Want to win Thanksgiving? How about The 4th of July? This is what you need to make it happen – the best apple crumble pie recipe.
My husband loves apple pie. Especially when topped with his other favorite thing, vanilla ice cream. I learned his preferences very early on in our relationship, so I have been trying to perfect the best apple crumble pie recipe for over a decade. It has taken quite a bit of tinkering over the years, but I think I finally cracked it!
What I’m calling the best apple crumble pie is seriously good! It’s not that hard to whip together, either. If you’re feeding a crowd, make two! Just trust me on this one.
Best Apple Crumble Pie Recipe
What you need
Before we get into the actual recipe, I want to talk about what goes into the best apple crumble pie first.
Pie crust
This might be a bombshell revelation, but I proudly use a pre-made crust from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. I’ve made my own pie crust before, and I’m sure I will again, but I just can’t swing it in this season of life. If you’re in a similar boat, don’t feel bad about cheating with a pre-made crust.
Apples
Of course, you need apples for the best apple crumble pie! But the question is, what kind of apples, and how should you cut them?
I’ve tried lots of different varieties in my apple crumble pie, and many of them have worked fairly well. After many pies, I’ve landed on a combination of apple varieties that stands above the rest. I use a relatively equal split of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp. Both are firm apples that stand up well to baking. Granny Smith brings the tart and Honeycrisp brings the sweet. It’s a good combo!
To prepare my filling, I like to slice my apples. They should be sliced thinly, but not too thinly. You want them to cook through in your pie, but not be too mushy.
Spices
I keep the spices in my apple crumble pie very simple – just cinnamon! I tried to overcomplicate it with other spices, but it’s really not necessary. Apples love cinnamon.
Sugar
I primarily use brown sugar in my apple crumble pie. The depth of flavor can’t be beat!
Flour & salt
The flour thickens the filling as it cooks, and the salt keeps it from being sickly sweet. These ingredients are pretty self-explanatory.
Crumble
The magic of the best apple crumble pie comes from the crumble topping. I like a LOT of crumble topping – don’t be stingy!
I make my crumble topping by mixing together flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Then I cut in cubes of cold butter until I get a sandy texture, with butter lumps no larger than peas. Cut in the butter however you prefer. You can use a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers.
Recipe
Now that you know what you’ll need, let’s bake!
Ingredients
1 pre-made refrigerated pie crust
Filling
6 Cups of apples, sliced (approximately 7 apples)
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp flour
¼ Cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
Crumble
1 Cup flour
½ Cup white sugar
¼ Cup brown sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter, cubed
Method
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 375°F
Step 2 - Prep your pie crust
Roll out your pie crust to fit a 9” deep dish pie plate. Transfer to pie plate. Fold over any excess crust and flute the edge.
Rub butter into pie crust. Sprinkle with flour.
Step 3 - Make filling
Mix sliced apples, cinnamon, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Make sure flour/sugar mixture coats all apple slices!
Pile apple filling into unbaked pie crust.
Step 4 - Make crumble
Mix flour, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in the same bowl in which you made the filling. Cut cold butter into the mixture until the mixture has a sandy texture.
Sprinkle crumble over apple filling.
Step 5 - Bake pie
Bake pie at 375°F for approximately 40-45 minutes. Add a foil collar to the crust after about 25 minutes to prevent crust from burning. Pie is done when apples are cooked through.
Step 6 - Serve
Slice pie and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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I hope you try my recipe and agree that this is the best apple crumble pie. What is your favorite pie? Share with me below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.