Celebration Low-Fat Apple Pie

Grape Nuts Crust

(from Jennifer Raymond's The Peaceful Palate)

1 cup Grape-Nuts cereal

¼ cup apple juice concentrate

¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grind the Grape-Nuts in a food processor or chopper, to make fine crumbs. Combine the ground cereal with the apple juice concentrate and almond extract. Press the mixture evenly into a lightly greased, 9" pie pan, covering all sides to the top. Pre-bake for 8 minutes before filling and baking your pie.

Apple Pie Filling for a 9" Pie
8 medium apples 2-1/2 to 3" in diameter
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
Dash of salt

Wash, peel and core the apples. Place thinly sliced apples in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well to coat all of the apple slices. If the apples are on the dry side, you can remedy the situation by adding ¼ cup apple or orange juice. Fill the pre-baked crumb crust with the apple mixture and bake 35 - 40 minutes. You may wish to cover the pie with tin foil during the last few minutes of baking, depending on how done the top of the pie is looking.