Since I have never been able to replicate my mother’s deep-dish apple pie to my satisfaction, I keep trying to find a recipe that will take its place. I made this pie for Thanksgiving along with my Bourbon Pecan Pie. It was a hit with everyone, although it still won’t fill the void of my mother’s pie for me….

NOTE: A few of the changes that I am mentioning here are not reflected in the photo but are what I would do when making this pie again. I have also given the non-vegan version of ingredients as well.

Amish Apple Pie from Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams and adapted by me

Yield: 10-12 servings

Ingredients

For the Streusel

1/2 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon

a pinch of Kosher salt

8 Tablespoons cold unsalted buttery vegan sticks (I’ll be honest – nothing truly is a substitute for butter, in my opinion, but if you want this to be vegan…) 

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats OR 1/2 cup coarsely chopped English walnuts

For the Pie 

1 unbaked 10-inch pie shell, chilled (I used my go-to double crust vegan Crisco pie crust recipe.)

4 large apples (I used Honey Crisp, but other apples such as Granny Smith or McIntosh could also be used.)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 Tablespoons instant Tapioca

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of Kosher salt

1 cup thicker non-dairy milk (I used the full-fat vanilla soy milk. If you are not going vegan, the recipe calls for heavy cream or half & half.)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Using a food processor, mix the first 5 streusel ingredients. Add the cold butter with the oats or walnuts and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Don’t over-process. Set aside. (I used a different process which had me pulverize the oats and melt the butter, which is why my streusel looks wetter and less streusely than it should. The taste was fine, but it will be prettier if you do it the way I have instructed.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. You should have at least 4 cups.
3. Place the apples into the chilled pie shell, arranging them to fill most gaps.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, Tapioca, salt and cinnamon. In a glass measuring cup, add the vanilla to the non-dairy milk. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture to thoroughly combine. Pour the mixture over the apples.
5. Bake the pie for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes carefully remove the pie from the oven and working quickly, sprinkle the streusel mixture over the top, covering all of the apples. Return the pie to the oven for another 40 minutes or until the top puffs and is golden brown. Allow the pie to cool before serving. If you are not vegan, this is especially delicious with some good vanilla ice cream on top.