Pie Oh My

I promised a couple dessert recipes, and I'm ready to deliver. These are a few of my favorites from my new book, The Complete Book Of Pies, and the same ones that will be gracing my table on Thanksgiving day. Don't forget a scoop of vegan ice cream, to top off your homemade pies.

Brown Sugar Apple Pie with Almond Crumb Topping
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
9-inch (23 cm) glass pie plate, greased
Rimmed baking sheet
Serves 8

4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Prepared frozen pie shell (don’t thaw), or homemade -look for organic vegan shells like Wholly Wholesome
1 recipe Almond Crumb Topping

1. Filling: In a large bowl, gently combine apples, brown sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon, making sure apples are well coated. Transfer filling to frozen pie shell, gently pressing apples into pastry with your hand. Place pie plate on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, reduce temperature to 350°F (180°C) and sprinkle crumb topping over apples. Return pie to oven and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes or until the crumb topping is nicely browned. If pie starts to get too brown before it's finished baking, cover loosely with a piece of tented foil. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving.

Almond Crumb Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance, melted
1 tsp pure almond extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds

1. In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Add butter and almond extract, stirring until incorporated. Using your fingertips, finish working butter into flour mixture, squeezing until a nice crumbly mixture forms.
2. Stir in almonds. Sprinkle topping over prepared pie or crisp according to recipe.

Bumbleberry Crumb Pie
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C)
9-inch (23 cm) glass pie plate, greased
Rimmed baking sheet
Serves 8

4-1/2 cups unsweetened frozen mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, partially thawed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Prepared frozen pie shell (don’t thaw), or homemade -look for organic vegan shells like Wholly Wholesome
1 recipe Brown Sugar Streusel or Almond Crumb Topping

1. In a large bowl, gently combine berries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice, making sure that cornstarch is not lumpy. Transfer filling to prepared pastry. Place pie plate on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, reduce temperature to 350°F (180°C) and sprinkle streusel over pie, avoiding juicy edge. Return pie to oven and continue baking for 15 to 25 minutes more or until top is puffed and nicely browned and juices are bubbling and thickened around edge. If pie starts to get too brown before it’s finished baking, cover loosely with a piece of tented foil. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving.

Tips: If you like your pie a little sweeter, you can increase the sugar in the recipe by up to 1/4 cup (50 mL).
Variation: Substitute 1 tbsp (15 mL) raspberry-flavored liqueur for the lemon juice.

Brown Sugar Streusel
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened

1. In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar. Add butter and, using an electric mixer, a fork or a pastry blender, mix into flour until little bits of butter remain. Using your fingertips, finish working butter into flour mixture, squeezing until a nice crumbly mixture forms.
2. Sprinkle mixture over pie or crisp according to recipe

Tip: This recipe can be doubled.
Variations: Add 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon for a spiced version.

Recipes adapted from THE COMPLETE BOOK OF PIES, by Julie Hasson, 2008, Robert Rose, Inc.