Finish your vegan Christmas dinner with a classic, made-from-scratch apple pie. For best results, make this the day before your holiday meal. Serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla soy or rice "cream," if available.

Perfectly Easy Vegan Pie Crust:

Have an 8 or 9 inch pie plate, pastry cutter or sturdy whisk, rolling pin and waxed paper ready.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2/3 cup Nucoa or Butter-Flavored Crisco

• 5-7 Tbs. cold water

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in half of the shortening product using a pastry ble.nder (the tip of a sturdy whisk works well), until mixture resembles corn meal. Cut in the remaining half until mixture resembles very small peas.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of cold water over a small part of the mixture. Gently toss with a fork and push to the side of the bowl. Repeat process until all is moistened, and gather dough into a ball. Divide dough in half, forming each piece into a ball.

Place a large section of waxed paper on your rolling surface and dust lightly with flour. Place a ball of dough in the center and flatten slightly, smoothing edges. Dust dough lightly with flour and cover with another large section of waxed paper. Roll dough between the papers, from the center outwards, until 1/4 – 1/8 inch thick.

Peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Transfer dough to pie pan, arrange, and carefully peel away remaining waxed paper. Fill pie. Repeat the rolling and transfer process with the second ball of dough to make top crust. Crimp edges together with fingers or a fork. Wet a sharp knife and carefully cut four vents in top crust, radiating from the center.

Apple Filling:

• 5-7 tart, green apples

• 3/4 cup sugar or artificial sweetener

• 2 Tbs. flour

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

• Dash salt

• 2 Tbs. Nucoa or Butter-Flavored Crisco

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pare and core apples and slice thin. Combine all ingredients except shortening and mix with apples. Fill prepared bottom crust with apple mixture and dot the top with shortening. Add top crust as previously described and sprinkle with sugar for sparkle. Loosely cover crimped edges with foil to prevent over-browning.

Bake pie for 30 minutes. Take pie from oven and remove foil. Return pie to oven for another 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Allow pie to cool completely, then cover with foil and store until ready to serve. Warm pie in 250 degree oven for about 10 minutes before serving, if desired.