All you need to know to make the most delicious homemade apple pie
Here it is: THE classic, THE most-loved and always welcomed at any table, any day of the year: The APPLE PIE!
With this classic recipe you will get a fruity and juicy, buttery and cinnamon-y apple pie. Every bite of this dessert will burst in your mouth with the classic holiday flavor of apples and cinnamon, sandwiched in a buttery and flaky, homemade pie crust.
There's nothing quite like it!
Here are all my tips and recommendations to make the best apple pie you could imagine.
First of all: I strongly recommend making the pie crust from scratch (please don't go with store-bought crust!).
Your pie can only be as good as the crust you're using. So if you have the time, please please pleaaaaase, make the pie dough from scratch.
Note: this dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator!
Making pie crust is really not time-consuming, especially if you have and use a food processor.
If you haven't made this pie dough before, it might just take a bit of practice.
Mostly, the biggest issue is to find the right amount of water to make the dough come together, without being too dry and without mixing too much.
So, here iswhat you need to make the best pie crust:
1. Really cold butter. You can put it in the freezer for 10 minutes if you like, or use it straight from therefrigerator. The dough will need to have little pieces of butter at the end, which will yield an airy and flaky pastry when baking and melting in the oven.
2. Really cold water AND in the rightamount. Place one cup of water in the freezer (Same idea of the butter - we need to keep the pieces of butter cold and not "overheat the dough). Use as much water as needed for thedough to come together. Not too much. Which brings us to the next tip.
3. Weight the flour if you can, or measure it correctly. It's always a common mistake to pick up too much flour when packing your cup. More flour will require more water.
OR: remember to be flexible. Add more water than the recipe asks for if needed until you get the dough consistency just right!
4. Last but not least: do notovermix the dough. You need to be quick and just mix until needed. This is why I like to use a food processor. It takes only a few seconds to cut the butter into the flour and mix it all up. As I already mentioned, we want little pieces of butter in the dough to make a flaky pie crust. NOT the smooth dough we do for bread or pizza dough.
Now, let's talk about the apple filling.
What I strongly recommend is to let the apple slices sit at room temperature in a colander for at least 30 minutes when coated with lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar.
The apple slices will release a lot of their juice which means they will not shrink as much when baking. The result, the pie will be nice and filled with sliced apples, with no empty gapbetween the shell and the apple! And no soggy bottom crust. I know you can agree, that NO ONE likes a wet pie bottom that looks underbaked!
So: Collect the juice released by the apple and use it to make a delicious denser syrup: mix with a little butter and simmer until it gets thick and golden. Add it to the filling (all or just some of it). Note: I add corn starch to the apple to dense up all the juice when baking ... again: no soggy bottom!
I know waiting for the apple to rest is time-consuming, but it's really worth the extra step. You can play with the dough and make the lattice while you wait!
One last word of advice: serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. THE best! Ready to try it too?!?
Here is my step-by-step easy apple pie recipe!
Other pie recipes or tart recipes you might like:
Made-from-Scratch Pumpkin Pie
Homemade Pie Crust Recipe
Salted Caramel-Chocolate Tart
Peach and Blueberry Galette
HOW TO MAKE THE LATTICE TOP CRUST:
Fold the edges
Flute the edges to seal
PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD: Step by step recipe APPLIE PIE
FAQs
Precooking the apples gets you one step ahead of that process; it releases the fruit's liquid, causing them to cook down and lose volume before baking. So it discourages the gap between the top of the apple filling and the top crust, leaving you with a pie that has a thick layer of apples from bottom to top.
Is it better to prebake pie crust for apple pie? ›
You do not need to pre-bake a pie crust for an apple pie or any baked fruit pie really, but we do freeze the dough to help it stay put. Pre-baking the pie crust is only required when making a custard pie OR when making a fresh fruit pie. you should probably get: Pie weights are super helpful to have for pre-baking.
How to make apple pie without soggy bottom crust? ›
Add a Layer
Sprinkle dried breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal, on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven. The layer will absorb moisture and prevent the filling from turning the crust soggy.
What is the secret to a great pie crust? ›
The number one tip most pie dough recipes will emphasize is using cold butter, cold water, cold hands—really cold everything. The colder the butter (or shortening) stays in the dough, the more it can stay self-contained until it hits the oven, creating bigger pockets of air.
Why did my apple pie turn out mushy? ›
Use Overripe Fruit
Even if you choose the perfect apple variety, if the fruit is overripe, your apple pie filling will turn to mush. The perfect apple pie filling is not too sweet. It has just the right amount of tartness to offset the added richness of brown sugar and cinnamon.
What do you brush apple pie before baking? ›
Egg wash is a mix of beaten whole egg and water (or milk or cream), which is used to brush onto the top of baked goods before baking. The purpose of egg wash is to provide a nice golden brown, shiny finish on your baking. I use this egg wash for pie crust, or this also makes a great egg wash for bread recipes.
Should you blind bake the bottom crust of an apple pie? ›
I do not usually par-bake my fruit pie crusts - this is because with a fresh fruit filling (or even with a cooked fruit filling such as my apple pie or my blueberry crostata), the pie has long enough in the oven that it gives the crust enough time to crisp up properly, removing the need for blind baking.
What should be done to the crust before baking a fruit pie? ›
Line the crust with foil, parchment, or a paper coffee filter. Fill it about two-thirds full with dried beans, uncooked rice (or other uncooked grain berries), pie weights, or granulated sugar. Bake the crust in a preheated 375°F oven for 20 minutes, set on a baking stone or steel if you have one.
Is it better to cook apple pie filling first? ›
With a mountain of gooey cinnamon apples nestled under a perfectly buttery and flaky pie crust, this is most certainly my favorite apple pie recipe. To bring out the best apple flavor and texture, pre-cook the filling for about 5 minutes on the stove.
How do you keep the bottom crust of apple pie crisp? ›
Crust dust is a 1:1 mixture of flour and granulated sugar. When baking a pie, especially a fruit pie, a couple of teaspoons of crust dust sprinkled into the bottom of the crust will help prevent the crust from becoming saturated with juicy filling as it bakes.
Here's a look at one of the most unusual laws on the books in the Badger State. In Wisconsin, it is illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without a slice of cheese on top. Yes, you read that right: cheese is required on top of any apple pie that is served in a public restaurant in Wisconsin.
What makes the best pie apple? ›
Go with Granny Smith apples. Known for its vibrant green color, this apple is tangy and tart and features firm flesh that won't get too mushy when cooked down. Braeburn: For a sweeter take on the spicy apple flavor, choose Braeburns for baking your pie.
How do you make an apple pie less juicy? ›
So if you're going to "reduce the juice" (above), save about 1/4 cup of the sugar to add to the ClearJel. Again, if you're perfectly satisfied with your current recipe using flour, cornstarch, or tapioca to thicken filling and prevent runny apple pie, great! Stick with it.
