Caramel Apple Pie

Now that it's fall I've been seeing apples everywhere so I just had to make an apple pie! I couldn't resist :) This is an absolutely delicious and beautiful apple pie. It has a honey sweetened streussel topping and then my favorite part... wait for it...  is that you drizzle caramel sauce all over the top as soon as it comes out of the oven! Yeah. It's pretty much the bomb diggety, as my sister-in-law would say!
If you notice, I have a new ingredient in my ingredient list that I don't normally use, it's Earth Balance Coconut Spread. I'm a huge fan! I recently noticed that Earth Balance butter contains corn... not exactly grain free. And many people cannot tolerate the annatto (for color) in the Earth Balance butters.

So I decided to try the coconut spread hoping it didn't add a coconut taste in my baked goods the way coconut oil can. It worked perfect! It's smooth, creamy, tastes like butter, and can be used anywhere butter is called for! I still prefer the taste of butter (I love butter) but this is the next best thing!

• 1 Grain Free Pie Crust Recipe 
• 5 Granny Smith Apples
• Juice From 1 Lemon, about 2 tsp.
• 1/2 C Coconut Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar
• 1/2 C Honey or Agave Nectar
• 1/4 Tsp. Salt
• 1/2 Arrowroot Flour or Cornstarch
• 1 Caramel Sauce Recipe {1/4 C Earth Balance Butter, 1/2 C Coconut Palm Sugar, 2 Tbsp. Honey or Agave, Pinch of Salt, 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla}
• 1/2 C Chopped Pecans or Walnuts

Streussel Topping: 

• 3/4 C Blanched Almond Flour
• 1/2 C Arrowroot Flour
• 1/4 C Honey
• 2 Tbsp. Earth Balance Butter or Coconut Spread
• Pinch of Salt

1. Prepare pie crust as directed and place in freezer while you make the filling.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


3. Peel the apples.



4. Core and thinly slice the apples. Place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, coconut sugar, honey, salt, and arrowroot flour to the apples. Mix well and set aside.


5. Make the topping: Whisk together the almond flour, salt, and arrowroot then stir in the honey. Use 2 forks or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter or coconut spread until mixture resembles sand with small balls in it.




6. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Then spread out the topping over the apples.

7. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the filling is hot and bubbly. Cover loosely with foil if the crust or topping gets too brown so it doesn't burn. I covered mine after 15 minutes of baking.

8. While the pie is baking make the caramel sauce: In a saucepan over medium-high heat melt the butter, sugar, and honey. Stir constantly until mixture reaches a boil and the sugar completely dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in the salt and vanilla. Set aside to thicken.



9. Grab your 1/2 C of pecans and chop 'em up really fine. About 5 minutes before pie come out of the oven sprinkle on the pecans or walnuts and bake until they are fragrant. Check frequently to make sure they don't burn.


10. Pour the caramel sauce all over the pie as soon as it comes out of the oven. Oh my oh my oh my!


11. EAT AND ENJOY!!!
this post is part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, and Allergy Free Wednesdays