This Homemade Apple Pie recipe 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 the best Apple Pie from scratch in no time!
Below you will find tips, tricks, and even a few recipe variations. If you're looking for more apple recipes, you can also try our Apple Crisp, Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread, or this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Casserole.
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Perfect Homemade Apple Pie Recipe
If you have ever been intimidated by homemade pie, never fear! This recipe includes an easy apple pie filling and our favorite flakey apple pie crust, both of which are beginner friendly.
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. My favorites are very tart apples that hold up well to baking, like Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples.
Serve warm with ice cream at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a cozy weekend at home. It also tastes great with a huge dollop of Homemade Whipped Cream.
Ingredients You Will Need
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 - applying an egg wash to pie crust gives it a little shine and keeps the crust nice and crisp. You don’t need to make much—just an egg and a tablespoon of water.
- Cinnamon Sugar - sprinkling this over the top of the pie crust just before baking gives it this amazing glaze that tastes great and makes the top nice and shiny.
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 Apple Pie from Scratch
- 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. To make egg wash for pie, 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.
- 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.
Recipe Variations
- Dutch Apple Pie: sprinkle a buttery oat streusel topping over the top instead of a second crust.
- Caramel Apple Pie: After adding the apple pie filling to the bottom crust, drizzle with caramel sauce.
- Apple Cranberry Pie: add cranberries, orange zest, and orange juice to the apple mixture.
- Apple Pear Pie: try using half apples and half pears for the filling.
Frequently Asked Questions
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 to 350 degrees 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.
While it might seem basic, the size that you cut your apples for apple pie actually does make a difference. Because this pie bakes for quite a while, you shouldn't cut the pieces too small or they will become quite mushy. I recommend slicing the apples into wedges that are approximately ½" thick.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- 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.
Best Homemade 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
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Follow these step-by-step classic Apple Pie recipe instructions to make the absolute best homemade apple pie. It's filled with juicy cinnamon-flavored apples, all baked into a tender and flaky homemade pie crust.
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!