Apple Pie Crumble

Ah yes, my first apple pie of the season. It sure does feel good. There is something about a warm slice of apple pie and a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream that makes me feel like life is alright. You know? It is like a slice of comfort. With the increasingly busy holiday season upon us, we could all use a slice of comfort. I hope you all are looking forward to time with your families on Thanksgiving next week, and maybe some of you will choose to share this apple pie crumble with them that day. The combination of a flaky crust and crunchy crumble topping were just what I needed this past week. The crust and filling recipe are my own, but the crumble topping was inspired by the lovely Oh Ladycakes' recipe found here.

Ingredients

Single Layer Crust
3/4 cup all purpose flour (or GF flour blend)
1/4 almond meal
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance vegan butter, cubed, and chilled
2-3 tablespoons of chilled water

Filling
4-5 galla apples, cored and diced into small chunks (I did not peal mine)
Squeeze of lemon juice
1/4 cup pure maple syrup, I used Grade B
1/4 cup coconut sugar (or cane sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumble Topping
1/2 cup all purpose flour (or GF flour blend)
1/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup rolled oats

Combine all of the crust ingredients in a mixing bowl (minus the chilled water). Using a fork, mash the mixture together until it resembles pea size crumbles. Add a teaspoon of water at a time until it comes together and you can form it into a ball. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill for two hours.

Before you take your dough out of the refrigerator to roll, make the filling and crumble mixtures in two separate mixing bowls. For the filling, simply combine all the ingredients and toss together. For the crumble, combine all the ingredients except for the oats together first, and toss in the oats in last. Preheat your oven to 375 F. On a lightly floured working surface, roll out your chilled dough (the trick is to roll it only once, patching up cracks and holes as you go). Transfer your rolled pie crust to your pie pan, trim the edges, and pinch your crust's edges with whatever pattern you like best. Fill with your filling mixture, and top with your crumble topping (press the crumble mixture into the pie well). Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes, remove and cover edges with foil, and then continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes. Let cool for several hours on your countertop before serving. Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.