Paleo Apple Pie

Paleo Apple Pie (gluten free, dairy free)

It looks, smells and tastes like traditional apple pie, but this treat is anything but traditional! With less than half the carbs and only 9g of sugar per serving (all while keeping a flaky crust) this pie is second to none.

(Makes 1 - 9" Pie, Yields 8 Servings)

Crust:

- 3/4 cup almonds (or almond meal/flour)

- 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour

- 1/4 cup lard

- 2 tsp stevia

- 1 whole egg

Filling:

- 5 apples, peeled, diced

- 1/4 cup honey

- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch/flour

- 1 Tbsp coconut oil

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp nutmeg

- Omega Crunch Sweet Cinnamon Shelled Flax (for topping)

Method:

If you are using whole almonds, put them in a food processor and pulse on high until they are ground down to almost a powder. (Almond meal/flour has a rougher texture than wheat flour, so just get it as fine as you can, but don;t expect a smooth powder.) Add the tapioca starch and steva and pulse until combined. Pour the dry mixture into a large bowl. Add the lard in small pieces. Add the egg and use a fork to mash all the ingredients together. Once it begins to form clumps, use your hands to work the mixture into a well blended dough ball. (Make sure there are no remaining lumps from the lard.) Refrigerate for approx. 30 minutes.

In a large pot, melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the honey, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.Stir until well blended. Add the apples and the tapioca starch. Stir until all the apples are coated in the syrup and the tapioca has been blended in. Cover and continue to cook over medium heat until the apples begin to become tender (approx. 10 minutes). Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool while you continue working with the dough.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Roll the refrigerated dough between two sheets of parchment paper until it is the thickness of traditional pie crust.(You should be able to get a circle much larger than your pie dish.) Remove the top layer of parchment paper and flip the rolled dough into a 9" pie dish. Gently peel back the remaining layer of parchment. Using a knife, dipped in cold water, cut the excess pie away from the dish. If the dough tears, use some of the excess to press into the hole. (It's very easy to fix any rips or tears!) Add the pie filling to the pie dish. Roll the remaining dough (between two sheets of parchment paper) into a rectangle, the same thickness as the crust and then cut into six strips.

**TIP** How to place the dough strips over the pie without tearing the dough:

Put the top layer of parchment paper back over the cut dough strips. Flip the dough and parchment so the bottom side is now up. Gently peel back the first layer of parchment with the first strip sticking to it and slowly detach that strip from the bottom layer of parchment. Peel the rest of the top layer of parchment off the other 5 strips. You should now have one strip only sticking to the top layer of parchment. Flip that piece of parchment over top of the pie and position the strip. Then gently peel the parchment paper away from the strip. Repeat for each of the 5 remaining strips. Three strips in each directions, making a criss cross pattern.

Using a fork dipped in cold water, press around the edges of the pie to make pleats. Using a knife, cut away any excess dough from the pie dish. Bake pie in preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes. (edges should be golden brown and the filling should be making bubbles.) Add Sweet Cinnamon shelled flax as topping.

Approx. Nutritional Information Per Serving:

281 cals, 24g carbs, 16g fat, 4g protein, 9g sugar, 2g fiber

Recipe by Kitchen Caleigh