Description
This ultimate apple pie recipe combines a flaky homemade crust with a perfectly spiced apple filling for a true American classic. With step-by-step instructions, strategic baking tips, and foolproof methods, you’ll achieve bakery-quality results every time in just 90 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
- For the Crust:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
- 6–8 tablespoons ice water
- For the Apple Filling:
- 6–7 cups apples (Granny Smith + Honeycrisp blend), peeled, cored, sliced
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into pieces
- Optional Enhancements:
- 1 egg + 1 tbsp water (egg wash)
- Coarse sugar sprinkle
Instructions
- Prepare crust: Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Cut in cold butter until coarse crumbs form. Gradually add ice water until dough comes together. Divide into 2 discs, wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Make filling: Toss apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, and zest until coated.
- Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Roll out one dough disc and place into a 9-inch pie dish. Add apple mixture, discarding excess liquid. Dot with butter.
- Top with second crust, seal edges, cut vents, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes, then reduce to 350°F and bake 35 minutes until golden and bubbling. Shield edges with foil if needed.
- Cool 2-3 hours before slicing to allow filling to set.
Notes
Use a mix of tart and sweet apples (Granny Smith + Honeycrisp) for best balance. To avoid soggy crust, discard excess filling liquid and ensure oven is fully preheated. For make-ahead, freeze unbaked pie up to 3 months and bake directly from frozen, adding 15 minutes to bake time.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8 of pie)
- Calories: 385
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 285mg
- Fat: 16g
- Carbohydrates: 58g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 4g
Keywords: apple pie recipe, classic apple pie, homemade apple pie, best apple pie, flaky crust apple pie