Apple pie with a warm cinnamon and caramel taste is perfect for autumn!
ABOUT APPLE PIE
Autumn is coming up, so there’s no better time to make apple pie. I’ve never had pumpkin pie, so I stand by apple pie as THE pie for autumn. Growing up, I didn’t really eat traditional American holiday desserts, but one Thanksgiving in college I decided to try making it to be really America-core. I think it turned out really tasty, and my friends and family all loved it! I’ve been using this recipe ever since! My favorite thing about this pie is that you can customize the top crust however you want, giving the final dish your own personal aesthetic touch. This is a pretty standard apple pie recipe with a lattice top and sugar crust. I know many people have their own ways of making it, so I’d like to share my way! This apple pie is great for bringing to holiday gatherings and enjoying with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
COMPONENTS OF APPLE PIE
- ☆ Crust: Like in my peach pie recipe, I recommend you use the pie crust of your choice. In my experience, store-bought frozen pie crust tastes great for apple pie! My preference, though, is to use a tart crust dough as a pie crust. The sweet cookie-like snap of the crust pairs so well with the tart apple and rich cinnamon, you have to try! I’ve included the tart crust recipe I like to use for apple pie in the instructions below, so if you do want to try, it’s there! Otherwise feel free to use any pie crust you like.
- ☆ Apple filling: In my opinion, apple pie is about the filling, so we really wanna focus on the flavors of the filling. There are a lot of different ways to make apple pie filling, but I prefer peeling and cutting the apple into smaller pieces and cooking the apples before they go into the crust. I find that caramelizing the apples and sugar first brings out the rich sweet caramel taste.
MATERIALS
- ☆ Pie pan (about 22cm/9 inch diameter)
- ☆ Rolling pin
INGREDIENTS (+ SUBSTITUTIONS)
This is a basic list and explanation of the key ingredients. For full list and measurements, please scroll down to the recipe below!
- ☆ Granny Smith apples
- Apple pies typically consist of Granny Smith apples because these apples are firmer and tend to hold their shape better after baking. Additionally, the tartness of these apples provide a nice sweet and tart balance to the flavor of the pie.
- ☆ Pie crust
- The crust is the foundation of the pie. Like I said before, you can use any crust you like! Just make sure you execute it well, and the pie will be good regardless. Additionally, I personally like to top the apple pie lattice with a little egg wash and sugar to create a sugar crust, so I highly recommend it!
Crust Ingredients
- ☆ All-purpose flour
- This is the base of the dough. Flour provides structure and strength. In this recipe, all-purpose flour is preferred over cake flour because it is stronger and has more gluten.
- ☆ Unsalted butter
- Butter adds a rich flavor to the dough. The difference between this crust and a typical pie crust is that the butter is softened for this dough. Typically pie crusts use cold butter or have bigger chunks of butter throughout the dough, resulting in a flakier crust. However, we will be creaming the butter and sugar together for this crust, giving us a more crumbly and tender crust similar to a cookie.
- ☆ Sugar
- Not all pie crust recipes use sugar, but we will use it here. The sugar not only adds sweetness but also contributes to the crust’s tender texture. The sugar interferes with the gluten development, making the crust a bit more tender.
- ☆ Egg
Apple Pie Filling Ingredients
- ☆ Granulated sugar
- ☆ Cinnamon
- I prefer only cinnamon, but you can also use other spices such as nutmeg, allspice, ginger, etc. I wouldn’t recommend substituting the cinnamon!
- ☆ Unsalted butter
- We use the butter for cooking the apples. It also adds richness to the caramel sauce made when cooking the apples.
TIPS FOR MAKING APPLE PIE
- ☆ When cooking the apple filling, cook it low and slow so the butter and sugar don’t burn. It’ll take a while for the liquid to thicken up, so just be patient and keep a close eye on it!
- ☆ Another way you can tell if the pie is done is by the speed of the bubbles of the liquid you can see through the lattice. If the bubbles pop and rise slowly, it’s ready.
MORE PIE RECIPES! ♡
If you recreate this Apple Pie recipe, please let me know by tagging me or leaving a comment on Instagram @maruryouri or TikTok @atsuryouri. I’d love to see your creations and hear your feedback!
Apple Pie
Apple pie with a warm cinnamon and caramel taste.
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust about 1-1.5lbs of pie dough
OR
Crust dough
- 210 g all-purpose flour
- 113 g unsalted butter softened
- 85 g granulated sugar
- 1 egg
Filling
- 4 large green apples
- 120 g granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 egg for egg wash
- Granulated sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Crust Dough (omit if you are using a different pie crust)
- In a food processor, add the butter and sugar and run until combined. Add the egg and run until combined as well.
- Add the flour and pulse until just combined. Tip out onto a floured surface and knead together into a flat disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Apple Pie Instructions
- Prepare the apples by peeling and cutting into fourths. Remove the core and cut each fourth into thirds, giving you 12 slices from one apple. The slices should be about 1cm thick. Repeat for the other 3 apples.
- In a separate container, mix the sugar and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle the apple slices with the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat evenly.
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the apple slices to the pan, scraping out all the cinnamon sugar from the bowl.
- Cook the apple slices until they are slightly soft and the cinnamon sugar, juice from the apples, and butter have made a slightly thick caramel sauce. Remove from heat and transfer to a separate bowl to cool down completely.
- Once the apples have cooled, prepare your crust dough. If your dough is coming out of the refrigerator, let it sit at room temp for about 10 minutes so it is easier to work with. Roll the crust dough to about 3mm thick.
- Gently lay the pie sheet over a pie pan, making sure it is right against the pan. Trim off the excess, leaving about 2cm of overhang, and bring together to reroll for the lattice. If you are using frozen pie sheet, it may be easier to use another sheet instead of rolling the excess together.
- Once you’ve rolled the excess to 3mm as well, cut strips about 3cm or 1.25 inches wide for the lattice. Make sure each strip is long enough to cover the length of the pie. You will need 6 strips.
- Begin making the lattice. Lay down one strip in the middle of the pie, then lay down another strip perpendicular to the first strip, also in the middle of the pie. The two strips should look like a crosshair aiming at the center of the pie.
- Lay down the next strip on top of the strip on top, with a gap about as wide as the strip. Repeat on the opposite side, and you’ve finished laying down the strips in this direction.
- Carefully fold down the flap of the first strip you placed and place another strip down, on top of and intersecting the two strips that were laid down in step 10. Unfold the first strip and that side is done. Repeat with the other half and remaining strip and the lattice is complete.
- Fold the excess dough over onto the edge of the lattice, lining the fold up with the edge of the pan, and crimp to seal the crust in place.
- Beat the egg to create an egg wash and carefully brush it over the top of the apple pie. Sprinkle it with some granulated sugar.
- Bake at 375°F/190°C for 40-45 minutes. Occasionally keep an eye on the apple pie as it bakes. You may need to create a cover using aluminum foil to wrap around the edge of the pie to slow down the browning on the edges and allow the center to bake more.
- Once the pie is golden brown, remove from the oven. Allow to mostly cool before you cut into it, and the apple pie is done! 完成です！