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Classic Apple Pie – Homemade Recipe

Classic apple pie recipe with a flaky, buttery crust and a cinnamon-spiced apple filling. The pie bakes until golden and bubbling, then cools before slicing for clean, tender pieces.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Chilling and cooling 4 hours
Total Time 5 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 560
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Make the crust
  • 2.5 cup flour all-purpose
  • 1 tsp salt kosher
  • 1 tbsp sugar granulated
  • 1 cup butter 2 sticks, cold unsalted, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 6 tbsp water ice water; add to 8 tablespoons as needed
Make the filling
  • 3 lb apples firm baking apples, such as Granny Smith and Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 0.67 cup sugar granulated
  • 0.25 cup flour all-purpose
  • 1 tsp cinnamon ground
  • 0.25 tsp salt kosher
  • 0.13 tsp nutmeg ground
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp butter unsalted, cut into small pieces
For the egg wash
  • 1 egg large
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp sugar coarse

Equipment

  • 1 9-inch pie plate
  • 1 rimmed baking sheet

Method
 

Make the crust
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar.
  2. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the largest pieces are pea-size.
  3. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons ice water over the mixture and toss gently.
  4. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together when squeezed.
  5. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a disk.
  6. Wrap the disks and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  7. On a lightly floured counter, roll one disk into a 12-inch circle.
  8. Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie plate and trim the edge to a 1-inch overhang.
  9. Refrigerate the crust and remaining disk while you make the filling.
Make the filling
  1. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and lemon juice until evenly coated.
Assemble and bake
  1. Heat the oven to 425°F and position a rack in the lower third.
  2. Spoon the apple mixture into the chilled crust, mounding it slightly in the center.
  3. Dot the filling with the butter.
  4. Roll the remaining dough disk into a 12-inch circle and lay it over the apples.
  5. Trim both crusts to a 1-inch overhang, then fold and crimp the edges to seal.
  6. Beat the egg with the water.
  7. Brush the egg mixture over the top crust and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  8. Cut several vents in the crust.
  9. Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 20 minutes.
  10. Reduce the oven to 375°F and bake for 35 to 45 minutes more, covering the edges loosely with foil if they brown too quickly, until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles through the vents.
  11. Cool the pie on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before slicing.

Notes

For a flaky crust, keep the butter cold and add only enough ice water for the dough to hold together when squeezed. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days; the baked pie can be frozen. A measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend can replace the all-purpose flour, though the crust texture may differ.