As the leaves turn from yellow to brown, the smell of homemade apple pie fills permeates my house. I love opening the door to the smell of butter, cinnamon, apple, and sugar. Apple pie lends a level of nostalgia to the holidays that makes the endeared Thanksgiving pumpkin pie jealous. I’ve heard what sound like fairy tales of my grandmother Ruth’s fried apple pies and her homemade apple pies. I never got to taste these fabled treats, but my mother has kept their memories alive. Unfortunately, she does not have the recipes to pass along – since no one expected her to die so young. The dollops of butter carefully placed on the top of this pie are an ode to the memory of my grandmother Ruth. According to my mother, I still haven’t perfected the amount of cinnamon.
But not all apple pies are created equal. Some are topped with a lattice, some are topped with a crumble, and some are deep fried. I’m a crumble girl. I love the mix of flaky crust, warm apple, and oat crumble. This is the same crumble I use on my sweet potato casserole, and it perfectly complements the cooked apples.
I have a mild obsession with apple picking, probably because apples don’t readily grow in Mississippi. Apple picking always seemed like a novelty. When we moved to Maryland in 2019, Homestead Farm in Poolesville provided us with three years of amazing apple picking. I learned that if I wanted to pick honeycrisps (my husband’s favorite), then I would need to remember to go picking at the end of August. The first year we moved I was so sad to realize in September that I missed picking the honeycrisps, which are the first crop of apples every year. There is nothing quite like a ripe honeycrisp apple picked from a tree on a hot August morning.
But don’t make this pie with honeycrisp apples. Please, just eat the honeycrisp with a nice cheese plate. After our honeycrisp supply dwindles in September, then it is time to pick the rest of the apples. We would head back for gala, fuji, pink lady, granny smith, and red apples. I’ve tried making pies with a mix of other apples, but the granny smith apple was made to be baked in an apple pie. The texture of the apple can withstand the heat and molten sugar-cinnamon juices without becoming too soggy or soft. And the tartness of the granny smith helps balance the sugar.
You know an apple pie has reached perfection when you can find at least five photos of it on your phone from different years. Blue Duck Tavern serves my favorite apple pie. They are individual, deep dish apple pies that are flawless in contour and perfection in flavor. Served alongside a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, this apple pie is worth every calorie.
Deep Dish Apple Pie
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Description
Apple pie lends a level of nostalgia to the holidays that makes the endeared Thanksgiving pumpkin pie jealous. 
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tbs sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbs pats
- 2 Tbs cream cheese
- 1/2 cup + 2-3 Tbs ice water
Crumble
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup old fashioned oats (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 stick (8 Tbs) unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbs pieces
Pie
- 3 pounds granny smith apples (about 7 apples), peeled and cut
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon (1 tsp)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs brandy
- 1 Tbs cornstarch (2 Tbs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 Tbs unsalted butter, chopped
Instructions
-
First make the pie dough: In a large bowl or food processor, mix the flour, salt, and sugar. Add in the butter until well incorporated. Add in the ice water until dough forms into a ball.
- Then, roll out the dough: Sprinkle some all-purpose flour on a sheet of parchment paper. Place the pie dough on the parchment paper and sprinkle the top with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to the desired thickness. Place dough into the assembled spring form pan. Use any excess dough to line the sides of the springform pan. Just make sure you don’t get an abundance of crust where the bottom of the pan meets the side. Gently press this extra dough with your fingertips to create an even crust. Using a fork, puncture the crust several times. Place dough in the freezer for at least thirty minutes.
- Next make the pie: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all pie ingredients, except butter, in a large bowl. Let ingredients sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This is a good time to make the crumble.
- To make the crumble: In a large bowl or food processor, mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract. Add in the butter until just incorporated.
- Back to assembling the pie: Remove the frozen crust and fill with apple mixture. Top apple mixture with the chopped butter. Top with the crumble. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until golden brown and you can see the butter/apple juices bubbling.
Notes
If you serve this immediately out the oven, the juices make it look like a waterfall of cinnamon sugar when you cut into the pie. To prevent this, make the night before and allow to cool overnight in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Thanksgiving food, Fall food, Dessert
