Whole Grain Apple Pizza Pie

It finally feels like fall where we're at. Seriously, it was still in the 80's until like 2 days ago. So the first day of cooler weather meant I was quick to make one of the recipes I've been eyeing that included apples and cinnamon. I liked the idea of all the whole wheat flour and oats in this recipe. I hoped it would be just as good as a regular apple pie or crumble even though it had lots of healthier grains. It TOTALLY was. I wished I was at home with my grain grinder and some things like buckwheat and oat groats to play around with this recipe even more. The original recipe called for a whole wheat pastry flour in the crust. I couldn't find any at the store, so I used a combination of whole wheat flour and all purpose (low-gluten would be even better)--but I think the all purpose could likely be replaced with buckwheat or oat flour or maybe even be totally whole wheat. I've never used a whole wheat pastry flour so I'm not sure how it behaves in baking. Anyway, if you follow this as is, its GREAT! See a couple notes at the bottom on pan choice!

Whole Grain Apple Pizza Pie
Crust
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs all purpose flour

Apple Filling
5 medium apples, peeled and chopped (~3 cups)
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs whole wheat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Crumble Topping
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup oats
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Begin by mixing together the butter and sugar for the crust. Beat in vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add in flours. It will be dry and crumbly.

Press into a large round pizza pan, a 9x13, or 2 pie plates or round cake pans and build up the crust on the edges. Set aside. Peel and chop apples (I used a food processor). Mix together with sugar, whole wheat flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Spread over crust and set aside again. For the topping, stir together whole wheat flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender, food processor, or 2 knives. Stir in cinnamon and oats. Grab by the handful and squeeze before crumbling over the top of the apple layer of the pizza pie.

Bake at 350F (180C) for about 30-35 minutes, until the edges are browned and crisp.

Drizzle with caramel sauce to serve. Vanilla ice cream is good to! Or maybe both!

Notes: The original recipe said to make this in a 12-inch pizza pan. I didn't have that. I used two 8-inch pie plates so we called it deep dish pizza pie! For me it resembled a pie more than a pizza but I think I'd love to have it thinner like a pizza. I think it could also be made in a 9x13 or maybe 2 9-inch cake pans that would allow for a little thinner.

You could also drizzle this with a simple powdered sugar glaze (1 cup powdered sugar, dash of vanilla and milk to make a drizzling consistency).

Don't judge my horrible photos off my phone! Ha! It was terrible lighting in my kitchen but I was in a hurry!