Pumpkin Apple Pie: A Perfect Compromise

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Now onto the recipe...

Whenever pie is offered at Thanksgiving, I am always torn between pumpkin or apple. So I thought I would try one that merged the two flavors and see how it turned out. My guinea pigs were Ed (loves apple pie), my brother Ted (loves pumpkin pie), and Ted’s girlfriend Allison (likes desserts with pumpkin and apple).

Whole Wheat Pie Crust

¾ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup steel cut oats

1 tbsp raw organic honey

½ tsp sea salt

½ cup cold organic butter, cut into small pieces

¼ cup cold water

Combine flour, oats and salt. Blend in butter and honey with mixer until mixture is lumpy. Blend in water slowly by hand, until mixture holds together. Shape dough into a round ball and place on floured piece of wax paper. Top with another piece of wax paper and roll it out to about 1/8-inch thickness. Press dough into pie plate.

Pumpkin Apple Pie Filling

1/3 cup brown sugar

½ cup raw organic honey

1 tbsp arrowroot

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp organic butter

2 apples (I used one Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp)

1 egg

¾ cup fresh (or canned) pumpkin

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger

¾ cup lowfat milk

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Core and thinly slice apples (I used the food processor – easiest way).

Mix brown sugar, arrowroot, 1 tbsp cinnamon, salt, water and butter into a pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When mixture boils, add sliced apples. Toss for 4-5 minutes so that apples are coated in mixture. Remove from heat.

In separate bowl, mix together egg, honey, pumpkin, 1 tbsp cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and milk.

Pour apple mixture into pie crust. Spoon pumpkin mixture over the top.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and bake until filling is just set in the middle (it took me about 40 minutes). Let cool completely on a wire rack, and enjoy with vanilla gelato!

The verdict: Ed, Ted and Allison all loved the pie! I served it warm, with the gelato of course. I think this pie would be the perfect Thanksgiving dessert to impress your family and friends and satisfy all tastes!