Christmas

Cast-Iron Skillet Apple Crumb Pie

Name: Cast-Iron Skillet Apple Crumb Pie
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: For the Crust:; 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into about ½-inch cubes; 4 to 8 tablespoons ice water; For the Filling:; 6 apples (I use a mixture of tart and sweet, like Granny Smith and Fuji); 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested; 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar; 1 pinch kosher salt; For the Crumb Topping:; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1/4 cup light brown sugar; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

by: juliabecker

September 13, 2021

4.5

4 Ratings

Photo by Julia Gartland

Prep time 1 hour
Cook time 1 hour 10 minutes
Serves 8 to 10

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Author Notes

I wasn't originally planning on making this in a skillet, but when it's Thanksgiving, pumpkin has claimed your one pie dish, and you're too economical (read: cheap) to buy another one, you are forced to make alterations. It turned out beautifully, though, so much so that I wouldn't serve it any other way. This is a delicious doozy of a pie; it is ooey and gooey and sweet, and stunningly rustic. Everything apple pie should be in my opinion. —juliabecker

Test Kitchen Notes

You'll love the ease and beautiful presentation of this cast-iron skillet apple pie recipe. Featuring our favorite fall flavors, such as tart and sweet apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar, this is the perfect way to end a holiday meal, but it's always fun to make any time you go to the apple orchard. The crust is wonderfully flaky thanks to the large pieces of butter (be sure to work quickly so the butter doesn't get too soft), and the crust can chill in the refrigerator while you assemble the rest of the pie. The crumbly topping really puts this recipe over the top, and all you have to do is work some butter into flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt for it to come together. Doesn't get much simpler than that, and you're going to really enjoy it.

The differences in textures, with the buttery crust, soft apples, and crunchy topping, will have all your guests raving and requesting the recipe. We highly recommend making the crust from scratch, but you can go store-bought if you're running out of time. This recipe is designed for a 12-inch skillet, but a 14-inch one would work as well, but if you have a 10-inch skillet, be sure to scale back on the ingredients a little bit. Just keep an eye on it as it bakes so nothing gets too dark. Serve the pie in the skillet for a pretty, rustic presentation. It also helps free up a pie pan if you're serving more than one pie during the holidays. —The Editors

What You'll Need

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Cast-Iron Skillet Apple Crumb Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust:
2 ¹/₂ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
³/₄ teaspoon kosher salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into about ½-inch cubes
4 to 8 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
6 apples (I use a mixture of tart and sweet, like Granny Smith and Fuji)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¹/₂ lemon, juiced and zested
³/₄ cup packed light brown sugar
1 pinch kosher salt
For the Crumb Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¹/₂ cup granulated sugar
¹/₄ cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¹/₂ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

Directions

Make the Crust: In a large bowl, mix the the flour and salt. Add the butter and, working quickly with either your hands, two knives, or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the dough until the pieces are roughly the size of peas. Some may be bigger—this will make your dough nice and flaky as it bakes. With a wooden spoon, stir in the ice water a tablespoon or two at a time, just until the mixture comes together into a workable dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press into a round. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare the pie filling and topping.
Make the Filling: Rinse, peel, and core the apples. Cut into slices about ¼ inch wide and transfer to a large bowl. Add the flour, cinnamon, lemon juice and zest, brown sugar, and salt and mix to combine.
Make the Topping: In a medium bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter and work into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Bake the Pie: Heat the oven to 400°F. On a well floured surface, roll the crust to about ⅛ inch thick. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Unroll and lightly press into the edges. Trim the edges so they are flush with rim of the skillet.
Pour the apple filling into the crust. Top with the crumb topping, mounding in the middle and lightly packing it down over the apples.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for 40 to 45 minutes more, until the apples are tender when pierced with a knife. If the topping is browning too quickly, cover the pie with foil.
Let cool until warm or room temperature.

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11 Reviews

TanyaK November 30, 2019

I just made this for thanksgiving and I think this is the best dessert recipe I’ve ever come across! Everyone was amazed :))
I did it with my 10inch skillet and so reduced all the ingredients by 1/5.
Only used 4 large apples( granny smith and fuji), 12 tbsp butter, etc....
The bottom crust was flaky yet tender, the apple pieces were soft but still had shape, and the top crumble was crunchy and soft.
I did “arrange” the apple slices a bit when i put them in the skillet just so that they were evened out and somewhat level.
I wish I could post a picture with this comment!

Tara C. November 15, 2014

Amazing! Made tonight using all Fuji apples. I usually dread making pies because of the dough, but this dough worked perfectly. Did have to add maybe 10 tbsp of water. Soooo perfect! If I'd gotten this in a restaurant I'd have been thrilled! My new go-to Apple pie recipe!!!

Tara C. December 3, 2014

Made this for the second time & it needed to be citrus free so I subbed Apple cider (6-8 tbsp.)for the lemon juice and it was just as delicious!

jackandlily September 30, 2014

This is absolutely delicious and easy. I must confess that I didn't make the crust...I used a pillsbury crust which worked fine. I'm sure not as good as homemade but I stink at making crust. I'd rather spend my time doing other things...so I made cinnamon ice cream to go with it...delicious.

Constant S. August 14, 2014

and how do I get my pie out of the skillet? (in one piece please) so I can use the skillet for the next pie, while the first one is cooling??

Gamine K. December 31, 2013

this is a fab pie~ i have used a 10 inch cast iron skillet~ way more lemon juice~ way more apples(granny and gala) and used one pre made crust on the bottom~ i lightly butter the skillet then lay in the crust.. i also use dark brown sugar in the apples and 1/2 teaspoon of 5 spice~ no added salt but use reg butter~ this is an awesome apple pie~ thanks so much!!

roberta December 24, 2013

This looks great and I'm making it now! My only question is that I needed way more than 8 tablespoons of ice water - probably closer to 12- to get my dough to even get to a shaggy phase. Is this normal/will it turn out ok? Thanks!

Bobby E. November 2, 2013

When I posted the info about the recipe being for a 12" skillet, the pie had just gone into the oven, so I hadn't tasted it yet. Oh-Em-Eff-Gee! This is the BEST apple pie I've ever had! This is easily my favorite pie now (it used to be blueberry pie). A few notes on where I diverged slightly from the recipe above - I decided to use regular salted butter, and not unsalted butter. I did cut back a bit on the amount of salt called for to make up for the salt in the butter. I will definitely continue making this pie with regular salted butter. The sweet and salty balance is PERFECT, for my tastes at least. Second, I used Honeycrisp apples, not Granny Smith or Fuji. I still cut them into 1/4" slices like the recipe said. They held up VERY nicely and as long as they're in season, I'll continue using Honeycrisp apples for this recipe as well. Finally, the only cast iron skillet I have is 14" round, so the dough didn't quite make it to the edge of the skillet. However, this was not a problem at all, since the filling spreads out more and stays under the rim of the crust, and there is plenty of crumble to cover the filling. In other words, I didn't change the amounts of anything in the recipe above for my 14" skillet. I did bake it for only 35 minutes once the oven was turned down to 350`, since the ingredients were more spread out, things cooked a teeny bit faster. I still used the full 30 minutes at 400` though.

This pie has hand's down won a place in the holiday staple desserts I'll be making for my family. 5 stars!!!!

jan H. November 2, 2013

Thanks so much for the reply-can't wait to try the recipe

Bobby E. November 1, 2013

Jan, I just used a 14" skillet, and the crust didn't quite make it up to the edges of the pan. So I assume this recipe is for a 12" skillet.

jan H. October 31, 2013

What size cast iron skillet?