This delicious apple pie tastes like it's from a bakery, and has the perfect crust to apple filling ratio! A buttery, flakey crust with caramel-like apple filling, and a streusel crumble topping, all sealed under a beautiful, but easy, lattice crust. The BEST apple pie I've ever had!
What's Thanksgiving without apple pie? I've always been a fruit pie person, which means I prefer apple pie over pumpkin or pecan. Even though, I really like all pies. (P.S. pie over cake any day). And if I had to pick my favorite pie, it would actually be blueberry. But, apple is a close second, especially this apple pie!!
I wanted to create an apple pie that could compete with a bakery apple pie, and I did just that! Nate had one bite, and his exact words were, "this tastes like it's from a bakery!" Mission accomplished. The secret? Melting together butter and sugar on the stove to create an almost caramel-like sauce that coats the apples beautifully. Even better, this prevents you from ending up with a soupy pie filling. This recipe is foolproof.
Also, you're probably wondering what I mean by Triple Crusted Apple Pie. I love a good crust to apple filling ratio. I like to enjoy a piece of crust and apple filling in every bite. Secondly, I have a hard time deciding between whether I want a pie with a streusel crumble topping or a traditional pie with crust topping, so why not make a damn good pie that has both? So I did!
Best Apple Pie Ingredients.
Apples. You can really use any apple for this recipe, but I recommend an apple that is more tart. The tartness of the apple will balance out the sweetness of the pie. A good baking apple is Granny Smith apples, but again, you can't go wrong with any apple really. I just recommend trying to pick an apple that isn't too soft, because no one wants a mushy pie.
Butter. I almost always use salted butter for everything, including baking. I know it's kind of frowned upon, but I always have salted butter on hand, making it much more convenient. As well, I don't feel that the amount of salt in the butter is enough to ruin baked goods. For this recipe, you'll need cold butter for the crust, room temperature butter for the streusel crumble, and more butter (any temperature) for the apple filling. Because what's an apple pie without lots of butter? Not one I want to eat!
Vegetable shortening. I like to use a combination of butter and shortening for my pie crust. Shortening helps to create a flakey crust because it doesn't melt as easily as butter, creating tender layers in the pie crust as it bakes. Most times, I use butter flavored shortening, but regular unflavored shortening works great, as well.
Flour. All-purpose flour is best for this recipe. You'll need flour for both the crust and to thicken the apple filling.
Sugar. I like to use a combination of both granulated and brown sugar. Both offer different flavors.
Lemon juice. This prevents the apples from turning brown, and adds a bright, citrusy flavor to balance out the sweetness of the apples and sugar.
Cinnamon. An essential apple pie ingredient.
Salt. As well, salt is an essential ingredient when baking with sugar. It prevents your dessert from tasting overwhelmingly sweet.
Tips & Tricks.
Use both butter and shortening.
I like to make pie crust using both vegetable shortening and butter.
Shortening helps to create the flakey pie crust everyone loves, and butter adds the delicious flavor we all crave. The best of both worlds! You can use butter flavored shortening or regular unflavored shortening.
Use cold butter, cold shortening, and cold water.
When making a pie crust, it's best to use cold ingredients to prevent your butter and shortening from melting before the pie bakes.
Having these chunks of cold butter and cold shortening throughout the pie crust is what creates tender, flaky layers of crust as the pie bakes. Otherwise, you'll end up with crunchy pie crust. No one wants that.
To ensure cold ingredients, remove your butter and shortening from the refrigerator when you're ready to use them. For cold water, I recommend filling a glass with water and adding ice. Then scoop your tablespoon measure into the glass, making sure you only scoop water and not ice.
Start the apple filling on the stove.
Making the apple filling on the stove is a game changer!
To make the filling, first melt the butter on the stove then whisk in flour, which helps to thicken the apple filling since apples release liquid when baking. Next, add water and sugar to create a caramel-like sauce that you mix with the apples. This lets you achieve the perfect apple filling consistency and flavor. It's unreal.
To quote Nate, "it tastes like it's from a bakery!"
More Fall Recipes You Will Love!
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If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below! I'd love to hear from you! If you’re on Instagram, share a picture of the food you created and tag me at Modern Farmhouse Eats! I enjoy seeing all the pictures! 😊
Best Apple Pie
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter (I used salted)
- ⅔ cup shortening (about 10 tablespoons)
- 6-8 tablespoons cold water
Streusel crumble
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons room temperature butter (I used salted)
Apple filling
- 8 tablespoons butter (I used salted)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 3 pounds apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced (about 8 apples)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Pie crust
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar.
- Add the flour and shortening to the bowl, and use a pastry cutter or two forks to work the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about the size of peas.
- Add 6 tablespoons of the cold ice water and mix together with a sturdy spoon. Add 1-2 more tablespoons of cold ice water, if needed, until the dough starts to stick together. I used 8 tablespoons of water). If you grab a handful of dough and squeeze it, it should hold together but it should not stick to clean hands. If that dough sticks to your hands, you added too much water. If the dough doesn't stick together, you need to add more water. Add more flour or water one tablespoon at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- Transfer the bowl to a clean surface and form into a ball. Tightly wrap with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator while you make the streusel crumble and apple filling.
Streusel Crumble
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the butter and use a fork to work the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles a coarse meal, about the size of peas. Some larger clumps are OK. Set aside.
Apple filling
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until combined; let cook for one minute. Add in the water, granulated sugar and brown sugar; whisk again to combine. Let simmer for 2 minutes, whisking frequently. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt.
- Pour the butter sugar mixture over the apples and mix together.
Roll out crust
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Unwrap the pie crust, and cut into 2 equal parts.
- Flour your work surface and roll out one pie crust into 11-12" circle.
- Wrap the pie crust around your rolling pin and transfer to a 9" pie plate. Add the apple filling, mounding slightly. Sprinkle the apple filling with the streusel crumble, reserving ¼ cup.
- Roll out the second crust into another 11-12" circle and cut into 8 even strips. Arrange strips into a woven lattice pattern over the top. Cut off any excess crust hanging over the pie pan, and seal together the edges of the two pie crusts.
- Beat together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Sprinkle with remaining streusel crumble and coarse sugar, if desired.
Bake
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 for 45-50 minutes until apples are soft and filling is bubbling through the lattice top. If crust is browning too fast, tent a piece of foil over the top of the pie for the last 10-15 minutes. Let rest for one hour before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated by a third party software and is only an estimate, not a guarantee. This information is provided as a courtesy, and you are solely responsible for all decisions related to your health.
Sandra M Claire-Howard
At my age of 68, this is the first pie from scratch I've ever made! It turned out amazing! My guests said it was the best they've ever had! Only change I made was the lemon to lime due to allergy. Also I only had butter flavored crisco on hand. Thank you for your recipe! I'm not sure how to share my photo.
Modern Farmhouse Eats
Sandra, that's so wonderful!! Thank you so much for giving my recipe a try and trusting me with your holiday pie!