A classic American Apple Pie, preferably baked in a deep dish. The perfect mixture of apples tossed in brown sugar, cinnamon and spices. Make your own pastry, or use store-bought, your family will love this fall favorite. Tasty comforting dessert for the cooler nights or for the holidays.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy - with homemade pastry instructions, or use store-bought
- No Fuss - you don't need to pre-cook your apples ahead of time
- America on a Plate - apple cinnamon is the perfect balance of brown sugar, cinnamon, spices and apples 🇺🇸
Ingredients You'll Need
- Shortcrust Pastry (homemade or store-bought)
- 10 apples
- brown sugar
- white sugar
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves
- cornstarch
- cubed butter
- egg wash
Best Apples For Apple Pie
Some people who claim certain apples varieties must be used for apple pies. At the end of the day, it's up to you and your tastebuds. Use what's in season, buy what's on sale, use what you love. Here are some suggestions.
- Granny Smith - tart and acidic, popular for apple pies
- Honeycrisp - sweet with slightly tart flavor
- Fuji - strong apple flavor, like apple juice
- Pink Lady - high in sugar and crispy
- McIntosh - tart and juicy apple
- Gala - crispy, juicy and sweet apple
How to Make Apple Pie Pastry
Making shortcrust pastry is quick and easy, however many people prefer to buy pastry in the freezer section of the supermarket. It's always ready to be thawed and used, and is quick and easy. Here's the instructions how to make it from scratch.
- In a large bowl or food processor, add the flour, salt and butter.
- Using your fingers, mix the butter into the flour until it resembles crumbs. If using a processor, slowly pulse until you get the same result.
- Add the chilled beaten egg and mix until it makes a non-sticky dough. Add 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time until you form a smooth dough.
- Wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge until you are ready to use.
How to Make American Apple Pie
It only takes about an hour to make and enjoy hot apple pie. Using frozen pastry speeds up the process.
- Make the Shortcrust Pastry, or defrost frozen pastry.
- Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Mix brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cornstarch.
- Roll the 2 into thin circles (larger than pie pan). Grease pan and cover with pastry.
- Fill pie pan with apple pie filling and dot with cubed butter.
- Cover with remaining pastry. Seal edges using a fork, cutting excess dough with a knife. Poke air vents in pie crust with a fork, or cut a hole in the middle to let juices out.
- Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake at 400°F/200°C for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F/175°C. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and bubbling (at least another 45 minutes).
How to make Lattice Pie Crust
- Roll the Shortcrust Pastry dough about ⅛" thin, about 12" round.
- Cut the rolled dough into 1" strips, you should have about 12 strips.
- Arrange the strips by weaving a lattice across the pie. Start with spacing 5-6 strips across the pie. Weave strips (over and under) alternate horizontal and vertical rows. The filling should be visible, leave small gaps between the strips.
- Cut hanging excess dough with a knife. Crimp the edges to seal using a fork, or fold over pie base crust and pinch to seal the lattice strips.
- Brush with egg wash before baking.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Alternative Butter Measurements - instead of 6oz of butter, use ¾ cup of butter or a stick and a half of butter
- Lattice Pie Crust - sometimes your pastry strips can be too short. Pro Tip: connect another strip to lengthen but hide the seam underneath the lattice.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - skip the cinnamon spices and use Pumpkin Spice instead!
- Eggwash - you can make this recipe without egg wash, but the color of the pie will be lighter and not look as golden
How to Store Apple Pie
- Fridge - Allow to cool before wrapping the pie in Cling Wrap or place in airtight container. Should be good for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer - Fresh is best, however you can freeze an apple pie for about 3 months. Wrap in Cling Wrap and place in large Ziploc to minimize exposure to freezer air.
Do I Need to Cook Apples for Pie?
There's no need to cook the apples ahead of time when making American Apple Pie. Stewed apples are more common in Australian and British recipes. Just slice your apples thinly and the flavors cook together with the spices.
Why is my Pie Crust Burning?
Sometimes the edges of the pie can start to burn before the rest of the pie is ready. An easy workaround is to cover the edges with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
What to Serve with Apple Pie
Nothing beats a warm apple pie served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, Apple Pie a la Mode! Sweet whipped cream also works great. Here in Australia, serving pie with Vanilla Custard also tastes great!
Fall Desserts You'll Love!
- Sharlotka Apple Cake (only 5 ingredients)
- Old Fashioned Blueberry Pie (made with Yeast Dough)
- Pumpkin Roll (with vanilla cream cheese filling)
- Apple Turnovers (made with Puff Pastry)
- Hot Apple Cider (made with cloudy apple juice)
This American Apple Pie recipe is the perfect dessert for Fall or Harvest. So simple, buy apples, peel and slice, season and bake. Nothing beats homemade apple pie! Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
American Apple Pie
Equipment
- 9" Pie Pan
- Food Processor for dough optional
Ingredients
Short Cut Pastry
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz (175g) butter cut into small cubes
- 1 egg chilled
- 3 tablespoons ice water
Apple Pie Filling
- 10 apples mixed varieties (about 3½ pounds/1.5kg)
- ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons butter cubed
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon whipping cream
- coarse sugar for sprinkling over pie crust
Instructions
Making Short Cut Pastry
- In a large bowl or food processor, add the flour, salt and butter.
- Using your fingers, mix the butter into the flour until it resembles crumbs. If using a processor, slowly pulse until you get the same result.
- Add the chilled beaten egg and mix until it makes a non-sticky dough. Add 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time until you form a smooth dough.
- Wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge until you are ready to use.
Apple Pie Filling
- Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Add brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cornstarch and mix until evenly coated.
How to Make Apple Pie
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C, and position rack on the lowest height.
- Roll the dough into 2 thin round circles, about ⅛" thick, and larger than the size of the 9" pie pan.
- Grease pie pan and cover bottom of pan with pastry. Place apple pie filling inside the pie pan and dot with small cubes of butter.
- Cover with remaining pastry. Seal edges using a fork, cutting excess dough with a knife. Poke air vents in pie crust with a fork. Can also make lattice pie top as per instructions in post.
- Make an egg wash by beating 1 egg yolk with whipping cream. Lightly brush the pie with egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F/175°C. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and bubbling (at least another 45 minutes). Allow to cool before serving.
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