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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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Wow, Jenn! Apple is my husband’s favorite. He walked out the door this morning and said it was the best I’ve made! Thanks to you! He mentioned the 2 things you said would make it better, prebaking the crust (he said it was great, crispy) and reducing the apple juices, (he couldn’t put his finger on it, said it tasted caramelly). I’ve also never added brown sugar and that added to the flavor. AND because the pie wasn’t looser, when I sliced a piece it was a perfect slice. Yes, I did a happy dance! 🙂 This is it for us! Thanks not only for sharing your amazing recipes with us but for teaching us why certain things work better.
This was the best tasting pie I’ve made, according to my husband. It’s true, the pie was delicious! The crust was perfect and the apple filling was decadent. Thank you for such a great step by step recipe!
Hey Jenn! I’ve made this pie before and it was fabulous, but I’ve always made it in one sitting. I read another comment that the pie crust wouldn’t be as crisp if made 2 days before but what if I made it a night before and then baked it in the morning?
Hi Daniel, Glad you like it! It should be fine if you made it the night before and then baked in the morning.
This apple pie recipe was a mishegas to make, more steps than any other apple pie I’ve ever made. That being said, the four hours after it came out of the oven was a long four hours. My husband’s first bite and he said it was the best apple pie I’ve ever made. I have to agree. The crust was crunchy, the combination of tartness from the Granny Smiths and the sweetness from the creamy Mackintosh apples (4 Granny Smiths and about six Mackintosh) was delicious and syrupy (not soupy). The recipe used a lot of apples but next time I’ll use more since there was a little air pocket between the filling and the top crust. I thought the amount of cinnamon was scant but it was spot on.
So, yes, I will be making this again. It’s that good.
Jenn, thank you for this amazing recipe! I’ve been making apple pies for 30+ years and have always had rave reviews, even a ribbon or two won at community events. My husband is crazy for my pies and last night told me this one is the best he’s had in his whole life! Wow! It’s the depth of flavor in the apples and the slightly caramelized taste. He loves the crispness of the crust as well. I discovered your site about a year ago and have made dozens of your recipes and have never been disappointed. I have told friends and family members about your site and get many comments back on how much they like your recipes too. I call you my new Ina. 😊 Thank you for sharing your fantastic culinary skills with us!
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This pie took longer to make than the traditional apple pie, but it is by far the BEST apple pie ever!
0 stars and compilcated for nothing
easy to understand why so many low star comments when the recipe itself does not make sense. Crust states 3 tablespoons sugar which would make the crust far too sweet in taste. One reply to a commenter about the amount of sugar was informed only 1 tablespoon of sugar was to go into the crust, the other two were for sprinkling over the pie once the top crust was in place. Yet, reading the instructions it says 2 tablespoons of sugar for sprinkling. If those 2 tablespoons of sugar were supposed to be split from the original 3 tablespoons mentioned in the crust ingredient list, that should have been made very clear, especially for inexperienced home cooks wanting to make their first apple pie.
As for the apple filling, I’ve been making pies for 60 years plus, & never once have I prebaked the bottom crust of my two crust apple pies or any other two crust pies. Also, would not add lemon zest to my apple pie filling as the lemon flavour (along with the lemon juice) would overpower the taste of the apples. The lemon juice on its own would suffice.
I’ve never made my pastry in a food processor as I personally think it would be too easy to overwork the pastry ingredients. Always made my big batch pastry (makes enough for 6 single crusts or 3 double crusts) using 3/4 Lard, 1/4 butter, vinegar, egg and ice cold water. It’s never failed me and has helped me win quite a few first place ribbons in the pie category at fall fairs. I do use all butter for Pate Brisee if making savory tarts or quiche but do at times use an egg beaten with water instead of using all water for the liquid.
I don’t use dark pie pans or non stick pie pans as they just don’t give the results of the old-fashioned aluminum pie pans do, I also get great results with glass pie pans as the bottom crust bakes ups nicely in the glass pie pans. All in all, we all want to bake a lovely pie for our partner or family and friends even if your first try is not perfect!
My goodness, did you actually make this? Sometimes there’s “more than one way to skin a cat.” If you actually tried it and it was that bad, fine. If you didn’t make it, but just looked through the recipe, which apparently didn’t look like yours, you have no business rating this.
The crust was excellent, but the apples tasted too lemony, were undercooked, and runny. Used harolsens with a few honeycrisp
Great taste but apple quantities are completely wrong.
3.5 lbs is way too much and you don’t want to discover that after having peeled and cut that much, especially if you made a double recipe as I have done.
This recipe clearly hasn’t been tested at all.
I’m sorry you had a problem with the pie! The doming of the crust you described is not unusual with a pie like this, as the apples are not cooked prior to filling the crust and once the apples cook down, the crust is already set. You also mentioned that the filling was soupy – what brand of apples did you use?