The All-American Post: Apple Pie and Pussy.

[naamah_darling]

Since you are all far wiser in the ways of cookery than I, I appeal: does anyone know of a good dairy-free apple pie recipe? I want to make something dessert-like to show familial solidarity with the in-laws, but Sargon's dad, Dad the Terrible, can't have milk products. My cooking lore is at a loss, here. Any advice will be much appreciated

Comments

[ewtikins]

Have you made piecrust before? Did it work? If the answer to either of these is 'no', get a frozen pie crust (pre-rolled or not). Most of them aren't dairy; you'll likely have a choice between ones that have lard, and ones that have vegetable shortening. There are those who say this is cheating. I say it isn't. I have never been able to make piecrust work properly from scratch, even though it apparently isn't difficult.

My apple pie filling is, um, lots of apples chopped up very thin, with maybe a quarter of a cup of sugar (depends how sweet the apples are, cooking apples might need more), about two teaspoons of cinnamon and a half teaspoon of nutmeg. You can peel the apples first, I usually don't, but I don't mind stringy bits of apple peel.

Put the chopped apple mixture in a microwaveable bowl with a bit of water (maybe a quarter cup? You don't want it to get runny), nuke for a minute or two to soften the apples. In the meantime roll out the bottom crust (if necessary) and put the bottom in the pie pan. Some people 'blind bake' the piecrust first by putting baking beans in the bottom to hold it down, I usually don't bother.

When the apples are soft and you've dealt with the bottom pie crust, put the apple mixture in the piecrust. You might need to strain it first if you've used a lot of water, in which case do check the seasoning to make sure all the cinnamon hasn't gone away. Put the top crust on, and bake until done (often the piecrust packet will have instructions on how long this takes - since you've already made the apples soft it should be alright as long as the crusts are done).

If you like almonds, some ground almonds and/or a bit of amaretto in the pie filling wouldn't go amiss. I've also seen sultanas (big juicy raisins) used in apple pie with pleasing results.

Um. I don't often use recipes. I just sortof make things up as I go along. If a proper recipe appeals to you more, there are thousands of them online. I can't pick one, because I always just make things up as I go along.

I do have a vegan chocolate cake recipe which is an excellent standby for me when I'm dealing with people who can't have dairy.

[naamah_darling]

Ooo! That's helpful, thanks!

I don't have a microwave, though. I still think I can fake it with a decent filling recipe.

[umsy]

Soften them on the stove in that case. They'll be fine as long as they don't end up as applesauce.

[starfire68]

Hmm...I've never tried nuking the apples first. I don't think I ever used water either. My filling was just apples and sugar with a bit of cinnamon and a dusting of flour.

But agreed on the pie crust. I can and have made goot pie crust (legacy of watching my grandmother bake for years), but I prefer just grabbing one at the grocery store. It's a lot easier, and pretty much guaranteed butter-free.