American Apple Pie

This apple pie is so sweet and delicious, thanks to lots of juicy California dates - that's why I called it "American." It certainly rivals its cooked cousin in flavor, and a crust made from dates and almonds will do so much for your body than one made of flour and lard. My version is based on a recipe from Carol Alt's book The Raw 50, which is a really great raw beginner's cookbook.

Apple Pie
a little olive oil
a little carob powder
2 cups raw almonds
24 big juicy Cali dates (if you can only find the small, shriveled dates, use twice as many and soak them in water first)
2 apples, 1 cored and chopped, the other thinly sliced and dehydrated at 46 C for 2-4 hours
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt (himalayan is best)

First slice up one apple and put it in the dehydrator for 2-4 hours as noted above, or you can use pre-dried apples.

Grease a 9-inch pie plate with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with carob powder (this will help your pie not to stick to the plate). Combine almonds and 8 dates (make sure to remove pits!) in food processor, and blend until the mixture becomes crumbly and starts to come together in clumps. Press the crust mixture into the pie plate.

Combine the chopped apple with the remaining 16 dates, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and pulse in food processor (no need to wash in between crust and filling). How long you blend is up to you - you can let it become uniform and caramel-like, but I like to retain some texture and reminder of the presence of the apples. Add the filling to the crust, smooth, then top with the dehydrated apple.

I guarantee, this won't last long! If you like, you can top with some raw cream, or make a macadamia cream, but it is really delicious by itself.