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This classic apple pie recipe pairs a flaky, buttery crust with cinnamon-spiced apples and a rich, cider-like filling that’s never runny.
Over my 25 years of professional cooking, I’ve tested countless apple pie recipes and landed on a few simple techniques that make all the difference. This classic apple pie recipe has a flaky, buttery crust and tender, cinnamon-spiced apples in a rich, cider-like filling.
The secret is cooking the apples before assembling the pie, which concentrates their flavor, helps the filling set beautifully, and keeps the bottom crust crisp. I’ll walk you through the process step by step, from making and rolling the dough to assembling and baking the pie.
Serve this homemade apple pie on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or a drizzle of caramel sauce. And if you’d like to get a head start, my apple pie filling can be made ahead of time.
“Apple is my husband’s favorite. He walked out the door this morning and said it was the best I’ve made!”
What You’ll Need To Make Apple Pie
- Pie crust: Made from all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, a touch of baking powder, cold butter, and ice water. The cold butter and water are key to creating a flaky, tender crust.
- Apples: Use firm baking apples that hold their shape when cooked. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Braeburn, and Golden Delicious are all good choices; a mix gives the filling more complex flavor.
- Dark brown sugar: Adds sweetness along with a rich, caramel-like flavor.Lemon juice: Brightens the filling and balances the sweetness of the apples.
- Cinnamon: Adds just enough warmth and spice without overpowering the apples.
- Flour & cornstarch: Work together to thicken the apple juices so the filling sets beautifully when sliced.
- Egg, cream, or milk: Brushed over the top crust to help it brown beautifully.
- Turbinado or granulated sugar: Adds a sweet, lightly crunchy finish to the crust.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Apple Pie
Make and chill the pie dough: Pulse the dry ingredients in a food processor, then add the cold butter and pulse until crumbly. Add the ice water and pulse just until the dough is evenly moistened—it should still look crumbly rather than forming a ball. Divide the dough, shape into discs, and refrigerate until firm.
Prepare the apple pie filling: Combine the apples with the lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, flour, and cornstarch and cook over medium heat, stirring often. The apples are ready when they’ve softened slightly and their juices have thickened. Spread the filling on a baking sheet so it cools quickly and completely.
Assemble: Roll the larger dough disc into a 13-inch circle and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan. Add the cooled apple filling, then roll the top crust slightly larger than the pie and drape it over the apples. Seal and crimp the edges, brush with egg, cream, or milk, sprinkle with sugar, and cut a few slits in the top for steam to escape.
Bake: Bake the pie on a preheated baking sheet in the lower third of the oven—the blast of heat underneath helps crisp the bottom crust. The pie is done when the crust is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
Cool and serve: Let the pie cool completely before slicing, at least 4 hours. This resting time is important: as the filling cools, it thickens and sets so you get neat slices rather than a runny filling. The pie can be baked a day ahead or frozen (baked or unbaked) for longer storage.
Apple Pie Video Tutorial
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Apple Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 18 tablespoons (2 sticks + 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 7 tablespoons ice cold water
For the Filling
- 4½ pounds baking apples (about 8 large apples; see note), peeled, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
For Baking
- A beaten egg, heavy cream, or milk, for brushing over crust
- 2 tablespoons granulated or turbinado sugar, for topping the pie
Instructions
- Prepare the Crust: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly with lots of pea-size clumps of butter within.Add the water and pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and very crumbly.Dump the dough crumbles onto a work surface and divide into two piles, with one pile about 15% bigger than the other. You can eyeball it, but if you have a kitchen scale, one pile should weigh 13 oz (368 g) and the other 11.5 oz (326 g). Shape into two balls of dough and pat each one into a 5-inch (13-cm) disc. Wrap the discs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 3 days to rest.
- Prepare the Filling: In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, mix the apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, flour, and cornstarch. Stir until thoroughly combined and both the flour and cornstarch are dissolved. Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the apples soften and the juices thicken, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer the apples and their juices to a baking sheet, spreading them out evenly. Allow them to cool completely.
- Preheat the Oven: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and set an oven rack in the lower third position. Place a baking sheet on this rack to preheat as well. (This acts like a pizza stone, providing a hot surface to help the bottom crust of the pie crisp up effectively.)
- Assemble the Pie: Remove the larger disc of dough from the refrigerator. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and place the dough on it; sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough as well. Gently knead the dough with your hands just until it becomes soft and malleable (avoid overworking it—you want it just supple enough to roll out). Roll the dough out into a 13-inch (33-cm) circle, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Carefully lift the dough by draping it over your rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch by 1½-inch (23-cm by 3.75-cm) deep pie pan, preferably metal (as metal conducts heat more effectively, helping the bottom crust crisp up) but ceramic or glass will work too. Gently press the dough into the pan, making sure to ease it into place without stretching. Trim the edges of the dough to extend about ½ inch (1.25 cm) beyond the pie pan's lip.Transfer the cooled apples and their juices into the crust; refrigerate while you prepare the top crust.Remove the second disc of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into an 11-inch (28-cm) circle, following the same process described above. Retrieve the filled pie from the refrigerator and carefully drape the rolled dough over the top. Crimp the edges with a fork or flute them with your fingers to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Work quickly and dust your fingers with flour as needed to prevent the dough from becoming too warm. Brush the top crust with beaten egg, cream, or milk, and evenly sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of granulated or turbinado sugar. Cut four 3-inch (7.5-cm) slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.
- Bake and Cool: Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking for an additional 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let the pie cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, at least 4 hours. Resist the temptation to cut into the pie while it’s warm, or you may end up with apple soup!
Notes
- Be sure to use baking apples that hold their shape when cooked, such as Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious. And use a mix of different varietals for the best flavor.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead of time and stored, loosely covered with foil, at room temperature. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months before or after baking it. (If freezing it unbaked, hold off on brushing the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkling it with sugar; you can do that right before baking.) If baked, let it cool completely and place it in the freezer uncovered. When fully frozen, wrap the pie securely in foil and freeze. If the pie is unbaked, wrap it securely in foil and freeze. When ready to serve, proceed with baking instructions above (the pie is likely to take 10 to 15 minutes longer to bake).
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Love this recipe!! I usually don’t have enough time to be in the kitchen that long so I buy a pre-made frozen crust (MarieCalendar) and Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust for the top crust. And it comes out delicious. My husband loves it. It is not too sweet and I had really never liked Apple pie until I had this one.
The pre-bake for the crust was much too long; when pulled out after the second 20 minutes, the crust was completely hardened and dry. The slightly raised bubble in the middle cracked when I tried to flatten it with a spatula as suggested. The filling ended up pretty dry too. Should have read the reviews before I went ahead with the recipe.
Hi Rachel, Sorry to hear you had a problem with this! Did you bake the oven on the center rack in your oven? Did you make any adjustments to the recipe?
I made a mistake and added the cornstarch and the flour and mixed it with the apples and sugar, cinamon, etc. The liquid was very little, guess absorbed by the cornstarch, etc….what’s the problem?? (haven’t seen the results yet!)
How did it turn out Vivian?
I have tried this recipe several times. Each time, the bottom crust can barely be scraped out of the pan and is far too dark. Additionally, the apples turn out too dry, without the barest hint of any sauce. This time I even added over a pint of boiled cider! The apples were swimming in it when I added them in, the liquid came right to the brim of the pan. Same result: bottom crust sticks to the pan and is dark brown, while there is no moisture left in the apples at all. And the apples remain too crisp. All I can think is that the bottom crust steals moisture from the apple mixture. I’ve been making my own crust and baking pies for over half a century. I don’t get it.
I’m sorry you’ve had so many problems with this! Do bake the pie on the center rack of the oven?
Really like this recipe. I do agree the crust cooks for too long. Not sure if that’s because of the high altitude I live in? I would cut total cooking time by about 10 -15 minutes because it was almost burned when I took it out before adding the apples in so it was really brown at the end (and yes I cooked on the middle rack.) I also made it more sour by just doing juice from two whole lemons and it was amazing. Can’t wait to cook this again!
I made this for Thanksgiving. I made it about a week prior and froze it. I was nervous as, I’ve never frozen a unbaked pie before. Well, I’m not nervous anymore! This was declared the best apple pie ever! (and I’ve made dozens that were good) I’ve never been disappointed with any of your recipes and have tried several that are now my go to. Thank you!
This was the best crust ever! Easier than I thought, and I’ve made a lot of pies. It was beautiful and everyone loved it! But.. I have a question.
What did I do wrong? I followed the instructions exactly and the only issue I had was that the pie crust stuck to the pie pan horribly! I would send a photo if I could.
Hi Zara, Glad you liked the crust. Did any of the sweet filling seep under the crust? That might cause sticking.
Same thing – my crust stuck to the pie plate. Didn’t burn – looked beautiful. in my case, no filling seeped under the crust….
I followed your recipe which resulted in a fabulous pie! I had to use pie dough that I made earlier for another pie for the apple pie, because the dough I made from your recipe broke apart when I rolled it. I believe that happened because I substituted shortening for lard. Is that correct, or was it something else. I am very new to baking, but found your recipe, reviews and comments an invaluable tool. Thank you!!
It’s hard to say, Jeune. Did you knead the dough just a bit out of the fridge? That helps make it supple enough to roll out.
Another success I made this for Thanksgiving I referred to it as The virgin Apple pie, because it was just that a good old fashion apple pie, I did like taking the juices and reducing them, it was like adding boiled cider , which added to the depth of flavor. Thank you Jenn this will now be my go to apple pie, maybe next time I’ll add fresh cranberries to kick it up a notch 😊
The cook time is way too long on this recipe. I pulled it out 15 minutes early and it was still burnt. Who knows if the recipe was good.
Sorry you had a problem with this, Lyle! Was the pie on the center rack in your oven?
Yep. I think the 425 for 15 minutes at the beginning was the killer. Talking to other pie experts they are saying I should have put aluminum foil around the edge of the crust To keep it from getting burnt.