Thanksgiving Recap: Gluten Free Rum Apple Pie

The end of the Thanksgiving recap has arrived and since we started with pie, we must end with pie.  You didn't actually think that I only served one dessert on the biggest food holiday of the year, did you?  We should get better acquainted.



Because the other pie was a pumpkin/pecan hybrid, I figured that a fruit pie was in order.  Typically, I like my fruit pies to be topped with struesel which makes it more like a fruit crisp which I like better than fruit pie (primarily because I like to eat the crisp part with ice cream and leave the fruit in the bowl.  I need the fruit for flavor but I'd prefer not to actually eat it.)  - however, I wanted to make this dessert gluten free and I had a great pie crust recipe that would fit the bill.  Regardless, I wanted to make sure that the pie was still traditional, but had a little bit of punch to it.  Therefore, I added rum.

It was a no brainer really... if I add liquor to something, CA is more likely to enjoy it.  Plus, the pumpkin pie had bourbon in it, the sweet potatoes had bourbon in them, the turkey was brined in bourbon, the gravy had cognac in it, the stuffing had port in it and the green beans had sherry in them... there was a theme.




Other than a touch of rum, the apples were very traditionally seasoned with sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon.  I added a little cornstarch to make sure that the filling was nice and thick when it cooked... I hate pies that are runny and don't hold up when they're sliced!

Instead of a struesel or a whole slab of crust on top of the pie, I opted for a lattice crust atop the pie which turned out really beautifully!

I was worried that the gluten free crust would crumble and break but it did not.  It sliced and weaved just as you'd hope any pie crust would do.

A little bit of egg wash and a long bake in the oven resulted in a beautifully browned crust!

I'm really pleased with how this pie came out, considering I winged it quite a bit.  The crust was flaky.  The filling was sweet and spicy and held up when sliced.  I wish the rum flavor had been a bit more pronounced (add a little more then the recipe says if you'd like) but a warm slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was just what I needed to round out my holiday meal.


Rum Apple Pie (Gluten Free or Not)

Ingredients
2 batches of Pie Crust Dough (Gluten Free Version or Regular Version)
6 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 T Cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 T Melted Butter
3 T Rum
1 Egg, lightly beaten

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a pie plate with non-stick spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together the apples, sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, butter and rum.

Roll out one of the pie crusts dough and place it in the bottom of the pie plate.  Pour the apple mixture on top of the pie crust.  Roll out the remaining pie crust dough and cut into 14 - 16  1/2 inch strips.  Lay 7 or 8 strips parallel on top of the pie.  Weave remaining strips in with the first set of strips to create a basket weave pattern.  Pinch the edges of the pie crust to seal.

Brush the crust with egg wash.  Bake for 1 hour until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  If necessary, cover the pie with aluminum foil to keep the crust from getting too brown.


Enjoy!
Julie