2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs sugar
8 tbs cold Earth Balance
8 tbs cold nonhydrogenated shortening
6 tbs ice water
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
Filling/Topping Ingredients
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup Earth Balance, melted
4 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Crust directions
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour and salt. Mix in the sugar
Add half the butter and shortening by about 1/2 tbs cutting into the flour with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the flour appears pebbly
Add the remaining butter and shortening, cut into the flour
In a cup, mix together 4 tbs of the ice water with the vinegar
Drizzle the water and vinegar mixture into the flour by the tbs, gently mixing it after each addition
Knead the dough a few times, adding more water until it holds together (you may need only the 4 tbs, but add up to 2 more tbs if needed)
Divide the dough in half, roll each into a ball and press them into disks and wrap each in plastic wrap
Refrigerate until ready for use
Filling/Topping Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F
Roll out one half of the dough
Stir together first 3 ingredients and spread onto bottom of a 9 in. pie plate. Place rolled out crust over pecan mixture in pie plate, allowing excess crust to hang over the sides
Roll out remaining half of the dough
Stir together apples and next 5 ingredients. Spoon mixture into crust, packing tightly and mounding in center
Place remaining crust over filling and press both crusts together, fold edges under and crimp
Place pie on an aluminum foil-lined jelly roll pan, cut 4-5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape and bake on lower oven rack 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly and crust is golden brown
Shield pie with aluminum foil after 50 minutes, if necessary, to prevent excessive browning
Cool on wire rack 10 min. Place serving plate over the top of the pie and invert onto serving plate
I wish I could have gotten a better picture but there was a hungry crowd waiting! Andy and I made these as a father’s day dessert yesterday and they were dee-lish. I’m really glad to have discovered them because they’re a super simple, quick and relatively healthy dessert that he and I will be able to easily whip up for just the two of us whenever we’ve got a major sweets craving!
Most everyone else there enjoyed these with a bowl of vanilla ice cream, which I’m certain complemented the peaches quite well. Of course, you could opt for a scoop of almond or soy ice cream on the side but honestly, these are good enough to stand alone as well.
*If you wanted to make these a full-on healthy dessert, you could sub maple sugar for the brown sugar. I’d only do this if I was just making one or two since maple sugar is SO ridiculously expensive.
Directions
Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl
Cut peaches along the seam all the way around and twist halves off the pit
Brush cut sides with oil
Cook, cut side down, on a hot grill until fruit has grill marks, 3 to 4 min.
Brush tops with oil, turn over and move to indirect heat. Sprinkle cut sides with cinnamon sugar mixture, cover grill and cook until sugar is melted and fruit is tender, 10 to 15 min.
