Vegan Apple Pies Inside of Apples

I once saw a really cool recipe for baking apple pies inside of apples. I thought it was really cool, but the recipes called for baking the whole apple which made them soggy. I didn’t much care for that, or lining the whole thing with a calorie-rich crust, so I came up with a variant. There was three of us in the kitchen making this, and it worked out!

Vegan Apple Pies Inside of Apples

This makes four apple pies.

Crumb Topping (Original Recipe)

• 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Flour
• 2 Tbsp + 2 Tsp Vegan Butter (eg. Earth Balance)

Apple Pies (Original Recipe)

• 4 Large Apples (we used Fuji)
• 1/2 Lemon
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 3 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 Cup Vegan Butter

Maple Cream Cheese Glaze (Original Recipe)

• 1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Vegan Butter
• 1 Tbsp Vegan Cream Cheese (eg. Tofutti)
• 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1. Set the oven to 350 F.
2. Mix the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl until it becomes crumb-like.
3. Spread mixture on a baking sheet with a silicone lining or parchment paper.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
5. While the crumb topping bakes, you can prepare the apples. Squeeze the juice from the lemon in a glass.
6. In a large bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon for the apple pies.
7. Cut the top off of the apples, and scoop out the insides into that bowl with the sugar. Using a melon baller is handy for this.
8. When you’re done scooping out the insides of the apple, rim its insides with the lemon juice. This will prevent the apple from browning while it sits.
9. Mix the apples with the sugar in the bowl.
10. Pour into a pan on the stove top. Add the vegan butter. Set the heat to medium.
11. Use a fork to gauge whether the apple pie filling is ready. When tender, turn off the heat. This may take 40 minutes.
12. While the apple pie filling cools, prepare the maple glaze. Mix all of those ingredients in a small bowl.
13. Pour the apple pie filling inside the apples. Cover with the crumb topping, and then spoon the glaze on top.
14. Enjoy!

Remarks

This was tasty! The crumb topping kind of became a gigantic cookie upon pulling out of the oven. After employing different strategies to break it up, it turned out that using our fingers was best.

Going forward, I think I might try a different pre-baked crumb topping recipe. Perhaps one that has oats?

What I really like about this recipe is how the crisp uncooked apples make for a really good crust substitute. This thing was borderline healthy!