Health nuts will enjoy, Luke Hines‘ new recipe book, Guilt-Free Snacks (Macmillan) If anyone can take the guilt out of snacking, it is the super-buff Mr Hines, whose tasty recipes are designed to keep our waistline in check. Here is Luke’s enticing recipe for Golden Apple Pies:
Ingredients
CRUST
100 g (1 cup) blanched almond meal
60 g (1/2 cup) arrowroot or tapioca flour
3 tablespoons coconut flour
35 g melted butter or coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup, coconut nectar
or monk fruit syrup
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg
FILLING
8 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and
cut into 5 mm cubes
zest and juice of 2 lemons
125 ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup, coconut nectar
or monk fruit syrup
1 tablespoon arrowroot or tapioca flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
CRUMBLE
55 g (1/2 cup) blanched almond meal
70 g (1/2 cup) coconut sugar
125 g (1/2 cup) softened butter, or coconut
oil for dairy free
70 g (1/2 cup) roughly chopped raw
macadamia nuts
70 g (1/2 cup) roughly chopped raw pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or powder
Method
Lightly grease a six-hole jumbo muffin tin. Cut six thick strips of baking paper and lay them across each hole – these ‘slings’ will help lift the pies out safely.
To get started on the crust, place the almond meal, arrowroot or tapioca flour, coconut flour, butter or coconut oil, sweetener and salt in a food processor and pulse until crumbs form. Add the egg and pulse a few times to make a wet dough. Roll into a ball, flatten slightly into a disc and cover in plastic wrap. Transfer to the fridge to rest for 15 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge, place between two pieces of baking paper and use a rolling pin to roll into a 30 cm °— 50 cm rectangle about 5 mm thick. If the dough is sticking to the paper, sprinkle over a little more arrowroot or tapioca flour to keep it workable.
Remove the top piece of baking paper and cut out six 15 cm rounds from the dough. Press the dough rounds into the prepared muffin tin, using small pieces of leftover dough to patch and fill any gaps. Transfer the tin to the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and transfer to the fridge.
Place the crumble ingredients in a large bowl and work with your fingers until the mixture resembles a chunky, coarse sand.
Remove the tin from the fridge and fill each crust with the filling, stopping just short of the top and leaving any excess liquid in the bowl. Scatter over the crumble, loosely cover the tin with foil and bake for 20–30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Serves 6
Oh dear, Starfish has fallen for the old trap of using an over-complex recipe by a skinny chef with his arms crossed. How many ingredients? 25! Seriously, who would approach this at home? Besides, do the quantities work with the granny smith apples whatever their sizes. The reason why some recipe creators have achieved real success is in the simplicity of what they create. Sorry, this is a big fail. 0/10. (Insert laugh emoji!)