This recipe for homemade apple pie delivers on every front. It’s got a perfectly flaky pie crust, no soggy bottom in sight, and a filling loaded with thinly sliced apples enrobed in a saucy (not gloopy or runny) glaze, hit with just the right amount of warming spice.
You’ll need a deep-dish pie plate to hold the four pounds of fruit packed in here, and we suggest being extra choosy when selecting apples for pie. Opt for sweet-tart firm baking apples like Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Jonagold in the fall, when apples are in season. The rest of the year, look to tart, reliable Granny Smith apples—and don’t be afraid to use multiple varieties in a single pie (in fact, we encourage it). Some apple varieties have tough skins, so we recommend peeling them all; if you know your apples are thin-skinned (and you know you like the texture of baked apple skin), feel free to leave the peels intact.
You’ll amp up the flavor of your pie with a syrup made from reduced apple cider steeped with a vanilla bean and a whisper of cinnamon, allspice, and cardamom (just enough to enhance the fruit but not overwhelm it). If you’d rather swap in vanilla extract, add 1 Tbsp to the apple pie filling just before scraping it into the pie pan. To finish, sprinkle demerara sugar over the top of the pie for extra sparkle and crunch.
Pastry chef and former BA senior food editor Claire Saffitz explains this apple pie recipe is “something you can’t rush.” It requires ample chilling, baking, and resting, so plan accordingly, particularly if you’re making it for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, like pecan and pumpkin pie, it can be made a full day in advance.
Looking for a different apple dessert? This apple crumb pie has a cozy cinnamon-brown-sugar crumble, while our Dutch Apple Pie gets a big nubby streusel topping. No pie dish? Everyone loves an Apple Pandowdy.
Recipe information
Total Time
3 hours plus cooling
Yield
8 Servings
Ingredients
Dough
3½
2
1½
1½
2
Filling and Assembly
4
⅓
¼
2
2
½
¼
¼
1½
1
2
1
2
Special Equipment
Preparation
Dough
Step 1
Pulse 3½ (438 g) cups all-purpose flour, 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt in food processor to combine. Add 1½ cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, and process until largest pieces of butter are pea-size. Transfer to a large bowl.
Step 2
Combine 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar and ½ cup ice-cold water in a small bowl and drizzle over flour mixture, mixing with a fork to combine. Mix until shaggy pieces form, then knead in bowl a couple of times with your hands to bring together (dough will look very clumpy, dry, with loose bits). Transfer large clumps of dough to work surface, drizzle 1 Tbsp. ice water over remaining flour mixture in bowl and knead again to bring it together. Place on top of dough on work surface. Working with half of the dough, press into a single mass, incorporating dry bits, then pat down to make a ¾"-thick square. Using a bench scraper or knife, divide dough into 4 pieces. Stack pieces on top of one another, placing any unincorporated dry bits in between layers, and press down to combine. Form dough into a ¾"-thick disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough. Chill at least 2 hours.
Do Ahead: Pie dough can be made 5 days ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 1 month.
Filling and Assembly
Step 3
Toss 4 lb. Pink Lady or other firm, sweet-tart apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced, ⅓ cup (packed; 68 g) dark brown sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. + ⅛ tsp. Morton kosher salt, ¼ tsp. ground allspice, and ¼ tsp. ground cardamom in a large bowl to coat. Let apples sit until they start to release their juices, at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.
Step 4
Let pie dough sit at room temperature 5 minutes to soften. Working one at a time, roll out disks of dough on a lightly floured surface ⅛" thick. Stack on a parchment-lined baking sheet, separating layers with a sheet of parchment, and chill while you prepare the filling.
Step 5
Place 1½ cups unfiltered apple cider in a medium saucepan and scrape in seeds from 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise; add pod. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking occasionally, until reduced by two-thirds. Pour off juices that have accumulated in bowl of apples and add to apple cider. Return to a boil and cook until reduced to about ½ cup; remove vanilla pod. Stir 2 Tbsp. cornstarch into 3 Tbsp. cold water in a small bowl to dissolve, then whisk into apple cider. Cook, whisking constantly, until cider mixture is very thick and bubbling, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly, then scrape over apples; toss to coat.
Step 6
Carefully transfer dough round to pie dish. Lift up edges and allow dough to slump down into dish (if too cold to be pliable, let it warm up slightly first). Press dough firmly against sides and bottom of plate. Trim, leaving about 1" overhang. Beat 1 large egg with 1 tsp. water in a small bowl and brush over edges of dough. Scrape apple mixture into bottom crust, creating a mound in the center; dot filling with 2 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces. Place remaining dough round over filling. Trim edges of top round, leaving a ½" overhang. Fold edge of bottom round up and over; press together to seal. Crimp edge and brush top with remaining egg wash. Sprinkle with demerara sugar and use a sharp knife to cut a few vents in top. Place pie pan on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and chill in freezer 10 minutes. Plack oven rack in lower third of oven; preheat oven to 375°.
Step 7
Bake pie until top crust is deep golden brown and juices from apple pie filling are thick and bubbling, 1½–2 hours (yes: 2 hours!). Transfer pie to a wire rack; let pie cool at least 4 hours before serving.
Do Ahead: Pie can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; store covered with foil at room temperature.
Editor’s note: This apple pie recipe was first printed in our October 2016 issue. Head this way for more of our best Thanksgiving desserts →
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