2 traditional holiday pies with granola pie crust recipe

The holidays are a special time to indulge in your favorite flavors around the table or on the couch with the most special people in your life. After becoming a nutritionist, I began to notice patterns of behavior around some of our favorite traditional recipes. Many people cannot physically afford to divert away from specific eating habits but there are so many others that don’t commit to healthy eating because they are not willing to give up their favorite dishes. In honor of eating healthy and also enjoying my favorite holiday recipes, I have created 2 traditional holiday pies with granola pie crust recipe.

Many popular mainstream diets fail to recognize the importance of our favorite flavors and the power nostalgia has over good health. Most diets will say to exclude those elements of our life and tell us to “stay strong” while we resist the urge to relive some of our most special moments in life. Good food truly is nourishing for more than one reason, and that is not limited to various nutrients. 

The good news is, we can have our health and still enjoy those favorite dishes. For me, apple pie and pumpkin pie are staples around the holidays. These were recipes I typically made with butter, hydrogenated vegetable shortening, refined sugar and enriched white wheat flour when I was younger. As I began investing more effort into my health, I had to scale back on my indulgences but I truly missed some of these recipes around the holidays. For years, there were few options for those needing to stick to a specific style of eating. 

Luckily, we now have tons of amazing options for so many different dietary needs. One of those amazing companies contributing to this important moment in history is Wildway Paleo Granola. I have used three of their incredible granola flavors to create 2 traditional holiday pies with granola pie crust recipe.

While I do feature some ingredients with refined sugar, this recipe is dairy free, gluten free and can easily be made paleo with naturally occurring sugar like dried fruits, maple and coconut sugar. You won’t miss traditional pie ingredients with these recipes and your body will thank you for the rich nutrient packed ingredients included. Check out the different nutrients tagged at the bottom of the page or visit my nutrition facts page to learn more! 

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Easy Granola Pie Crust Recipe

A flavorful and crunchy replacement for a grahm cracker pie crust featuring granola as the secret ingredient.

Author Aimee from A.K. Kitchen & Nutrition

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup gluten free flour blend
• 2 Tbsp Ghee, butter or coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp apricot jam *see notes for alternatives
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups Wildway Granola any flavor

Alternative measurements if you have a dry/crunchy granola on hand:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup gluten free flour blend
• 3 Tbsp Ghee, butter or coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp apricot jam or 4 apricots
• 2-3 pitted medjool dates
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups granola

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Blend all ingredients in food processor for about 2-5 minutes. You want it to be a find blend but not a dough. It should still be crumbly with some bits of granola. Blend a little more if you can see large chunks of granola still.
• Lightly grease & flour a 9 inch pie pan
• Pour crust ingredients into pie pan and press into the pan. Pinch the edges to make sure it holds and doesn’t burn or crumble.
• Bake for 5 minutes, until just lightly golden.
• After you pour pie filling into crust, cover edges with foil to prevent burning.

Notes

*You can also use 2-4 dried apricots and 1 tsp maple syrup

*If you do not have Wildway granola available to you and are making this last minute, you can use a dry granola. Wildway brand granola is softer with fatty nuts and soft dried fruits. If you use a dry granola with oats and other grains, you will need to add more oil and moisture to your crust mix.

If you are making a pumpkin pie without the Wildway vanilla bean espresso granola, add 1/2 tsp of instant espresso to your crust. 

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Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Filling

Delicious, creamy and not too sweet dairy free pumpkin pie filling that is not complicated to make. Don't forget to let it sit in the oven with the door open and the heat off once the pie has finished to avoid cracks forming in the center.

Author Aimee from A.K. Kitchen & Nutrition

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups fresh or canned pumpkin
• 3 eggs + 1 yolk
• 1/2 cup almond milk (if using coconut, use lite)
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp sweet ceylon cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp maca root powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 dash ginger
• 1 dash allspice
• 1 dash mace
• 1 dash cloves
• 2 dash nutmeg

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whisk everything together. Bake with the sides of the pie covered with foil to prevent burning. 
• Bake for 35 minutes or until the filling has set but still has some jiggle in the middle. 
• Turn the oven off and allow the pie to rest with the oven door slightly open for about half an hour to prevent the center from cracking.

Notes

I used the Vanilla Bean Espresso granola by Wildway.

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Dairy free, gluten free, apple pie

Author Aimee from A.K. Kitchen & Nutrition

Ingredients

• 8-12 pink lady apples peeled, cored, and sliced thin
• 1 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp apricot jam
• 4 Tbsp maple butter or 2 Tbsp maple syrup and 2 Tbsp coconut or brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp sweet ceylon cinnamon
• 2 dash nutmeg
• 1 dash allspice
• 1 dash cloves

Crumb Topping

• 1/4 cup granola
• 1/2 cup almond or gluten free flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 2-4 Tbsp Ghee, butter or coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

• Slice, quarter, core and thinly slice apples.
• Melt coconut oil, jam, and maple together. Stir in vanilla, spices and salt until the mixture is smooth.
• On medium low, toss the apples in the mixture for 5-10 minutes to soften the apples. Cook less if you want the apples to be al dente.
• Add filling to lightly cooked crust.
• In the food processor, add all of the ingredients for the crumb topping and blend on low until it begins to crumble together. Don’t let it blend too much.
• Add crumb topping to the apples and cover the sides with foil to prevent burning on the edges of the crust.
• Bake for 35-50 minutes at 350 degrees F. Time depends on how long you cook the apples and the type of sugar you use in the crumb topping. Watch it carefully if you use coconut sugar to prevent burning. 

Notes

The apple cinnamon and banana nut granolas by Wildway are both delicious with this recipe.

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