Best Apple Pie Recipe

This Best Apple Pie Recipe is made with a delightfully flakey homemade pie crust and a rich apple pie filling featuring cozy flavours of brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and black pepper.

As someone who doesn't really care for apple pie, I can fully assure you that this pie lives up to its name as the best apple pie! I was truly blown away when I tasted this pie. It just might be my new favourite pie! It's that good!!

Here's what I love about this pie:

• The Texture: From the flakey homemade pie crust to the perfectly thickened filling with apples that hold their form just enough (more about this later), this pie has a great texture that will keep you coming back for more.
• The Flavour: One thing I don't like about most apple pies is how acidic they can be. I add a little bit of baking soda to my pie filling to help neutralize the acidity of the apples. Tada! Other than that, I use brown sugar and vanilla in the filling to bring in cozy notes of sweetness. Cinnamon and a tiny bit of black pepper flavour this pie in a unique way. Lastly, I generously dot the top of the filling with a full ¼ cup of salted butter before putting on the top crust and baking the pie. Oh my goodness, it is so good!
• The Appearance: While I'm far from good at pie crust designs, I do like to attempt to crimp the edges in a pretty way and cut cute steam vents in the top. I also love to make little leaves with the scraps of dough cut from the edges. Simple but pretty!

My favourite variety of apples to use for this pie are Gala Apples but I'm sure that most common pie apples would work fine too. I found the Gala's had the right texture and flavour for my liking.

Also, I don't care for egg wash on my pies so I just skip that step. If you like the look of an egg wash, feel free to add that step!

Here are some more pie recipes to try next!

• Pumpkin Pie Recipe -- Another fall classic, this is the best homemade pumpkin pie I've ever had!
• Key Lime Pie Recipe -- This key lime pie is tarty, creamy, cool, and delicious!
• Fudge Brownie Pecan Pie -- Part brownie, part pie, this is another great pie for Thanksgiving!
• Banana Cream Pie -- Homemade custard and sliced bananas on a buttery cinnamon graham crust and topped with whipped cream, this pie is amazing!
• & more!

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Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Best Apple Pie

This Apple Pie is made with a delightfully flakey homemade pie crust and a rich apple pie filling featuring cozy flavours of brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and black pepper.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Servings: 12 slices

Author: Naomi Andres

Equipment

• 9-inch pie pan
• mixing bowls
• measuring cups & spoons
• pastry cutter
• silicone spatula
• rolling pin
• pastry brush

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cold salted butter
• 5-6 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling:

• 6 cups thinly sliced apples, peeled and cored (I like to use Gala apples)
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ cup cold salted butter

Instructions

• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Cut the cold, cubed butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter until the butter pieces are no bigger than peas.
• Add ice water, starting with 3-4 tablespoons and adding up to 6 in total or just until the dough starts to hold together when pinched. Turn onto a counter knead/press together just until the mixture forms a loose dough ball. Divide into two portions and form each portion into a disk. Generously flour the counter and the top of the first disk of dough and begin to roll out into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. It does not have to be a perfect circle, just the general shape!
• Transfer the 12-inch round of dough to an ungreased 9-inch pie pan. Gently work out any air pockets on the bottom and sides. Leave any excess dough to hang over the edges of the pan. Coat the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a generous coat of flour (This helps prevent the crust from going soggy). Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (or 30 minutes in the freezer if you're tight on time) before assembling with the filling and baking. Roll out the second half of the dough into a 10-inch round and place on a flat surface (plate or cookie sheet) and refrigerate as well.

To Make the Filling:

• In a large bowl, fold together the cored, peeled, and sliced apples, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, black pepper, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract until the apples are well coated.

To Assemble the Pie:

• Preheat the oven to 350℉. Pour the filling into the prepared and chilled pie crust, smoothing out the top as evenly as possible. Cut the ¼ cup of butter into tiny cubes and evenly dot the top of the pie filling with them.
• Use a pastry brush to moisten the edge of the bottom crust with some water to help it stick to the top crust. Place the top crust on top of the pie and press/pinch right at the edge of the pan to seal. Trim off the excess crust and further pinch the two crusts together to seal before styling the edge of the pie crust as desired. (See extra notes for what to do with scraps of crust.) Slice a few steam vents in the top crust. At this time you could also brush the pie with an egg wash if desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 70-80 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly. Let cool to room temperature before serving to allow the filling to set or the pie filling will be too runny. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can make little pie crust leaves with the scraps cut off from the edges, as pictured in the recipe images. Simply use a paring knife to cut out little leaf shapes and score to create leaf veins. Or just sprinkle the scraps with cinnamon sugar. Bake scraps on a lined baking sheet in a 375℉ oven for about 10-15 minutes or until golden.

WITH LOVE,

Naomi ♡

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