This classic homemade Apple Pie is filled to the brim with juicy, buttery cinnamon-spiced apples all baked into a tender, flaky pie crust. Follow these step-by-step instructions and you will be making everyone’s favorite Apple Pie from scratch in no time.
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Perfect Homemade Apple Pie
This recipe for homemade Apple Pie is guaranteed to be a hit. If you have ever been intimidated by homemade pie, never fear! We’ll show you how to successfully make perfect homemade Apple Pie from scratch, flakey pie crust and all.
During the fall, I love to mix and match different apples that we have gotten from apple picking. You can combine sweet and tart apples, and each apple has a different texture once baked. Also feel free to adjust the apple pie spices to your own liking.
Serve this pie at Thanksgiving, Christmas or a cozy weekend at home with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of Homemade Whipped Cream.
Ingredients in Apple Pie
Pie Crust
- Flour - you can use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Salt - any kind of sea salt or finely ground salt will work.
- Crisco - crisco works great because it doesn’t melt as easily as butter. But, you can absolutely substitute cold butter if you’d prefer.
- Water - use super cold water to keep the dough as cool as possible. You can even add ice cubes to the water (just don’t add the ice cubes into the dough).
- Egg Wash and Cinnamon Sugar - applying an egg wash to the dough gives it a little shine and keeps the crust nice and crisp. You don’t need much - just an egg and a tablespoon of water. We like to finish off with a sprinkle of sugar and ground cinnamon, too.
Apple Pie Filling
- Apples - our favorite apples to use include Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Fuji, Cortland and of course Honey Crisp. Use one type or mix and match.
- Lemon Juice - fresh lemon juice is best.
- Sugar - we like using regular white granulated sugar for the pie filling.
- Brown Sugar - you can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.
- Cornstarch - this helps to thicken the pie filling as it cooks, keeping it from getting soggy.
- Apple Pie Spices - we love the classic combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger.
- Butter - use cold, unsalted butter for the pie filling.
How to Make an Apple Pie
- Make the pie dough. See our post on Homemade Flaky Pie Crust for detailed instructions on how to mix, roll and shape your own dough. For this Apple Pie, you will want to double the recipe so you have enough for the lattice top.
- Make the Apple Pie filling. In a large bowl, combine the apple slices and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, add the sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and whisk together. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the sliced apples and gently toss until coated. Transfer the apple pie filling to the prepared pie crust, then sprinkle the cold cubed butter evenly over the top of the pie filling.
- Add a lattice top crust. Use the remaining pie crust to create a lattice crust on top of the pie with the reserved dough strips. Cut excess pie crust off, fold the edges under and pinch the edges together.
- Brush with egg wash. Whisk together 1 whole egg with 1 tablespoon of water, then use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash over the entire crust. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of sugar and a couple pinches of ground cinnamon just before baking.
- Bake. Place the pie pan onto a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until the filling is bubbling and thickened and the crust is golden brown. If the edges of the pie become golden before the baking time is complete, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and finish baking.
- Cool and serve. Once the pie has finished baking, remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving with a scoop of fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- When it comes to making flakey pie dough, remember to keep your ingredients cold, cold, cold! Using cold butter or Crisco and ice water will help immensely.
- It’s a good idea to chill your pie dough if you have the time, but if you are in a rush you can skip it. This recipe still rolls out nicely without chilling.
- If you have never made a lattice top for a pie and want to see some good visual instructions, check out this lattice-top pie recipe.
- To achieve interesting flavors and textures, try mixing and matching different apple varieties within the same pie.
There are so many great apple varieties for making Apple Pie that a better question might be, which apples should you avoid? Our answer to that is Red Delicious - they become far too mushy.
Otherwise, try Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, Jonagold, Cortland, Fuji, Braeburn, or most any other apples that you can find. For an Apple Pie with some more depth and interesting texture, try mixing a few different types together.
If you want to avoid a soggy bottom crust, try blind baking your pie crust. You can also try brushing on a light layer of egg wash before blind baking if you really want to seal in the juices.
This recipe calls for flash baking the pie at a high temperature to get a nice brown on the crust and then reducing the temperature after about 15 minutes. If you use this method, your pie should bake in a total of about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Storing and Freezing
- Room Temperature: store your Apple Pie covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: if you find you want to store it for longer, it will last covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: you can freeze a baked or an unbaked Apple Pie, wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, for about 1 month. To bake an unbaked frozen pie, just remove all wrapping and bake as directed, adding about 15 minutes onto the total time. To reheat a frozen baked pie, warm in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until warmed through.
Apple Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Double Pie Crust Recipe
- 2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 8 oz Crisco or butter
- ½ cup Water cold
Apple Pie Filling
- 12 medium Apples peeled and sliced
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice fresh
- ½ cup Sugar
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ¼ cup Water
- 3 Tablespoons Butter cut into small cubes
To Finish
- 1 large Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 2 Tablespoon Sugar
- 2 pinches Ground Cinnamon to add to the top of the pie after the egg wash and sugar.
Instructions
Basic Double Pie Crust
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the four and salt.
- Add the Crisco (or cold butter) and use your fingers to combine. Once the mixture resembles coarse meal, make a well in the center and add the water.
- Carefully bring the flour mixture from the sides of the bowl into the center with the water and gently mix until combined and the flour is all moistened. Do not overmix or knead!
- Divide the dough into two even pieces, form them into flat discs, wrap in plastic and let rest in the cooler for about 30 minutes - 1 hour. Note: if you don’t have time, don’t worry about chilling the dough. It’s a good practice, but not 100% necessary with this recipe.
- Once the dough has rested, remove from the plastic wrap and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin, start in the middle of the dough and roll outwards to make a circle. Roll into an evenly thick, round, circle large enough for the dough to hang over your pie plate at least ½".
- Carefully line a pie plate with the rolled dough and set aside. Roll the second disc of dough into a large circle about ¼" thick, then cut into ¾" strips using a pizza or lattice cutter. Place on a sheet tray and transfer to the cooler while you make your pie filling.
Apple Pie Filling
- In a large bowl, combine the apple slices and lemon juice.
- In a separate bowl, add the sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and whisk together. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the sliced apples and gently toss until coated.
- Transfer the apple pie filling to the prepared pie crust, then sprinkle the cold cubed butter evenly over the top of the pie filling.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Use the remaining pie crust to create a lattice crust on top of the pie with the reserved dough strips. Cut excess pie crust off, fold the edges under and pinch the edges together.
- Whisk together 1 whole egg with 1 tablespoon of water, then use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash over the entire crust. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of sugar and a couple pinches of ground cinnamon just before baking.
- Place the pie dish onto a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until the filling is bubbling and thickened and the crust is golden brown. If the edges of the pie become golden before the baking time is complete, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and finish baking.
- Once the pie has finished baking, remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving with a scoop of fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Here are more of our favorite pie recipes:
- Best Razzleberry Pie
- Best Flaky Pie Crust
- Blackberry Pie
- Fresh Peach Pie
- Pecan Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Banana Cream Pie
- Cherry Pie
- More Pie Recipes
- More Dessert Recipes
More Cinnamon Recipes
- Fluffy Buttercream Frosting
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Cinnamon Twist Recipe
- Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole
- Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread
- Apple Crisp
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Follow these step-by-step instructions on making the best apple pie recipe from scratch. It's filled with juicy cinnamon-flavored apples, all baked into a tender and flaky homemade pie crust. This homemade apple pie is everyone's favorite All-American dessert!
Marsha
Everyone loved this apple pie! Thank you for the lovely recipe 🙂
Natalie
Oh wow, that's one beautiful apple pie. Just like grandmas. I can't wait to serve this pie this weekend after the Sunday roast. Yum!