American apple pie
Apple pie
A double-crust pie of flaky butter pastry packed with sliced tart apples, cinnamon, lemon and sugar, baked until the juice bubbles thick through the vents.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Apple pie.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 5 min
- Rest
- 4 hr
- Total
- 5 hr 50 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
American apple pie is a double-crust pie: flaky butter pastry top and bottom, packed high with sliced tart apples tossed in sugar, cinnamon, a little nutmeg, lemon and enough starch to set the juice. This version uses all-butter pastry, because it browns and flakes better than shortening, and a mix of sharp and sweet apples so the filling holds its shape and still tastes of fruit. It bakes hot at first to set the bottom crust, then lower until the juice bubbles slowly through the vents. The hard part is the wait. Cut it warm and it floods the plate; give it four hours and it slices clean.
What you'll need
17 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Pastry
- Filling
- To finish
Ingredients
Pastry
- Wheat flour375 g
- Butter, unsalted, very cold, in 1 cm cubes250 g
- Salt4.9 ml
- Sugar15 ml
- Water, iced120 ml
Filling
- Apples, about 7 large, half Granny Smith and half a firm sweet apple such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn1.4 kg
- Sugar100 g
- Brown sugar50 g
- Cornstarch44 ml
- Lemon juice30 ml
- Ground cinnamon7.4 ml
- Ground nutmeg1.2 ml
- Salt1 pinch
- Butter, in small pieces30 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Whisk the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Rub or cut in the cold butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas. Sprinkle in the iced water a tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork, until the dough holds when squeezed. Split it in two, one piece a little larger, flatten each into a disc, wrap and chill for at least an hour.
15 min
Tip: Visible flecks of butter are what make it flake. Do not knead it smooth.
Step 2
Peel, core and slice the apples about 6 mm thick. Toss them with both sugars, the cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt just before you fill the pie, so they do not sit and leak.
15 min
Step 3
Roll the larger disc to a 30 cm circle about 3 mm thick and line a 23 cm pie dish, leaving the overhang. Pile in the apples, mounding them in the middle, and dot with the butter. Roll the second disc, lay it over, trim to 1.5 cm past the rim, tuck the top edge under the bottom one and crimp. Cut five vents in the lid.
15 min
Step 4
Chill the pie for 20 minutes while the oven heats to 220°C with a baking tray on the lowest shelf. Brush the lid with the egg and milk and scatter over the coarse sugar.
20 min220°C
Step 5
Bake on the hot tray for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 190°C and bake 40 to 50 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden and thick juice bubbles slowly through the vents. Cover the edges with foil if they brown too fast.
65 min190°C
Watch: Pale pastry and thin, fast-bubbling juice mean the starch has not cooked yet. Keep going.
Step 6
Cool the pie on a rack for at least four hours before cutting. Serve it at room temperature, or warm slices for ten minutes in a low oven.
240 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 621 kcal
- Protein
- 6.5 g
- Carbs
- 85.3 g
- Fat
- 29.8 g
- Saturated fat
- 18.1 g
- Fibre
- 5.5 g
- Sugar
- 39.5 g
- Sodium
- 337 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Eggs
- Vegetarian
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Half the butter in the pastry → Vegetable shortening or lard
A more tender, crumbly crust that is easier to roll. It is what many older American recipes use. You lose a little flavour.
Cornstarch → Twice the amount of plain flour, or tapioca starch
Flour gives a cloudier, softer set. Tapioca gives a clearer, glossier one.
Tips
- Use a glass or metal pie dish rather than ceramic. The bottom crust browns better, and through glass you can see whether it has.
- Granny Smiths alone hold their shape but taste flat after baking; sweet apples alone turn to sauce. Mixing them fixes both.
- The pie keeps two days at room temperature, loosely covered. The fridge softens the crust.
History & culture
Apple pie turns up at Thanksgiving next to the pumpkin pie, at Fourth of July cookouts, at county fair baking contests and in diner cases by the slice. Almost everywhere it comes à la mode, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In Vermont and parts of New England a wedge of sharp cheddar on the side is the older habit, and some people still insist on it.
Nothing about apple pie started in America. English cooks were baking apples in pastry by the late 1300s, and North America's only native apples were crabapples. Colonists planted European trees, mostly for cider, and brought the pie with them. Amelia Simmons printed apple pie recipes in 1796. 'As American as apple pie' is a 20th-century phrase; the story goes that wartime soldiers said they fought for mom and apple pie.
Traditional — Older American recipes use lard or shortening in the crust, and some skip the starch and accept a wetter slice. All-butter pastry and a cornstarch-set filling are the usual home standard now. A lattice top is a variation; the plain vented lid is the classic.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does American apple pie take?
5 hr 50 min all in — 45 min prep, 1 hr 5 min cook, 4 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 slices. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.
11 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Rolling pin, Chef's knife, Baking tray, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
How much sugar?
1 tbsp of Sugar.
How much sugar?
100 g of Sugar.
How much brown sugar?
50 g of Brown sugar.
How much sugar?
1 tbsp (coarse or demerara, for the top) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Half the butter in the pastry → Vegetable shortening or lard. A more tender, crumbly crust that is easier to roll. It is what many older American recipes use. You lose a little flavour. Cornstarch → Twice the amount of plain flour, or tapioca starch. Flour gives a cloudier, softer set. Tapioca gives a clearer, glossier one.
What should I watch for?
Pale pastry and thin, fast-bubbling juice mean the starch has not cooked yet. Keep going.
Any tips from this recipe?
Use a glass or metal pie dish rather than ceramic. The bottom crust browns better, and through glass you can see whether it has. Granny Smiths alone hold their shape but taste flat after baking; sweet apples alone turn to sauce. Mixing them fixes both. The pie keeps two days at room temperature, loosely covered. The fridge softens the crust.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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