Time flies when you’re eating good food. Last Tuesday was Make it Naked’s one year anniversary! I really can’t believe it. I feel like I just shared these salted chocolate chip cookies with you. But a whole year has passed. A whole year of almost burning the house down and crashing kitchen appliances. A whole year of developing abnormal relationships with grocery store employees. I told “my friend” at Trader Joe’s that I loved her new haircut. A whole year of having to explain… “The food is naked. Not me.” But I’ve loved it, all 365 days of it.

Last week was also our four year wedding anniversary. Last year you may remember that I made bourbon pumpkin praline ice cream. I wasn’t sure how to top that since it instantly became a favorite here. But also topping Jon’s favorite dessert list is my mom’s Swedish apple pie. I don’t know what makes it Swedish. Google tells me it’s the style of the pie. There’s no fancy pie crust here. A pie plate is filled with sliced apples and a batter mixture is poured over top making a “crust” as it bakes. Google says it’s Swedish. I say it’s, well, easier than pie.

A blog anniversary. A wedding anniversary. And 52 apples from our farm share. Tell me how I wasn’t supposed to make a pie…or two. For Jon, I made a very classic version with just apples and a buttery crust (on the right in the photo below). For me, I took out the gluten and added walnuts (on the left in the photo below). It was delicious. I used almond meal and oat flour to make the crust. It was crisp and flavorful. It browned beautifully and tasted just like I remember mom’s pie.

The hardest part of this recipe is peeling all of the apples. It would be easier if you didn’t do this and have to start over. Nothing says “Happy Anniversary” like swallowing glass shards. So a pair of sore hands and 20 peeled apples later, we’ve got two pies. Wait, I lied. There’s one in the oven. We had some pears that had seen better days, so I chopped them up and this Swedish apple pie quickly became Swedish pear pie. So two pies for him. One for me. That’s what marriage is about, right? And I’ve loved it, all 1460 days of it.

Mom’s Swedish Apple (or Pear) Pie

Ingredients:

6-7 medium apples (or pears)
2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, separated (I used organic cane sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter, melted (1.5 sticks)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Gluten Free Version Ingredients:

6-7 medium apples (or pears)
2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, separated (I used organic cane sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
3/4 cup butter, melted (1.5 sticks)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8-9 inch pie plate.
2. Peel and thinly slice apples. Fill the pie plate about 2/3rds full with the sliced apples.
3. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of sugar and cinnamon over the apples. Mix around. I find using my hands work best.
4. In a small bowl, mix the flour(s), sugar, butter, egg, salt and walnuts. Pour and spread over apples.
5. Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown.
6. Let cool. The pie slices hold their shape better if cut when completely cooled to room temperature, but I don’t blame you if you can’t wait.

Notes:

1. Our farm share delivers a variety of apples each week. I can’t tell you what kind I used because I’m not sure. It was a mixture of some red and some green. Any mixture of apples will work.
2. The pears were nearly rotten bartlett pears. I didn’t peel them since the skins were already extremely soft. And because I was lazy and made the pear version in about 10 minutes flat. Easiest pie ever.
3. For the oat flour I just ground up some gluten free oats in my food processor. I got the almond meal from Trader Joe’s.
4. Place your pie plate on a cookie sheet before placing in the oven. This makes it easier to handle and the cookie sheet will catch any butter that bubbles up over the side of the pie plate. Enjoy!

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