All are free of nuts and soy, plus easy to make low-lactose. Apple crisp is already egg-free. Let me know if you try the faux-pecan pie with applesauce or other substitute for the eggs, I'm very curious whether it works well egg-free :-)
FIRST:
Make the crust..
2 sticks lactose-free butter, cut into small cubes (or use full-dairy normal butter)
2 cups all-purpose, unbleached white flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cold water and possibly a bit more
pinch of salt
Mix flour, sugar, and salt with a whisk.
Cut in butter with a pastry cutter. If you don't have a pastry cutter, massage the butter into the flour using your fingertips.
When mixture is roughly the size of frozen peas when they're still frozen, you know it's time to add the water. Start with 1/4 cup and try to make the dough come together into a ball with your hands. If it is too crumbly, continue adding water, a few spoonfuls at a time. You can add up to 1/2 cup in total.
You want to create two balls of dough. When you've achieved this, wrap them in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge to chill for about an hour. You could also complete this step the day in advance.
NEXT UP, THE APPLE FILLING:
While the crust is chilling, prep the apples.
You will need...
Approximately 12 apples, your preference, though this won't work with Red Delicious because they're so mushy
Cinnamon to taste, go bananas :-)
Sugar to taste, don't go bananas
1 to 2 tbsp of lemon juice, depending on how much you love lemons
Directions:
Peel apples, then core, then slice into thin slices. If some of the slices are much longer than others, cut those slices in half.
Mix everything in a large bowl and taste, adjust the cinnamon and sugar until you love the taste, since you're the one eating this! You can start with less cinnamon and sugar and then add more until you have achieved the perfect balance. Err on the side of less-sweet because the crisp topping will be VERY sweet.
Set aside. The apples won't brown because of the lemon juice. The longer they sit, the more the flavors marry, so don't worry if they sit for an hour or two.
AND THEN:
Make the faux-pecan filling according to Rachael Ray recipe, as adapted by my Facebook-friend Betsy:
You will need...
1 cup corn syrup
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs (or try 3 lunch box size Mott’s applesauce containers?!!)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups crispy rice cereal
Directions:
In a large bowl, add corn syrup, maple syrup, vanilla, and eggs/applesauce. Whisk until smooth.
Add in the sugar, melted butter, and salt. Mix to combine. (Side note: Don't add such hot butter that you scramble the eggs.)
Wait to add the crispy rice cereal until it's almost time to put it in the oven because you don't want the cereal to get soggy! At that point, what you will do is: Fold in the rice crispy cereal with a spatula, being careful not to crush the pieces as much as possible.
NEXT UP:
The crisp topping for the apple crisp, inspired by Sally's Baking Addiction.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 generous tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup crispy rice cereal
5 tbsp lactose-free butter
Whisk sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Work in the butter with your fingertips so they are some big clumps of butter, some little clumps, and some less-buttery bits. Fold in crispy rice cereal. Try not to crush the cereal pieces.
PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES FOR THE APPLE CRISP TO START AT. YOU WILL TURN DOWN THE OVEN AFTER THE FIRST 20 MINUTES OF BAKING THE APPLE CRISP.
NOW YOU NEED THE BOTTOM CRUSTS AND CAN START ASSEMBLY AND THE BAKING --
Roll out the first ball of dough. I recommend a floured counter, floured hands, and flour on the top of the dough. Make it slightly bigger than the pie plate.
Fill this bottom crust with apple filling, then cover completely with apple crisp topping. Bake at 400 degrees for the first 20 minutes of baking time. Then you'll turn the oven down to 350 degrees and add the pecan pie to the oven. The apple pie needs an hour baking time in total -- the first 20 minutes at 400, and the next 40 minutes at 350.
Repeat with the second dough ball to roll out the crust for the pecan pie.
Remember that you'll add the crispy rice cereal to the faux-pecan pie mixture just before assembly. You want to fold it into the bowl, then use the spatula to fill the pie crust. Just before the 20 minutes have elapsed, first add the cereal, and then add the filling to the pie and spread out with a spatula. It may help to grease the spatula with non-stick spray so the filling doesn't stick to the spatula.
The pecan pie needs to bake for an hour at 350 degrees. It can share the same oven as the apple pie once you turn down the heat on the oven and give it a few minutes to cool down.
It's also handy if you have a toaster that doubles as a convection oven so you can bake simultaneously for the portion of time when the pies require different temperatures.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING :)