With a mountain of gooey cinnamon apples nestled under a perfectly buttery and flaky pie crust, this is most certainly my favorite apple pie recipe. To bring out the best apple flavor and texture, pre-cook the filling for about 5 minutes on the stove. Bake and cool the pie, and then top with vanilla ice cream for the ultimate homestyle dessert.
. I also added an optional pre-cook step for the apple filling.
I’m a published cookbook author, and I bake as a profession. So you can imagine I’m often asked about my *favorite* dessert. And, without hesitation, my answer is ALWAYS homemade pie.
In particular, apple pie. Below you’ll find my favorite pie… and baking recipe… on the planet. It’s my #1 choice out of all the Thanksgiving pies, but I certainly don’t limit it to the fall season. I’ve been making this recipe for years, and after testing multiple different fillings, spices, apple varieties, and other little tweaks, I consider the recipe below to be my very best apple pie.
Here’s what a few more readers are saying:
This pie is deep-dish style, but you don’t need a super special pie dish to get started. Any 1.5- to 2-inch-deep pie dish works here. You’ll simply pile those apple slices nice and high!
Let’s get started.
You need a sturdy crust to hold in the mountain of apples. Whether you’re a pie crust beginner or pro, I encourage you to read through my pie crust recipe. There’s nothing quite like homemade pie crust and my grandmother’s recipe has consistently proven its authority over the past several decades. It’s our family’s favorite, and I’ve been using it ever since I could lift a rolling pin.
This recipe uses both butter and shortening to provide a quality combination of sturdy, flaky, and buttery. I also have an all butter pie crust if you’re interested. But for best taste and texture, I swear by using both shortening and butter. You can taste the difference.
Once you have your pie dough ready, you can gather the rest of the ingredients. My apple pie recipe has a deliciously gooey, sweet, and spiced apple filling. The ingredients in the filling are my go-to choices for most apple pie recipes including my apple cheddar pie and salted caramel apple pie, too.
Do you crave extra flavor? You’ll love this apple cranberry pie or chai-spiced apple pie.
Roll out the bottom pie dough. Tuck the dough into a deep-dish pie plate. Refrigerate as you prepare the filling. Remember, cold pie dough is key to pie-making.
Make the filling. Stir all of the filling ingredients together in a large bowl. An optional step, and something I’ve been doing more recently, is to pre-cook the filling on the stove for just a few minutes. This begins to soften the apple slices, and helps to meld the flavors together. I find it makes for a juicier, and even more flavorful filling!
Pile the filling into the pie dish. Don’t just pour in the apples. Instead, make sure the slices are compact inside. Tuck them in tightly so there’s hardly any air pockets. The filling is already so juicy:
Add the top pie crust.. You’ll need a pastry wheel, pizza cutter, or sharp knife to make the lattice strips. A pair of kitchen shears is also handy for trimming any excess pie dough overhang.
Alternatively, you can make a double-crust pie by laying the second rolled-out pie crust on top. Slit some vents on top with a sharp knife.
Don’t want to mess with a top crust? Try my apple crumble pie, apple cranberry crumble pie, or make an apple galette.
Flute the edges...
Brush with egg wash. Egg wash is a combination of egg and milk, and it’s what gives the pie crust its golden sheen. Pie crust looks very dull without the egg wash. For a little crunch and sparkle, I always add a sprinkle of coarse sugar on top, too.
Bake: Bake the apple pie until the crust is golden brown, and the filling is bubbling through the vents, about 1 hour. Baking the pie at an initial high temperature helps set the crust. After about 25 minutes, reduce the oven temperature as the recipe card instructs below.
When I lower the oven temperature, I add a pie crust shield. You can buy one, or you can make a DIY pie crust shield out of aluminum foil. Tear off a large square of aluminum foil, fold it in half, and then cut a half-circle in the center of the folded edge. Unfold it and place it on the pie. This will protect the edges, to ensure the crust doesn’t burn.
A visual cue is helpful when determining the pie’s doneness. If the crust is golden, and the filling is bubbling around the edges, the apple pie is done. If you want to be precise, the internal temperature of the filling taken with an instant read thermometer should be around 200°F (93°C) when done.
Cool the pie: The longer you let apple pie cool, the more the filling will set. I recommend cooling for at least 3 full hours before slicing and serving. I know, it’s nearly impossible to wait!
Top the slices with vanilla ice cream and, if desired, a drizzle of salted caramel… because we don’t mess around when it comes to dessert. A dollop of whipped cream would be excellent here, too!
If you’re looking for individual-portion desserts, you may love these apple turnovers, apple pie baked apples, individual apple crumbles, or my apple hand pies. No shortage of apples around here.
And if you have an abundance of apples on your hands, whip up a batch of my honeycrisp apple sangria!
Homemade apple pie—with its combination of sweet, juicy apples and warm, comforting spices all encased in a buttery, golden crust—is such a quintessential American dessert. Every delicious bite evokes a sense of home, nostalgia, and tradition, and I know you’ll love it as much as I do!
With a mountain of gooey, cinnamon-kissed apples nestled under a perfectly buttery and flaky pie crust, this is most certainly my favorite apple pie recipe. To bring out the best apple flavor and texture, pre-cook the filling for only about 5 minutes on the stove. Bake and cool the pie, and then top with vanilla ice cream for the ultimate homestyle dessert.
