Amazing No-Butter Apple Cranberry Pie

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The filling for this apple pie is on the tart side—experiment with less lemon juice or sweeter apples for a balance that's right for you. Most pie crusts use butter, shortening or lard to get a flaky texture—this one uses heart-healthy canola oil. We found that when we simply substitute oil for butter the texture suffers. The trick is to freeze the oil and a bit of flour together before incorporating it into the dough. The result is a flaky crust without all the saturated fat.

READER'S COMMENT:

"this was delicious and easy to make (my first pie!). i added some cinnamon to the filling and a bit more sugar than the recipe called for, since it said it was pretty tart. Also, substituted soy milk for regular milk since our dinner...

Amazing No-Butter Apple Cranberry Pie Recipe

One 9-inch pie, for 10 servings

Active Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Low cholesterol | Low saturated fat | Low sodium | Heart healthy | View Complete Nutrition Guidelines»

Ingredients

Amazing No-Butter Apple Cranberry Pie

Crust
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-5 tablespoons low-fat milk

Topping

1/3 cup “quick” or regular rolled oats
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 tablespoon water

Filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 pounds tart apples, such as Cortland or Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (about 6 cups)
1 cup dried cranberries
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Preparation

To prepare crust: Stir oil and 1/4 cup flour in a small bowl until smooth; cover and chill in the freezer until partially frozen, about 40 minutes.
Whisk the remaining 1 cup flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the chilled oil-flour paste into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Stir in milk a tablespoon at a time just until a soft dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface 7 or 8 times. Press into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
to prepare topping: Work together oats, flour and brown sugar in a small bowl with a fork or your fingertips until there are no large lumps. Drizzle oil and water over the top and work together until the mixture forms small crumbs.
To prepare filling & assemble pie: Combine sugar and flour in a small bowl. Toss apples and cranberries with lemon zest and juice in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples and toss well.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to the prepared pie pan. Fold the edges under and crimp with a fork. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Mound the filling into the crust and cover with the topping.
Bake until the fruit is bubbling at the edges and is easily pierced with a skewer in the center, 55 to 70 minutes. Check toward the end of the baking time; if the crust or topping is becoming too dark, cover the pie loosely with foil.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Equipment: 9-inch pie pan

Nutrition

Per serving: 301 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 57 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 176 mg sodium; 99 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (18% daily value).

4 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 fruit, 3 carbohydrate (other), 1 1/2 fat