Phyllo Apple Pie

Finally I got around to posting this recipe today. I have made this pie twice in the past few weeks, and the reason is that when I made it the first time I stopped to take pictures while putting the pie together. Even though I tried to do it fast, the edges of the phyllo sheets dried out slightly. So the pictures I am sharing with you are from both times I made the pie: The instructions from the first time and the final result from the second time. You will notice that anyways because I used two different pie dishes.

Thaw: 2 hrs  Prep: 30 min  Inactive 15 min  Bake: 40 min  Total:3 hrs 25 min

Ingredients

10 sheets 9″X 14″ phyllo dough, thawed for 2 hours at room temperature

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced into 1/4 inch slices

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut oil or butter, plus some melted for brushing phyllo dough layers and greasing pie dish

1/3 cup unrefined sugar

1 to 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbs all-purpose flour

Directions

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the apples, lemon juice, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the flour, and stir it around until all the liquid is absorbed for about 30 seconds. Remove the frying pan from the burner and let cool.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Unroll and cover the phyllo sheets with a towel to prevent drying out.

Place one sheet of phyllo on a work surface and lightly brush it with the melted oil or butter. Lay another sheet over the first one to create a plus sign and brush with the oil. Repeat with two more sheets, but lay the sheets diagonally over the plus sign. Lay two more sheets to make a plus sign, brushing the layers with the oil.

Gently ease the phyllo shell into the bottom and up the sides of a pre-greased pie dish. Pour in the filling. Place one sheet of phyllo over the pie and lightly brush it with the oil. Lay another sheet over the first one to create a plus sign. Brush with the oil. Repeat the previous steps with two more sheets.  Fold over the edges of the pie and brush with some more oil if necessary. Make one or two slits on the top to let steam to escape and sprinkle with some sugar.

Bake until the edges of the pie are golden brown for about 40 minutes. Check on the pie in 20 minutes after placing it into the oven; if the edges of the pie start to over brown, tent them with tin foil. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or vanilla custard.

For added flavor and sweetness, sprinkle 2 or 3 layers of the phyllo sheets with cinnamon sugar and/or finely chopped nuts.

Enjoy!