This apple pie is sweet and flavorful and all you need is 8 ingredients to make this delicious pie. It's the perfect Thanksgiving pie after a festive dinner with lots of turkey meat and apple sausage stuffing. By the way, if you love apple desserts, don't forget to try my apple cobbler and caramel apple cake.
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Photo instructions
Start by making the double crust. Use your food processor and place the flour, salt, sugar, and cold butter in the food processor. Pulse for 4-5 times until you see pea-sized flakes. Slowly add one tablespoon of water and pulse again. Continue doing this until it forms into a dough.
Separate dough into two even halves and form each dough ball into a disc that is 1 - 1.5-inch thick without kneading. Cover each disc tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. It can stay in the fridge for 2 hours all the way up to 2 days.
Add diced apples, sugar, flour, and lemon juice to a bowl and give it a quick stir. Pour in vanilla and sprinkle with cinnamon. Allow the apple mixture to stand for 15 minutes.
Roll one dough disc out onto a lightly floured surface. You want it to end up a 12-inch circle. Carefully, transfer the crust to a 9-inch pie pan. It's normal and supposed to for the edges to hang over the pie dish.
Drain the apples and discard any excess liquid. Then transfer the drained filling to the crust.
Roll out the second dough that will be used as your top crust. After it's rolled out, cut slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape. You can also cut the dough into strips and weave them. Decorate the crust to your preference. Then seal and flute the edges.
Mix together egg and water in a small bowl and brush on top of the crust. Then give a sprinkle of sugar and bake.
Expert tips for success
- Be sure to use very cold butter for the crust. This allows you to create the flakiest crust.
- Stop processing the dough when pea-sized butter flakes are still visible.
- If it browns too fast, cover it for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- If your crust ended up being soggy, it's probably because the juice that was with the apples ended up in the pie. The excess liquid makes the crust soggy. I recommend placing the apples in a mesh strainer to let any excess liquid drip off before putting it in the crust. Then discard the excess liquid.
What apples should I use?
For this recipe, I prefer to use sweet apples because they give such a lovely flavor. The sweetest apples are Fuji, Gala, and Honeycrisp. You can go for an apple that is more sour than sweet like Granny Smith if you would rather, it's totally up to you.
Storage
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing
For freezing, wrap it with plastic wrap or tin foil tightly. Then put it inside of an airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months. To defrost, place it in the refrigerator overnight and serve when thawed.
More apple recipes to try
If you are on the hunt for more apple recipes, you will love these recipes as well:
- Apple Cakes
- Moist Cinnamon Apple Bread
- Apple Walnut Pie
- Apple Pecan Bars
- Apple Sausage Stuffing
- Caramel Apple Cake
Recipe
Best Apple Pie Recipe From Scratch
Ingredients
crust
- 2 â…“ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup unsalted cold butter, cut into a few pieces
- 6-8 tablespoon cold water
filling
- 2.5 lbs sweet baking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into ¼ inch slices (about 10-12 cups)
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
brushing + sprinkling
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
Instructions
- Make the crust with a food processor: Place flour, salt, sugar, and butter in a food processor and pulse 4-5 times. Pea-sized butter flakes should still be visible. Add one tablespoon water at the time and pulse 1-2 times after every tablespoon. Stop adding water when the dough starts to clump.
- If you don't have a food processor, then make the crust with a pastry cutter or two forks instead: In this case mix together flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then add butter and cut it into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal with pea-sized butter flakes. Then add water little by little until the texture starts to clump.
- Divide the crust in half and form 1- 1.5 inch thick discs without kneading. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.Â
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a large bowl stir apple, sugar, flour, and lemon juice to combine. Also, add vanilla and cinnamon if using. Let stand 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the first dough disc into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. The edges of the crust should hang out of the baking form. Spoon the filling into the crust without any excess liquid. Discard any excess liquid.Â
- Roll out second dough disc and place on top of the filling. Cut slits on top that the steam can escape, or cut the second dough disc into 1-2 inch strips and arrange in a grid on top of your filling by laying over and under one another carefully. Decorate pie crust to your preference. Seal and flute the edges.Â
- In a small bowl stir together egg and water and brush on top of the crust and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 45 minutes. Cover the last 10 minutes with parchment paper to prevent it from browning too much if necessary. Let cool to room temperature and chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Video
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Maria J
Truly delicious!
This last minute decision to bake Apple Pie for Thanksgiving turned out great success.
I didn't have round pie dish , so I opted for 9x12 in baking tray. Used 1,5 times the proportions and baked for 1 hour at 375F, let rest for 1 hour before serving. Crust was well baked and flaky.
I also added 1/2 cur raisins soaked for 1+ hour with 15 ml of my husband whiskey. 🙂 No vanilla
Thank you Sabine, this goes to the 'proven and favorite recipe book'!
Kimberly Stevens
Absolutely amazing turnout!
Karina ilya
Hi! Just wanted to know the measurements if I were to swap out the butter and use coconut oil or shortening instead ? First time making pie and found your recipe! Looks and sounds delicious!
Sabine
You can substitute the butter for coconut oil or shortening 1:1. That shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure either of these subs are solid and cold when you add them to the flour and do not overblend.
Jennifer
I added vanilla extract and used brown instead of white sugar and it was so good. It's a delicious recipe.
Sabine
That sounds super delicious! Will try your changes the next time.