Classic Apple Pie
A golden, deeply spiced apple pie with a buttery homemade double crust and a proper woven lattice top - made from scratch with a mix of tart and sweet apples that hold their shape and taste like autumn in every single slice.
Apple pie is one of those recipes where every element does specific work, and the results make clear when something has been skimped on. The crust is the most obvious example: a pie made with cold butter, handled as little as possible and chilled before rolling, is flaky, tender, and shatteringly crisp. The same dough worked too long, with soft butter, baked straight from room temperature, produces something more like shortbread – edible, but not what apple pie is supposed to be.
The butter must be cold. Cut it into cubes and put it back in the freezer for ten minutes before it goes into the flour. Work it in quickly, stopping while there are still pea-sized and even larger pieces of butter visible in the flour. Those chunks are what create the flaky layers – the butter steams inside the pastry in the oven, and that steam separates the layers. If the dough looks smooth and uniform before baking, the crust will be tender but not flaky. Those are different things.
The apples matter almost as much. A single variety produces a flat, one-note filling. This recipe uses a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp – one tart and firm, the other sweet and juicy. Together they produce a filling that is complex and balanced, with pieces that hold their shape through the full baking time rather than collapsing into mush.
Macerate the apples with their sugar before the pie goes together. This draws out their liquid in advance, which you then reduce into a brief syrup and pour back over the slices. The result is a filling with concentrated flavor and proper thickness – no gap between the top crust and the apples, no watery pool at the bottom of the slice. The apples have already released what they were going to release, so they stay in place.
The most common failure with apple pie is cutting into it while it is still warm. The filling is liquid straight from the oven and sets completely as it cools. Cutting a warm pie gives you a runny, collapsing slice that looks nothing like what you baked. Two hours on a wire rack is the minimum. Three is better. If you want to serve it warm, cool it completely first and reheat individual slices.
The lattice top is not just decorative. It allows steam to escape from the filling during baking, which concentrates the flavor and prevents the top crust from puffing away from the apples. It also tells you when the pie is done – when the filling is visibly bubbling through the strips all the way to the center, it is ready.
If apple pie is your benchmark for pastry, try Pastel de Nata for a completely different take on custard and pastry – or Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies if you want a break from pastry and something that comes together in an afternoon.
Ingredients for Classic Apple Pie
- For the double pie crust:
- 2 1/2 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 225 g (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 cm cubes
- 6-8 tbsp (90-120 ml) ice cold water
- For the apple filling:
- 1 kg (about 6-7 medium) apples, half Granny Smith and half Honeycrisp or Braeburn
- 150 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 2 tbsp (16 g) cornstarch
- For finishing:
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp granulated or coarse sugar, for sprinkling
How to Make Classic Apple Pie
-
1
Make the pie dough. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and work them into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, pressing and smearing quickly until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with pea-sized and larger pieces of butter still clearly visible - stop before it looks smooth. Add the ice cold water one tablespoon at a time, stirring with a fork after each addition, until the dough just holds together when pinched. You may not need all the water. Divide into two equal portions, flatten each into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
-
2
Prepare the apple filling. Peel, core, and slice the apples into 5-6 mm thick slices. Place in a large bowl and toss with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Leave to macerate for 30 minutes - the apples will release a significant amount of liquid.
-
3
Drain the liquid from the apples into a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes until it thickens slightly into a light syrup. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, then pour back over the apples. Add the cornstarch and toss well to combine.
-
4
Preheat your oven to 220°C (425°F) and place a baking sheet on the lowest rack to catch any drips.
-
5
On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of dough into a circle about 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter, 3-4 mm thick. Drape it carefully over a 23 cm (9-inch) pie dish and press gently into the bottom and sides without stretching the dough. Trim the overhang to about 1.5 cm. Refrigerate while you roll the second disc.
-
6
Roll the second dough disc to the same size and thickness. Cut it into strips about 2 cm wide using a knife or pastry wheel.
-
7
Pour the apple filling into the chilled pie shell, mounding it slightly in the center.
-
8
Lay half the dough strips across the filling in one direction, spacing them evenly. Fold back every other strip, place a cross strip perpendicular across the flat strips, then fold the strips back down over it. Continue folding alternating strips and adding cross strips to build the woven lattice across the whole pie. Trim the strip ends flush with the bottom crust overhang, then fold the edge up over the ends of the strips and crimp firmly to seal.
-
9
Brush the lattice and crimped edge with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with sugar.
-
10
Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 190°C (375°F) and continue baking for 35-40 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden all over and the filling is visibly bubbling through the lattice strips all the way to the center. If the edges brown too quickly, cover them loosely with strips of foil.
-
11
Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 2 hours before cutting - the filling is liquid when hot and sets completely as it cools. Serve at room temperature. The pie keeps covered at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Nutrition (per serving)
- Carbs 67g · 55%
- Protein 5g · 4%
- Fat 22g · 41%
Tips & FAQ
Which apples are best for apple pie?
Why is my pie filling runny?
How do I get a golden, flaky bottom crust?
Can I use store-bought pastry?
How long does apple pie keep?
More Pies & Tarts
Pastel de Nata
Flaky laminated pastry shells pressed by hand into tins, filled with a silky custard scented with lemon and cinnamon, and baked at maximum heat until the tops blister and char in dark, caramelized patches - the real Portuguese custard tart, made from scratch.
Almond Cake (Tarta de Santiago)
A centuries-old Spanish almond cake from Galicia - naturally gluten-free, intensely nutty, fragrant with lemon and cinnamon, topped with sliced almonds and a generous dusting of powdered sugar. Five ingredients, one bowl, no flour.
Related searches