wheat flour, shortening, or butter.

Homemade, restaurant, and high end bakery pies can be packed with fruit. Frozen and supermarket bakery pies, like the pie pictured below, are mostly crust and thickened apple flavored gel than fruit filling. It is easy to see from the photographs that this store bought pie is more crust and gelatin than apples. But, as they say, you get what you pay for. Flour, sugar, and fat cost much less than fresh fruit.

This recipe using a conventional apple pie filling, made with lots of fresh apples, and replaces the usual bottom and top crust, that provides more than 50 precent of the calories, with a puff pastry top. The top can be solid or latticed to further reduce calories.

This recipe is simple, it requires no pie crust making skills, and is ready to serve in less than half the time it takes to make and bake a traditional apple pie.

Nutrition Information

The nutrition information is for 4-oz. (112 g) of apple filling (about 1/8th recipe) with a 3-inch (7.5 cm) diameter puff pastry top. Subtract 65 calories when omitting the puff pastry or 30 calories for a lattice top.

Apple filled puff pastries are about 150 calories each. While two apple filled pastries have about 300 calories (dusted with powdered sugar), it is up to 50% less calories than a typically slice of apple pie.

If you like apple pie ala mode, top warm apple filling with a scoop of ice cream. A puff pastry lattice and/or slivered almonds adds crunchiness.

Cook’s Tips

• For puff pastry top use a 2 1/2 to 3 inch diameter cookie or biscuit cutter, or food ring.
• You can combine all dry ingredients and add them to the partially cooked apples or add them seperately.
• For firmer apples, reduce cooking time.
• Adjust the amount of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste.

Other Apple Recipes

Apple Strudel

German Apple Pancake

Fritters

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb. (675 g) peeled and sliced cooking apples like Granny Smith (about 6 cups)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons (14 g) butter or margarine
• 1 sheet (250 g) prepared puff pastry, thawed

Method of Preparation