The Five Minute Local Apple Pie

You know what hasn’t been getting much press these days? Apple pie. That old favorite, somewhat forgotten and overlooked because of its time-consuming reputation. Sure, everyone still likes it–it’s a classic, after all–but there is too much willingness to outsource its creation. Enter: the art of the five minute apple pie. But here’s what sets this sweet little gem apart from its competition: not only is it a recipe that originated in Iowa, it also uses Iowa grown apples. Make this and you’ll gain points from every direction, it’s historical, it’s homemade, it’s local, it’s good. Oh, and it takes about five minutes to put together, so that’s kind of a time saver.

Storytime: This recipe belongs to my grandmother, a former Iowan, avid baker, apple pie maker. It came from her Rowan, Iowa community cookbook sometime in the late 1950’s. She calls it a ‘standard’ and has agreed to share the recipe.

Modernization: I didn’t change the recipe per se; I did use a bag of Iowa Choice Harvest’s frozen apples, because not only are they local apples, they are already peeled and sliced (so it basically couldn’t get more convenient if it tried). I used oat flour in place of the all-purpose flour. Gluten-free flour also works (for those of us tied to that life), but why not gain bonus points by using Early Morning Harvest’s all-purpose unbleached Iowa flour? I skipped the walnuts, but it’s good either way. I contemplated adding a bit of cinnamon, but went in favor of the simplicity set forth in the recipe. Still, for cinnamon fans, it can’t be a bad idea. Lastly, I really want to convert this recipe to use honey instead of sugar. We’ll see.

So here’s the recipe (finally):