Classic Apple Pie

Have you ever made a classic apple pie for Thanksgiving before? This recipe for a homemade one is the best you can find! An easy apple pie filling is baked in a made-from-scratch crust for the ultimate holiday dessert.

I live for apple pie! I usually make both my crust and my apple pie filling from scratch, but you can defintiely use a store-bought double crust instead.

This recipe my take on Sam Sifton’s recipe for the Thanksgiving classic on the dessert table – just as traditional as his but a little easier and more foolproof to make. Your guests will definitely declare this the best pie they ever had!

His approach to the apple pie filling is very classic and not too sweet, I love it. If you’re looking for a filling that’s more sweet and saucy like canned filling, you may want to try my Homemade Apple Pie Filling instead. And if you’re intimidated by pie crust, don’t be. I have an entire post on how to make pie crust from scratch, so go read that if you need a little extra help.

Ingredients you’ll need

For the crust

Crust ingredient notes

Butter: Please use your butter cold from the fridge, do not bring it to room temperature for this recipe. The crust turns out best with a high-quality European-style butter (it has a slightly higher fat content), but it’s delicious with regular butter, too.

Crisco: If you prefer making a pie crust with shortening instead of butter, use all shortening/Crisco in place of the butter called for in my pie crust recipe. Cut the flour back to 2 ¼ cup.

Vegan or dairy free crust: Follow the recipe as written, using solid coconut oil or dairy-free stick margarine in place of the butter. Please do not use a buttery spread, only use firm stick margarine.

Vinegar: This doesn’t affect the taste of the pie pastry, but it helps to make the pie crust flaky. Vinegar helps to stop the gluten from developing. Developing the gluten would make for a tough crust, so please don’t skip it out of fear you’re going to end up with a tart crust. I use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.

Water: As with the cold butter, you’ll get the best results if you stick to ice cold water.

Egg wash: If you can’t use eggs, or don’t want to, here are some alternatives to make your pie crust look good after baking:

• Half-and-half or heavy cream can be used for a lightly shiny pie crust
• Water or milk can be used for a browned crust

For the filling

Filling ingredient notes

Apples: Most people consider Granny Smith the best apples for apple pie. Though I do have to admit, I prefer Honeycrisp or Jonathan.

Allspice: If you don’t have any allspice, you can try using pumpkin spice instead. It will change the taste a little, but I like my apple pie filling spiced.

Salt: The salt in the filling makes it more flavorful and compliments the sweet acidity of the apples. So don’t skip! Thanksgiving isn’t a day to count your sodium grams 😅

Brown sugar: You can use extra white sugar in place of the brown sugar, you’ll lose some of the caramel notes in the filling.

Cornstarch: Can use the same amount of flour if you don’t have any cornstarch on hand. It tends to get lumpy a little more, so make sure to stir well.

Apple cider vinegar: THIS is what makes Sam Sifton’s apple pie filling SO special! It adds something amazing to the taste of the finished apple pie I can’t quite place my finger on. It definitely doesn’t taste of vinegar in the end and I highly, highly recommend you don’t skip it.

How to make apple pie

Make the pie crust

1. Start by making the crust: Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in the butter. “Cutting in” just means you’ll rub/crumble the dry ingredients and the butter together with either clean fingers or a pastry cutter. You’ll want to end up with a bowl of crumbs that resemble wet sand.

2. Next, combine the cold water and vinegar and pour half of it into the bowl.

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3. Start stirring with clean fingers or a wooden spoon, adding more water until the pastry comes together. You may not need to use all of the water/vinegar mixture – your dough should be very soft, but not sticky or wet.

4. Tip the mixture out on your counter and push it together a few times to form a ball (do not knead, pastry comes out the flakiest if you don’t knead it).

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5. Divide the pastry into two equal parts, flatten each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

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Make the filling

While the crust is chilling, you’ll want to make your pie filling:

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the apples and stir for 1-2 minutes to coat them in the butter.

2. Add the spices, salt and both sugars. Stir carefully and allow the apples to simmer for about 5 minutes, until they’re softening.

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3. Sprinkle over the cornstarch and immediately stir, then allow to cook for 3-5 more minutes until the juices have thickened and the apples are cooked.

4. Allow the pie filling to cool down completely before using it in your pie crust.

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Assemble and bake the pie

Finally, you’re ready to assemble and bake your pie. Start by placing a baking sheet in the lower half of your oven, then switch it on to 425°F.

1. Butter a 9-inch pie dish. Remove one disk of pie pastry from the fridge and roll it into a circle, about 9.5 to 10 inches in diameter. I do this between two sheets of generously floured baking parchment to keep the pastry from sticking.

2. Fit the rolled out pastry into your prepared pie plate, then place it in the fridge.

By the way, my grandma always pricked the bottom with a fork a few times, supposedly it helps with cooking the bottom crust. I rarely see this in recipes these days but I always do it for old times’ sake.

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3. Roll out the top crust into a 10 inch circle, then place it back into the fridge.

4. Remove the pie dish from the fridge and fill the bottom crust with your cooled filling. Make sure to spread it evenly and avoid creating any gaps on the bottom.

5. Remove the top crust from the fridge, fit it over the top. Seal the edges (I fold them under, it creates a thick edge my family loves!) and flute. (You can also just crimp/seal the edge with a fork and call it a day if you don’t want to bother too much.)

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6. Cut four vents into the crust for letting out steam during baking. Brush the pie with egg white (you could do the whole egg if you have no use for a leftover yolk, but I find the egg white leaves less of an “eggy” taste so I do prefer it). Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

7. Bake: Place the pie on the hot baking sheet in your preheated oven. Bake your pie at 425°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F. Finish baking the pie for 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden. You’ll need to cover the edge with a pie shield or strips of aluminum foil after about 20 minutes, so make sure to watch out for that.

8. Once done, remove the pie from the oven and place the dish on a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing to serve.

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Recipe tips

• to speed up the cooling of the filling, spread it on a baking sheet or in a large casserole dish.
• if your pie pastry is very chilled and hard, it can be easier to roll it after it’s been at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Do not let it stand for longer though or the butter will get soft and your pie crust could turn out dense and gummy.
• do not skip pre-heating the baking sheet, it helps so much with browning the bottom crust!
• if necessary, loosely cover the pie with a piece of aluminum foil after 20-30 minutes of baking time to prevent it from getting too dark on top
• cool the finished pie on a cooling rack on the counter to keep a soggy bottom away

Make ahead instructions

You can make apple pie up to 2 days ahead. Store it in the fridge or on the counter covered with a clean tea towel to keep flies and smells away.Allow to come to room temperature or slightly warm in the oven before serving.

Freezer instructions

Apple pies can be frozen up to 2 months.

• baked apple pie: cool completely, then wrap in plastic foil first, then in aluminum foil. Label with the name and use-by date before freezing. Bake at 300°F for 45-60 minutes to defrost and warm.
• unbaked apple pie: carefully wrap in plastic foil first, then in aluminum foil, making sure you’re not turning the pie or the filing will leak. Label with the name and use-by date before freezing, making sure the pie is level in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge before baking as directed in the recipe.

Serving tips

I recommend slicing the pie into 8 even slices for serving. In my experience, the first slice of pie is always very difficult to remove well and it usually collapses/turns into a mess.

If you have company you want to impress (in-laws, ahem), you’ll want to pull at least the first slice from the dish away from prying eyes. Once that first slice is removed, it’s a lot easier to get a hold of the slices with a cake server to remove them neatly.

It’s also important to make sure each slice is fully sliced away from its neighboring slices, if that makes sense. Else, you’ll rip off half of the pastry when you’re trying to remove it from the dish.

I enjoy my apple pie pure or with warm vanilla custard, thank you very much. The rest of my family will pile on vanilla or pecan ice cream like there’s no tomorrow though, so I suggest having ice cream on hand just in case – even if you’re a pie purist yourself 😉

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PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Recipe first published on 11/19/2014. Updated with new photos and better text on 11/07/2021.

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