Dairy free apple pie - substitute Earth Balance margarine for butter, or just leave out the butter?

[Anonymous]

The recipe I use for apple pie calls for putting dollops of butter over the apples before adding the second crust, and is delicious. However I now need to make a dairy free version. Would it be better to substitute Earth Balance margarine for the butter or just omit the butter/margarine altogether? How does Earth Balance work in baking - does it melt/taste like butter or is the taste and texture going to be off?

[Anonymous]

What are you using for the crust? Crisco? Because if it's dairy-free, you could use that inside the pie. Maybe use the butter flavored stuff?

Another way to go: I had to go dairy and soy-free for a few months while BFing DD, and I made pie crusts with lard (it works so well for sweet pies, you would never believe). I just put a little oil on the fruit to keep the inside moist (olive oil -- again, really great in sweet food). (Crisco contains soy, and earth balance is either soy or dairy based -- I think there's one that's neither soy nor dairy, but I doubt you could bake with it! ).

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Works great as a sub. Especially in this type of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are you using for the crust? Crisco? Because if it's dairy-free, you could use that inside the pie. Maybe use the butter flavored stuff?

I'm using store bought crusts that are dairy free. Thanks, I will try olive oil or Earth Balance!

[Anonymous]

I bake with Earth Balance or Smart Balance all the time. Do NOT use olive oil. Its totally different.