Dessert

Best Homemade Apple Pie From Scratch

Name: Best Homemade Apple Pie From Scratch
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour ((= plain flour)); 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; 1 ½ sticks (185g) cold unsalted butter (, cubed); ¼ cup (50g) cold vegetable shortening (, cubed); 1 tbsp white vinegar; ¼ cup (60ml) ice-cold water ((or less, as needed)); 5 medium cooking apples ((such as Bramley)); 3 eating apples ((such as Pink Lady)); 1 lemon juice only; 4 tbsp soft brown sugar; 3 tbsp sugar; 2 tbsp cornstarch ((= cornflour)); 1 tbsp cinnamon; ¼ tsp ground cloves; ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 2-3 tbsp salted caramel ((optional) I used Bonne Maman here); 1 egg beaten with splash to milk to glaze; 2 tbsp Demerara sugar to sprinkle

Simply the Best Homemade Apple Pie From Scratch! American style ‘mile high’ apple pie with crisp and buttery pie crust

Serves 8
Prep 30 minutes
Cook 55 minutes
Total 3 hours

Fruit

Jump to the recipe

Who doesn’t LOVE homemade apple pie! The crisp pie crust yielding to the sweet fragrant apple filling… My mouth is watering typing this! I have updated my 2014 recipe to include more detailed instructions.

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Making apple pie from scratch is a bit of a project but the results are amazing! The apples are sliced thinly, mixed with lemon, then left to render some of their juices. That way there are a little softer and less likely to cause the dreaded soggy bottom.

The pie crust is a doddle to make in a food processor – just make sure to keep the ingredients COLD and handle the pastry as little as possible otherwise it may get tough.

By the way the secret to slicing a pie successfully is to let it cool down completely. If you cut into it while still warm the filling will just spill out everywhere.

So wait as long as humanly possible before slicing and serve slightly warmed (in the microwave) with a large dollop of ice cream.

slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with salted caramel

Perfect Homemade Pie Crust

Make sure your ingredients are COLD for successful pie crust.

↓ For the full ingredients and detailed method, jump to the recipe card.

Put the flour, sugar and salt in the large bowl of a food processor (I love my trusty Magimix) fitted with plastic blade and chill for 30 minutes. Cube the butter and shortening and keep chilled.

Pulse flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add the cubed butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Combine vinegar and water and add to the dough in a slow drizzle while pulsing. Stop when the dough forms clumps. You may not need to add all the water or you may need to add a touch more if dough is crumbly.

Pat the dough into two disks, cover with cling film and chill for an hour (or up to a day). Resting the dough is important so don’t skip it!

Lattice Pie Crust

Dust your worktop and rolling pin with flour. Roll one of the dough disks out to 6mm (1/4 inch thick). Transfer onto the pie tin, leaving the pastry to hang over the edges, cover and chill for 30 minutes.

photo collage showing how to roll out pie crust

Roll out the second piece of dough onto a large piece of baking paper. Cut into wide, equally sized strips using a pizza wheel then transfer onto a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes.

Pie crust rolled out and cut into strips

Take out the pastry strips and lay the longest ones in the centre of the pie vertically. Start placing strips horizontally, weaving them with the one vertical ones to create a lattice.

Fold the overhanging pastry over the lattice and create a fluted edge by pushing your thumb from one hand in between the thumb and index finger of the opposite.

Photo collage showing how to make lattice pie crust

You might also like my Spiced Apple Turnovers.

HAVE YOU MADE MY APPLE PIE RECIPE? Please leave a rating, post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #Nusde and make my day!

Recipe

Perfect Homemade Apple Pie From Scratch

Follow my tips to make a Perfect Homemade Apple Pie From Scratch! Packed with tons of fruit and unbelievably delicious.

Serves 8
Prep 30 minutes
Cook 55 minutes
Total 3 hours

Ingredients

Pie Crust

2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour ((= plain flour))
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ sticks (185g) cold unsalted butter (, cubed)
¼ cup (50g) cold vegetable shortening (, cubed)
1 tbsp white vinegar
¼ cup (60ml) ice-cold water ((or less, as needed))

Filling

5 medium cooking apples ((such as Bramley))
3 eating apples ((such as Pink Lady))
1 lemon juice only
4 tbsp soft brown sugar
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch ((= cornflour))
1 tbsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2-3 tbsp salted caramel ((optional) I used Bonne Maman here)
1 egg beaten with splash to milk to glaze
2 tbsp Demerara sugar to sprinkle

Method

Make the pie crust

1
Put the flour, sugar and salt in the large bowl of the Magimix fitted with plastic blade and chill for 30 minutes. Cube the butter and shortening and keep chilled.
2
Pulse flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add the cubed butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3
Combine vinegar and water and add to the dough in a slow drizzle while pulsing. Stop when the dough forms clumps. You may not need to add all the water or you may need to add a touch more if dough is crumbly.
4
Pat the dough into two disks, cover with cling film and chill for an hour (or up to a day).
5
Dust your worktop and rolling pin with flour. Roll one of the dough disks out to 6mm (1/4 inch thick). Transfer onto the pie tin, leaving the pastry to hang over the edges, cover and chill for 30 minutes.
6
Roll out the second piece of dough onto a large piece of baking paper. Cut into wide, equally sized strips using a pizza wheel then transfer onto a baking tray and chill for 30 minutes.

Prepare your filling

7
Peel and core the apples then either slice thinly with a sharp knife of use the widest setting on a mandoline. Keep slices small and equally sized. Toss with the lemon juice and set aside while pastry is chilling.
8
Strain the apples to get rid of any juices and then toss with the spices, flour, cornflour and sugar.

Assemble the apple pie

9
Pile the apples, packed quite tightly, into the prepared pie tin (mine was 8-inch (20cm) but there was enough pastry for a slightly larger pie). Create a little mound in the center and drizzle with the salted caramel (if using).
10
Take out the pastry strips and lay the longest ones in the center of the pie vertically. Start placing strips horizontally, weaving them with the one vertical ones to create a lattice (see here for a very helpful diagram from the Smitten Kitchen).
11
Fold the overhanging pastry over the lattice and create a fluted edge by pushing your thumb from one hand in between the thumb and index finger of the opposite.
12
Return to the fridge for 30 minutes then brush all over with the egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Bake the pie

13
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a heavy baking tray on the lowest shelf (do not skip this step: the filling has a tendency to bubble over).
14
Put the pie in the oven for 15-20 minutes until it has started to brown nicely, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C). At this stage you may need to cover with a foil hat to prevent further browning.
15
Bake for another 30-35 minutes of until the apples are soft enough to prick with a skewer. The pie is usually ready when the filling starts to bubble over and takes on average about an hour to bake.
16
Cool for several hours before serving – it can take up to 6 hours or longer for the pie to cool completely. If you serve while still hot it won’t be easy to slice.