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Easy as Pie Crust

pie crustThis pie crust is very easy to make. You can use it for fruit pies or for quiche (you might want to add less sugar for quiche). It has no trans fats, and it’s pareve (no dairy)!

Nutrition Nerd warns: however, this recipe does have white flour, white sugar, and it is baked. If you really want something healthy, make a soup, OK?

You need:
– a pie baking dish
– a fork
– a mixing bowl
– various measuring utensils and a wooden spoon

Preheat the oven to 350. Then gather your ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon (leave out for quiche crust; you can add something savory instead, like mustard or garlic

Mix all ingredients in mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Grease the pie dish. Use your hands (you may want to rewash them at this point) to make the dough into a ball. Using your hands again (no rolling for this dough…too many wet ingredients) flatten the dough into the pie dish until it looks like a pie crust. Use the fork to make flutes on the sides.

Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes.

pie
If you want to make this into an apple pie, cut up about 3 or 4 peeled granny smith or other baking apples. Combine with sugar and cinnamon. In another bowl, make some more dough using the above recipe, but this time add an additional 1/2 cup of oatmeal (preferably the old fashioned oats). Put the apples in the pie crust, then cover with the dough. Punch holes in the top with your fork.

Mom tip: as apple peels are a nutritious part of the apple, put them on the kitchen table for your kids to eat. My kids ate them up!

Jill says

Thanks, Leora. I will try this for my quiche. It is pretty healthy. I like the applesauce and oil instead of butter or the dreaded trans fat! I bet it would work fine with whole wheat pastry flour. That stuff is great because it has the soft texture while retaining the fiber content.
Also, I recently made a quiche crust with shredded potato. You just shred and press them into a greased pan, then bake at 375 F for about 10 minutes before adding the filling. It's great. Kind of like a potato pancake crust.

Reply
Leora says

Jill, yes, whole wheat pastry flour would work well. My kids won't eat it, so I make it with the white flour. If you really want to go healthy, stevia would probably be the right sweetener to use, but I've never used stevia, just tasted it. I find it has a bit of a bittersweet after taste.

I've done the potato pie crust for quiche; if for whatever reason you have leftover cooked potatoes, sometimes you can mash them with an egg to make a crust.

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