A good apple pie should taste of fresh apples with a bright, clean flavor with the right balance of sweet and tart—and certainly not mushy or cloying! It really comes down to using the right apples. Here is the perfect apple pie recipe for a beginner—with an easy, buttery pie crust.
If you’ve had a lot of sub-par apple pies, it comes down to the apple. Many types of apples just do not make a good pie on their own. They don’t hold their shape and release too much liquid when cooking or they lack texture. Or, they are too tart for most taste buds (example: Granny Smith) or they are too sweet (example: Empire). That’s why we mix two types of apples. If the apples listed in the recipe below aren’t available, choose a mix of “firm-sweet” and “firm-tart” apples. See the list of apples for pies.
Bottom-line:
- Choose one “sweet” and one “tart” apple for best results. If you can only find one apple type, use a “firm” apple variety which will hold its shape throughout the cooking process and not get mushy.
- Always use fresh, firm apples. If you don’t use them right away, put the apples in the refrigerator or they will go soft.
If you’re not up to making a pie dough, don’t let that stop you. You can certainly purchase easy refrigerated pie crust. That said, our homemade pie crust only requires a few pantry ingredients and comes out flaky and flavorful!
More Apple Recipes
- Check out our delicious Caramel Apple Crumb Pie or Sour Cream Apple Pie recipes!
- Have apples leftovers? See more of our favorite apple recipes!
Apple Pie Filling
Preheat oven to 425°. Peel and core apples, slice them 1/4 inch thick, and put in a clean bowl. Toss to coat with lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch.
Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the larger disk of Double-Crust Pastry Dough into a 12- to 13-inch circle, rolling out from the center and turning the dough as you go. Transfer to a 10-inch pie plate; let extra dough hang over sides.
Place a flat 1-inch layer of apples on bottom and sprinkle with a layer of sugar mixture. Repeat until you’ve used all apples and sugar.
Roll out second piece of pie dough and cover apples with it. Trim excess dough to about 1 inch overhang; tuck edges of top crust under bottom crust and crimp.
Brush egg over pie surface; sprinkle with sugar. Make decorative cuts to let steam escape. Bake 20 minutes.
Lower oven temperature to 375° and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes longer.
Double-Crust Pastry Dough
1. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt until well combined.
2. Sprinkle butter over flour mixture, and use your fingers to work it in (rub your thumb against your fingertips, smearing the butter as you do). Stop when the mixture looks like cornmeal, with some pea-size bits of butter remaining.
3. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons ice water on top, and stir with a fork until dough begins to come together. If needed, add more ice water, a tablespoon at a time.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead three times, or just enough to make a cohesive dough—don’t over mix!
5. Gather into a ball; then divide into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Press each piece into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
