A Healthy, Three-Part, Apple Pie

In continuing with apple-fest, I thought I'd share a recipe for a "healthier" apple pie that my sister-in-law, Andrea, made last weekend. Being the baking genius that she is, she combined three different recipes from Allrecipes.com to make a tasty dessert that quickly disappeared once placed on the table.

Ingredients for Whole Grain Pie Crust

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, finely ground

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons very cold water, or as needed

• Combine flour, ground oats, sugar and salt in medium bowl. Cut in the butter with pastry blender (or two knives) until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle with water and blend together with a fork until mixture holds together.

• Shape the dough into ball and place it on a lightly floured sheet of wax paper. Top it with an additional piece of wax paper and roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Remove the top sheet of wax paper and invert dough into 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Slowly peel away wax paper. Trim excess crust and turn the edge under.

When done, the pie crust will look like this...

• Ingredients for Apple Pie Filling
• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water, then bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes. Meanwhile, fill the pie crust with apples, mounded slightly, and slowly pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust.

Ingredients for Crumb Topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cold butter or margarine

1 dash ground cinnamon

Lastly, you'll want to prepare a crumb topping to sprinkle on top of the pie. In a small bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs and then sprinkle over the pie. For the finishing touch, sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.