Award Winning Apple Pie

close up of homemade apple pie with lattice pie crust.

This classic apple pie has a buttery crust filled with perfectly tart apples. The secret to the best apple pie is pre-cooking the filling!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 1

Chilling Time 20

Total Time 2

Servings slices

Calories 349kcal

Author Kyleigh Sage

Equipment

Ingredients

Apple Pie Filling

1 Homemade Pie Crust
8 cups tart apples peeled and sliced (2 ½ pounds or 8-10 apples)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
1 egg beaten for egg wash

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Getting Started

My most important note with pre-cooked filling however is that you want it to be completely room temperature before you assemble the pie! If it's too hot, it will melt the butter in the crust too soon and if it's too cold, it won't heat up all the way through in the oven.
I use my Perfect Pie Crust recipe for this apple pie and it's jam-packed with tons of tips and photos! It's a long post but definitely worth checking out if you want to learn to make amazing pie crust every time!
Prepare the Pie Crust dough and place in the fridge to chill while you make the filling. You can also make it a day or two before and let it chill until it's time to bake the pie!

Apple Filling

Peel and core your apples and slice into ¼ inch thick slices. In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and then add in the sliced apples stirring to coat. Let the apples cook down for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften slightly.
Then add in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, lemon juice, and vanilla. Let the apples continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft and fork tender, 10-15 minutes.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water then add to the apples and stir until the mixture thickens. Taste and adjust flavorings if needed.
Remove from the heat and allow the filling to cool completely to room temperature (1-2 hours). You can store the filling in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This recipe yields roughly 4 cups of cooked apple filling.

Assemble the Pie

Lightly flour your counter-top and roll out half of the pie dough to ¼ inch thick and about 2 inches wider than your pie pan. Roll the pie crust into the pie pan and cut away any excess crust.
Then roll out the top crust and cut into 2 inch wide strips (or keep it in one piece, you do you).
Pour the cooled apple filling into the bottom crust and top with the strips in a lattice pattern. Cut away the excess and crimp the edges as desired. Place the pie back in the fridge to chill again while the oven is heating.
Let the pie chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes before baking. While the pie is chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F.
Before baking, lightly brush the top of the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar if desired.
Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. If the edges of the crust start to get too brown, cover with aluminum foil for the remainder of baking.
For best results, let the pie cool completely before serving to let the filling fully set.
Serve the fresh apple pie with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream and enjoy!

Notes

You can make both the pie crust dough and filling ahead of time and store in the fridge for up to 3 days before assembling the pie!

Spices: substitute the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for 2 teaspoons of an apple pie spice blend.

Note: Most standard pie pans are about 1 inch deep. So if you're using a deep dish pie pan (1 ½ to 2 inches deep) this recipe will not yield enough filling to completely fill your pan and you may want to double it.

Nutrition