Budget Bytes

Apple Pie

October 17, 2022

If you’re looking for an apple pie recipe that will make everyone at your table gasp with delight- this is it! The filling is effortless and ridiculously tasty. Pair it with my buttery 3 Ingredient Pie Crust, and you’ll never go back to store-bought apple pie again. #forserious

How Many Apples Will I Need?

This recipe is for a standard pie pan with a volume of 4 cups. However, since apples lose up to 30% of their volume as they bake, you can’t just fill a pie pan with 4 cups of apples and call it a day. You’ll end up with a pie with a crater in the middle. You’ll need about 6 cups of sliced apples or 6 to 8 apples, depending on the size of your fruit.

How Thick Should I Slice My Apples?

It’s best if you slice apples about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick. Any thicker, and they won’t cook through by the time your crust does. Any thinner, and they’ll dissolve and leave you with a soggy bottom crust. The most important thing to keep in mind is that your apples should all be about the same thickness so they cook uniformly.

The Best Apples For Apple Pie

I divide the apple display at my grocery into two sections: great for pie and awful for pie. Apples that are great for pie hold their shape during a bake and have complex flavors. Try a combination of these for apple pie supremacy:

  • Honey Crisp
  • Granny Smith
  • Pink Lady
  • Golden Delicious

Apples that are awful for pie taste one-dimensional and fall apart faster than a reality show housewife. While great for apple sauce or apple butter, avoid the following for pie:

  • McIntosh
  • Fuji
  • Gala
  • Red Delicious

What’s The Best Crust For Apple Pie?

Apples are juicy, so you need a bottom crust that can hold up to a whole lot of liquid, i.e., a mealy pie dough. This is what it’s called because the pieces of fat in the flour are tiny and look like coarse cornmeal. They create a tight crumb that repels liquids, so you don’t have to worry about a soggy bottom.

Of course, you also want a flaky top crust, which is created with larger pieces of fat. These bigger pieces of fat take up space, and as they melt during baking, they leave behind crispy layers, perfect for a decadent first bite. Lucky for you, my 3 Ingredient Pie Crust is a hybrid between a mealy and flaky crust, so you only have to make one crust.

How To Avoid A Soggy Bottom

Avoiding a soggy bottom takes more than using the proper crust. Check out these tips for the crispiest bottom crust ever:

  • Draw out your apples’ natural juices by sprinkling them with sugar and spices. Then cook the juices until they transform into a caramel.
  • Cook the apple slices in the caramel for a few minutes, further reducing the liquids and concentrating the flavors.
  • Seal your bottom pie crust by brushing it with a small amount of beaten egg white.
  • Bake your pie on a pizza stone or baking steel. These tools trap heat and help cook your bottom crust faster, sealing it, so the juices don’t have time to soak in.

If you don’t own a baking steel or pizza stone, bake your pie on a double layer of sheet pans or in a large cast iron pan. Baking your pie in a second pan also has the added benefit of trapping any overflow of juices, so your oven doesn’t start to smoke and set off your alarms.

Overhead shot of an apple pie.
Overhead shot of a slice of apple pie on a white plate with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.
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Apple Pie

This is the easiest apple pie recipe ever! The cinnamon-scented filling and buttery crust are scrumptious and ridiculously simple to make!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Total Cost ($6.94 recipe / $0.87 serving)
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8 slices
Calories 383kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 double pie crust* $2.34
  • 1/2 cup sugar $0.13
  • 1 tsp cinnamon $0.10
  • 3 Tbsp flour $0.02
  • 1 pinch nutmeg $0.01
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice $0.09
  • 6 cups sliced apples (6-8 apples) $3.90
  • 1 large egg, white and yolk separated $0.26
  • 1 Tbsp heavy cream $0.09

Instructions

  • Place a rack in the center of your oven, and top it with a pizza stone*. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out your bottom and top pie crusts to 1/4 inch thickness. Refrigerate the top crust.
  • Line your pie pan with the rolled out bottom crust. Beat the egg white and brush the bottom crust lightly with it. Use a fork to puncture the bottom crust 9 to 10 times. Refrigerate the crust-lined pie pan.
  • Slice the 6 to 8 apples into 1/4 inch thick slices until you have 6 cups. Then place them in a colander and dress them with the lemon juice.
  • Place the colander in a large sauce pan. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, salt, flour, and nutmeg. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar mixture and incorporate thoroughly.
  • Allow the apples to marinate in the sugar and spices for a half hour. They will release their juices into the sauce pan.
  • After the apples have released their juices, remove the colander and the apples and place the pan with the juices over medium heat. Cook down the apple juices until a caramel forms.
  • Add the sliced apples to the pan and cook with the caramel until slightly softened, about five minutes. Let them cool for about 10 minutes.
  • Once the the apples have cooled, remove the pie pan and the top crust from the refrigerator. Add the apple slices to the crust-lined pie pan.
  • Cover the apples with the top crust. Fold the top crust under the edges of the bottom crust and pinch the crusts together. Flute the crusts. Beat the egg yolk and the cream together and brush the top crust with the egg wash.
  • Slice steam vents into the top crust. Place the pie pan on top of your pizza stone and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown and the pie's juices are bubbling.
  • Cool the apple pie for at least 30 minutes before slicing, but preferably for an hour to allow the filling to solidify.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*You can purchase a premade double crust or for best results, use our easy 3-Ingredient Pie Crust, divided in two for a top and bottom crust.*If you do not own a pizza stone, use a large cast iron pan or stack two sheet pans together.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 383kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Sodium: 210mg | Fiber: 3g
Overhead shot of a slice of apple pie on a white plate with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

How to Make Apple Pie – Step by Step Photos

Place a rack in the center of your oven, and top it with a pizza stone*. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out your bottom and top pie crusts to 1/4 inch thickness. Refrigerate the top crust.
Overhead shot of hand using a fork to dock pie dough.

Line your pie pan with the rolled out bottom crust. Beat the egg white and brush the bottom crust with a very thin layer. Use a fork to puncture the bottom crust 9 to 10 times. Refrigerate the crust-lined pie pan.

Overhead shot of apple in a colander.

Slice the 6 to 8 apples into 1/4 inch thick slices, until you have 6 cups. Then place them in a colander and dress the apple slices with the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Overhead shot of apples macerating in a colander placed inside a pan.

Place the colander in a large sauce pan. Mix the 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of flour, and a pinch of nutmeg. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar mixture and incorporate thoroughly. Allow the apples to marinate in the sugar and spices for a half hour. They will release their juices into the sauce pan.

Overhead shot of apple caramel.

After the apples have released their juices, remove the colander and the apples and place the pan with the juices over medium heat. Cook down the apple juices until a caramel forms.

Overhead shot of apples cooking with caramel.

Add the sliced apples to the pan and cook with the caramel until slightly softened, about five minutes. Let them cool for about 10 minutes.

Overhead shot of sliced apples in pie shell.

Once the apples have cooled, remove the pie pan and the top crust from the refrigerator. Add the apple slices to the crust-lined pie pan.

Overhead shot of brushing egg wash on a pie.

Cover the apples with the top crust. Fold the top crust under the edges of the bottom crust and pinch the crusts together. Flute the crusts. Beat the egg yolk and the cream together and brush the top crust lightly with the egg wash.

Overhead of raw pie with steam vents on it.

Slice steam vents into the top crust. Place the pie pan on top of your pizza stone and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown and the apple juices are bubbling.

Overhead shot of a finished apple pie.

Cool the apple pie for at least thirty minutes before slicing, but preferably an hour to allow the filling to solidify.

Overhead shot of a slice of apple pie on a white plate with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

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