Title: Fruit Sweet and Sugar Free - American Beauty Apple Pie
Categories: Diabetic Dessert
Yield: 8 Servings
| CRUST |
| 1 | | Basic pie crust top and bottom crusts |
| | | Trimmings for leaves, rosebuds and stems |
| | | Egg wash for Pies and tarts |
| FILLING |
| 7 | | Tart green apples |
| 1 | tb | Fresh lemon juice |
| 1 1/2 | ts | Water |
| 7 | tb | Fruit sweetener |
| 3/4 | ts | Cinnamon |
| 1/4 | ts | Nutmeg |
| 2 2/3 | tb | White flour |
| 1 | tb | Butter |
The day before you plan to bake the pie, peel, core and slice the applies,
1/8 inch thick. You should have 9 cups of sliced apples. Toss the sliced
apples with the lemon juice, water and sweetener in a medium sized bowl.
Cover th bowl of apples with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Prepare the bottom and top crusts according to the directions. On baking
day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the spices and flour in a
small bowl. Stir 1/3 cup of the liquid from the apple slices into the flour
mixture to make a smooth mixture. Pour this mixture back over the apples
and toss well to thorough coat them. Pile the apple slices with their
juices into an unbaked pie crust. Cut the butter into four or five pieces
and dot them over the apples. Prepare the egg wash and brush it onto the
rim of crust. Cover the pie with the top crust. Seal the edges by pressing
lightly with the tines of a fork. Use the dull side of a small knife to
trim off any pastry extending beyond the edge of the pie pan. To prepare
the rosebuds, leaves and stems from the pastry trimmings, roll the pastry
trimmings out very thin. Use the point of a small knife to cut six
rectangles measure 2/3 inch by 2 inches for the usebuds. Cut 12 ovals with
pointed ends measuring 1-1/2 inches to 2 inches in length for the leaves.
Use some of the remaining trim to make a thin, 1/8 inch wide rope that
measures 12 inches in length. Cut the rope into six lengths to form six
stems. Use the knife point to press a leaf pattern on each of the ovals.
For the rosebuds, flatten a rectangle between your thumb and forefinger.
Start at the right side of the rectangle and fold the top corner down to
form a loose triangle. The top of the triangle now becomes the center of
the bud, so angle it straight up and wrap the rest of the rectangle around
it loosely, plumping and shaping the bottom to resemble a rosebud. Brush
the top crust with egg wash. Dip each stem, bud and leaf into the egg wash,
drain the excess and attach them decoratively to the crust. At the Ranch
Kitchen we place 1 bud, 2 leaves, and 1 stem on each portion of pie. Make
six slits towards the center of the top crust for steam to escape during
baking. Place the pie on a baking sheet in the prepared oven, place the pie
on the lowest shelf of an electric oven or directly on the floor of a gas
oven. Bake for approximately 1-1/2 hours. After one hour check the apples
with a toothpick through the steam slits. The apples are done when they
have some resistance but still feel tender. For the best appearance on the
plate, let the pie cool thoroughly before serving; however, this pie is
most delicious hot from the oven topped with French vanilla ice cream.