how to make the best swedish apple pie

Happy fall. And happy apple picking season! My favorites are honey crisp apples. They are one of the few apple varieties that don’t cause me any sort of allergic reaction when I eat them. They are beautiful and bright, sweet and tart, and undeniably crunchy. They are great raw, and they are also wonderful to cook with.

New Hampshire orchard fresh!

I love making apple crisps and apple sauce, and of course—apple pie. But my very favorite dessert (or breakfast dish!) is swedish apple pie. I fell in love with swedish apple pie back in high school, when I was hanging out with my friend Ursula and we made it at her house from a family recipe. Swedish apple pie is really incredible because it is a hybrid between a pie and a crisp. It doesn’t have a crust. But the topping is a thick, crust-like, almost-cookie topping.

Now, the “official” recipe from Ursula was Betty’s swedish apple pie. I don’t know who Betty is. A family friend? Betty Crocker? Either way, I scribbled down the recipe from Ursula waaaaay back in the day, and I have been making and modifying swedish apple pie ever since.

Here is my swedish apple pie recipe. With love, of course, going out to Ursula. I think of her every time I make it. She is a vibrant, deep, amazing woman who specializes in doula-goodness, bodywork, and holistic embodiment. She reminds me that being good to myself is paramount.

Cut honey crisp apples

First things first. Lube up a 9″ or 10″ pie plate or pyrex dish with a little olive oil or butter. Then wash, core, and slice up about 6–8 honey crisp apples. The goal is to press them into the dish and load the dish up to brimming full. I DO NOT peel my apples. Really, why make more work for yourself? Plus apple skins are packed with fiber and nutritional goodness. Especially if you are using organic or IPM apples.

Mix together 1 T. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon and generously coat the apples in the pan. You can use less sugar if you want, no biggie.

Use a mixing bowl to combine the following:
1 stick melted organic butter
1/2 cup (or a splash more) organic maple syrup
1 organic egg

Add 1 cup of flour, a pinch of salt, and a generous amount of chopped walnuts to the egg/syrup/butter mixture. I like to use a combination of organic all-purpose flour and organic hard red winter wheat flour. And I like a lot of walnuts, but you can use as few or as many as you wish.

Mix together well. Your batter will be very thick. If you overdosed on walnuts and it starts to get too thick, you can add in another egg.

Pour or spread the batter on top of the apples to cover them. Use a spatula or a clean finger to get the batter into the apple nooks and crannies.

Bake your swedish apple pie in a 350° oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Slice and serve swedish apple pie up warm!

You can serve swedish apple pie with a dallop of sour cream and high-quality cheddar cheese if you like savory. Or a scoop of ice cream if you like sweet. Or all on its own.

Swedish apple pie is also equally good cold. Baking it in a pyrex dish is great because it is easy to refrigerate. Then I can bring slices to work to eat for breakfast!

Tags: autumn, gratitude, honey crisp apples, organic

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 at 12:43 am and is filed under Cooking Adventures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.