The iconic American dessert, this apple pie recipe features perfectly sweetened, fresh apple slices packed into a flaky, homemade double crust and baked until golden brown. It’s an all-season favorite, full of nostalgia and warm, spiced, buttery flavor.
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Apple pie is impossible to beat. It’s arguably the best pie for the fall season and the winter holidays, but it also goes unmatched as a summer sweet – with a scoop of vanilla ice cream year-round.
Having been an American staple for a couple of centuries now, apple pie has likely been made by your mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother, garnering a sense of prestige on the dessert table.
I find this recipe to be the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness in a cinnamon-spiced apple filling, all tucked in a buttery, crispy crust.
The apple filling isn’t overwhelmingly sweet, but just sweet enough to let the natural flavors shine.
This recipe is our favorite, highlighting quality apples and a flaky, homemade pie crust with simple, affordable, tried-and-true ingredients that are transformed into mouth-watering delight.
I leave room for you to use your own favorite pie crust recipe or even a pre-made crust if you’d like, but I’ve also included two of my absolute favorite crusts for you to try.
With apple peeling and slicing, mixing the filling, and assembling the pie, this is a fun one to let my kids help with.
Baking treats like apple pie, sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, or pumpkin muffins creates lasting memories and builds their confidence. As they’re getting older, having them in the kitchen with me has been so special.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious – Homemade apple pie is delicious whether served warm or cold. The filling is smooth and syrupy, the apples are tender and tart, and a flaky pie crust holds it all together with a rich, salty crispness.
Classic, simple ingredients – Apple pie is about the apples, so the rest of the ingredients are there to let the fruit work its magic. This recipe calls for pantry staples, keeping apple pie simple and straightforward.
Year-round favorite – There’s no mistaking that apple pie is versatile. It’s easily served on Thanksgiving, Independence Day, or after Sunday dinner. It fits the holidays yet needs no occasion or season to be served.
Choosing Your Apples
The perfect apples for apple pie keep their shape after baking, add great flavor, and maintain a pleasant texture. Some of my favorite varieties include:
- Granny Smith – These are tart, keep their shape well, and are easy to find in the store.
- Honeycrisp – Also easily accessible, Honeycrisp apples are sweeter and very flavorful, but typically more expensive.
- Jonathan – Slightly sweeter than Granny Smith apples, you’ll find these to be rich in flavor with a softer texture.
- Braeburn – Similar to Granny Smith, but a bit sweeter.
- Golden Delicious – A classic choice for apple pie due to its sweetness, texture, and availability.
Ingredients
Organic sugar: Adds sweetness to the apples without any extra liquid.
All-purpose flour: A little flour thickens the juice as the apples cook, avoiding a thin, watery filling.
Cinnamon: What is apple pie without cinnamon? The spice amplifies the natural flavor of the apples.
Zest and lemon juice: Adding a touch of acid balances the sweetness of the apple pie filling and keeps the apples from browning.
Apples: I like to slice my apples thinly, but you can also shred or dice them.
Pie crust: Use your favorite double pie crust, or try my einkorn flour pie crust for quicker baking, or my sourdough pie crust when planning ahead for fermentation.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
Large bowl
Rolling pin
How to Make Homemade Apple Pie
Prepare the pie crust ahead of time, keeping it chilled in the fridge before rolling it out. I like to use my einkorn pie crust or sourdough pie crust, but you can use your favorite homemade crust recipe or a store-bought crust.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and core the apples, slicing them thinly and adding them to a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the bowl of sliced apples and combine.
Step 3: Roll out the bottom pie crust on a lightly floured surface, forming a 12-inch circle, then transfer the dough to a 9″ glass pie dish. Gently fit it in and trim excess dough from the edges.
Step 4: Add the apple mixture to the bottom crust. Do not add the extra juice at the bottom of the bowl. Dice the cold butter and dot the pieces over the filling.
Step 5: Roll the second pie crust to 12 inches in diameter and place it on top of the apple filling. Trim around the outside edges, then roll the edge of the bottom crust over the top crust, and flute the edges with your fingers, much like you’re making little pinches around the edges of the pie. Cut a few slits in the top for steam to escape.
Step 6: Brush the whole pie with an egg wash (one egg plus one tablespoon of water, whisked well), then sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.
Step 7: Bake for 30 minutes, then add an aluminum foil tent around the edges and bake for another 20-30 minutes.
Step 8: The pie will be done when the top crust is golden and the apple juices are bubbling. Let the pie cool at room temperature for several hours before serving, giving the filling time to thicken. Serve with homemade ice cream!
Tips
- A food processor makes the process of pie dough super easy, but a pastry blender works well, too.
- Keep the pie dough cold while you wait to assemble.
- Pick the right apples. Not every apple is great for baking, so consider my recommendations in the post.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and/or allspice for added warmth and spice.
- For the top crust of the pie, I make a few slits to release the steam, but you could easily make a lattice top. Or use cookie cutters to cut some of the dough into shapes and make a pretty arrangement on top of the pie crust.
- Brush the crust with an egg wash and sprinkle the top with sugar to give it that golden color and a sweet crunch.
- Place the pie on a baking sheet to avoid an oven mess if the filling bubbles over.
- Instead of ice cream, try serving the pie with a large dollop of whipped cream, find the instructions in my recipe for sourdough strawberry shortcake.
- Fruit pies like this one are wonderful for making ahead, freezing unbaked, and then baking when you need them. Find the instructions in the FAQ section.
Recipe FAQs
Cooking the apples beforehand may help you avoid that airy gap that can develop between the apple filling and the top crust when the apples release their juices and shrink. It’s also a common technique for an extra crisp bake. For this recipe, I use the traditional method of baking raw apples and crust together.
A baked apple pie can be stored at room temperature, covered, for 2-3 days. It will last 5-7 days in the refrigerator, covered.
Yes! Apple pie (fruit pies, in general) is great to freeze before baking. Simply assemble the pie as normal, skipping the egg wash and sprinkling of sugar, then wrap the pie up tightly and place it in a safe place in the freezer. Once fully frozen, the pie can be packed away without concern for other freezer items smashing it. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, set the frozen pie on a cookie sheet, and place in the oven. After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking for 45 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
I do not recommend using Red Delicious, McIntosh, or Gala apples. You want to pick apples that hold their structure when cooked, and these tend to become unpleasantly mushy.
For this recipe, I assemble it completely and bake all at once without any trouble.
If you’re concerned about having a soggy bottom crust, there are a couple methods to try.
The first is to blind-bake (aka pre-baking) the pie shell before adding the filling. Usually, this is done by adding the pie crust to the pie plate, trimming off excess dough, covering it with foil or parchment paper, adding pie weights (you could even add beans), and baking for a shorter time. Then, you would add the filling and top crust, with additional bake time to finish.
Another method is to sprinkle some of the excess flour and sugar mix from your apple filling bowl across the bottom of the pie crust before adding the apples. This will help absorb the juices from the fruit, keeping your bottom crust crisp.
More Delicious Recipes from the Farmhouse
- From Scratch Pumpkin Pie
- Sourdough Pumpkin Cobbler Recipe
- Easy Instant Pot Apple Sauce
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Topping
- Sourdough Beignets
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Homemade Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 2 9" pie crusts
- 6 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 lemon zest and juice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Sugar for sprinkling, optional
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Prepare the pie crust ahead of time, keeping it chilled in the fridge before rolling it out. I like to use my einkorn pie crust or sourdough pie crust, but you can use your favorite homemade crust recipe or a store-bought crust.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and core the apples, slicing them thinly and adding them to a mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the bowl of sliced apples and combine.
- Roll out the bottom pie crust on a lightly floured surface, forming a 12-inch circle, then transfer the dough to a 9″ glass pie dish. Gently fit it in and trim excess dough from the edges.
- Add the apple mixture to the bottom crust. Dice the cold butter and dot the pieces over the filling.
- Roll the second pie crust to 12 inches in diameter and place it on top of the apple filling. Trim around the outside edges, then roll the edge of the bottom crust over the top crust, and flute the edges with your fingers, much like you’re making little pinches around the edges of the pie. Cut a few slits in the top for steam to escape.
- Brush the whole pie with an egg wash (one egg plus one tablespoon of water, whisked well), then sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then add an aluminum foil tent around the edges and bake for another 20-30 minutes.
- The pie will be done when the top crust is golden and the apple juices are bubbling. Let the pie cool at room temperature for several hours before serving, giving the filling time to thicken.
Notes
- A food processor makes the process of pie dough super easy, but a pastry blender works well, too.
- Keep the pie dough cold while you wait to assemble.
- Pick the right apples. Not every apple is great for baking, so consider my recommendations in the post.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and/or allspice for added warmth and spice.
- For the top crust of the pie, I make a few slits to release the steam, but you could easily make a lattice top. Or use cookie cutters to cut some of the dough into shapes and make a pretty arrangement on top of the pie crust.
- Brush the crust with an egg wash and sprinkle the top with sugar to give it that golden color and a sweet crunch.
- Place the pie on a baking sheet to avoid an oven mess if the filling bubbles over.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Question! I made your apple cobbler recipe and it was delicious sweetened with the maple syrup. Would this filling be okay to sub maple syrup for sugar? Thanks!
Best Apple Pie recipe!!! I appreciate how easy your recipes are to follow and the end results are always VERY delicious. Thank you!
Got the apple pie recipe. Thank you Aria
Is there a reason why my dough came out almost frozen hard after leaving it in the fridge for one day?
I covered it with plastic in a bowl.
Or should I have wrapped just the dough? I wasn’t clear on that.
Is it still edible once it’s warm enough to roll?