Vegan Apple Pear Pandowdy (Vintage American Pie)

Recently, I was reading a book about the Depression Era that mentioned a baked dish called apple pandowdy. I had never heard of this before so I researched it and found that it is similar to apple pie but made with a different topping. The dough on top is rolled into mini dough balls and dropped on top, rather than rolled out, and then it is pressed into the apples. This makes it so the apples bake right in to the dough and it makes little apple biscuits on top. The original recipe I had found for this was very basic and easy to turn vegan. I ended up adding a bunch of warming spices to enhance its flavor. I also had a bunch of pears to use up, so I replaced half of the amount of apples with pears instead. In New England, these two fruits are in peak season right now and make the perfect combination. You could serve this warm with vegan vanilla ice cream, coconut whipped cream, or eat a bowl of it on its own.

Vegan Apple Pear Pandowdy (Vintage American Pie)

Recipe Type: Sweets

YIELDS 1 pie size pandowdy

PREP TIME 10 min

COOK TIME 01 hour 00 min

TOTAL TIME 01 hour 10 min

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegan butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 apples, peeled & sliced
3 pears, peeled & sliced
For the topping:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegan butter
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tbsp course sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp vegan butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 apples, peeled & sliced
3 pears, peeled & sliced
For the topping:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegan butter
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tbsp course sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions

1. To prepare the sauce to pour over the apples, add the brown sugar, flour, and salt to a small pot and whisk together. Add the water and lemon juice and stir. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla extract, and spices and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3.To prepare the dough, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a fork to cut the butter in. Stir in the almond milk until a dough ball forms. Set aside.
4. Arrange the apple and pear slices in a pie pan or baking dish similar in size and depth.
5. Pour the sauce over the pears and apples.
6. Roll golf ball sized pieces of dough between your hands and then slightly flatten them before dropping them over the apples and pears. Repeat this until the dough is gone.
7. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle all over the top of the dough.
8. Bake for about an hour, until the apples are soft and the dough is a nice, golden brown.