How To Make Homemade Apple Pie

How to make a Homemade Apple Pie is less intimidating than you think. It just takes a little time in the kitchen!

Creating this apple pie:

This recipe is fool proof and will result in a delicious homemade pie with flaky pie crust and a drool-worthy apple pie filling.

The apples are layered with warm Autumn spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and the crust is buttery and flaky.

We love making homemade apple pie for the holidays and this pie in particular always gets requested. A real crowd pleaser!

Tools needed:

• 9-inch pie pan
• Rolling pin
• Pie weights (If you don’t have pie weights you can use dried beans!)
• Large working surface
• Food processor
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients needed for homemade apple pie

For the crust:

• Flour
• Butter
• Salt
• Sugar
• Crisco or Shortening
• Ice cold water
• Apple cider vinegar

For the apple pie filling:

• Apples: What are the best apples to use for homemade apple pie? I love using a mix of Granny Smith and Honey Crisp or Northern Spy.
• Sugar
• Flour
• Lemon zest & juice
• Ground ginger
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground allspice & cloves

How to make apple pie from scratch

Let’s make the dough first!

Step 1: Weigh out 10 oz. of flour using a food scale. (A little over 2 cups) Add in 1 tsp. salt and 2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar.

Step 2: Pour flour, salt and sugar into food processor and pulse 3-4 times.

Step 3: Add the grater attachment to your food processor so we can grate the cold butter into the flour.

Step 4 & 5: Grate 12 Tbsp. unsalted cold butter.

Step 6: Pour into a clean bowl and add in 3 Tbsp. Crisco (shortening)

Step 7: Using clean hands incorporate the Crisco and butter into the flour. Squeeze with your fingers until pea-sized pieces of butter form.

Then, slowly add ice cold water into the dough. Don’t add all the water in at once, add in intervals. You may not need all the water. Add just enough until dough comes together.

Pro tip: Add in a small splash of Apple Cider Vinegar to your water. This helps tenderize pie dough because it slightly inhibits gluten development.

Step 8 & 9: Using clean hands again, start to mix the water into the mixture until a dough like consistency forms. Dough shouldn’t be wet. Add a touch more flour to the dough and your hands if it is.

Step 10: Fold and form the dough gently. Knead dough until somewhat smooth. Don’t over work the dough, you won’t get flakey pie crust that way.

Step 11: Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Step 12: While dough is chilling, make the filling! Peel, core and slice 3 pounds of Granny Smith apples (about 6-7 medium to large apples). Slice the apples in a uniform thickness, about 1/4 inch thick.

Step 13: To the apples add 3/4 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp. flour, zest and juice from 1 lemon, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, a sprinkle of ground Allspice and ground cloves.

Step 14: Mix well.

Step 15: Grab dough from fridge once it’s chilled and cut in half. Half the dough is for bottom crust, half is for the top crust.

Step 16: On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out for the bottom crust.

Step 17: Transfer the crust to your 9 inch pie baking dish.

Optional Pro tip: Brush your dough with an egg wash; this serves as a protective layer that will keep the apple’s juices from destroying your crust.

Step 18 & 19: Make the crust pretty: Using your pointer finger and thumb, pinch the outside of the dough and using the knuckle of your other hand push the dough up between the pinch of your fingers.

Step 20: Bake your crust in the oven at 425° F for 8 minutes. I recommend placing a piece of foil down and using pie weights. Use dried beans or rice if you don’t have pie weights handy.

Step 21: While pie crust bakes, roll out the top layer of the crust into a circle.

*Note: if you don’t use the cut outs or want to create a lattice, top the apples with the second rolled out pie crust & seal and crimp the edges (see video). Then be sure to cut a few slits on the top for ventilation!

Step 22: Fill the pie with the apples. You can layer the apples to avoid large gaps in your pie, or just dump all the apples in if that seems too tedious!

Step 23: Place the top layer of crust over the apples. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using.

Step 24: Bake at 425° F for 45-55 minutes or until the crust is golden. You may need to cover with foil loosely or use a crust shield so crust doesn’t burn. Let completely cool before slicing.

What is the best way to store apple pie?

Store tightly sealed in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Why is my apple pie watery?

Here are a few reasons ands tips:

• You need to use a thickener in the apples (in this recipe we use flour). The apples break down in the pie, which creates that liquid but having a thickener helps makes it into that ooey-gooey goodness.
• Don’t add in all of the juices from the apples when filling the pie. Leave some of the juice and liquid behind in the bowl.
• Also, there are varieties of apples tend to be juicier than others. Use Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. There are many others you can use but these are most common.
• You might also need to let the pie sit for longer before cutting it to allow the filling time to set. I recommend at least 3 hours.

Other apple recipes you might like:

• How to make a galette
• Apple Cinnamon Rum Monkey Bread
• Instant Pot Pumpkin Applesauce
• Apple Pie Bars
• Cranberry Applesauce

the goods

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