Make Ahead
Truly Scrumptious Apple Pie
Popular on Food52
124 Reviews
Shortrib
October 12, 2020
Great with the mix of apples! Made it vegan for a friend by using shortening only for the crust, dotting with margarine and skipping the wash. Mine took 60 mins to get bubbly and needed a foil tent to prevent burnt crust. Delicious.
kimc11
October 2, 2020
I had trouble with the crust as it was too thin and difficult to work with so I made a lattice pie and it turned out great!
jpriddy
November 28, 2019
Any combination of apples improves the overall success of the bake. This recipe has a nice combination of tart, sweet, and structure. Sometimes I will add dried cherries or cranberries for color and to add another layer of flavor.
Bar K.
March 23, 2019
I am not a baker. I’ve not made many apple pies and few successfully. Those I made tasted good but did not “come together” as a proper pie. This recipe is fantastic. I learned from making it and found that the 3 different types of apples were genius and the whole thing worked out great. I’ve saved it for future use. Thanks!!!!
Marilyn L.
December 25, 2018
I’m up late making pies on Christmas Eve (it’s 1 a.m. in California) and I wish I would have gone with my trusted version of this Julia pie dough made either in a food processor or bowl/pastry cutter. I don’t understand how people had success with pie dough in a stand mixer. By the time the hard-as-rocks shortening melts enough to incorporate, the butter is overincorporated. I am left with giant chunks of shortening in a dough that is overworked and whose butter has all melted. I’m just going to bake it the way it is because I don’t have enough butter to start over and also my KitchenAid stand mixer started shooting sparks at me (it’s really old) and tonight is not going well. This is my first Food52 recipe and I don’t think I’ll try another.
SPark0101
November 10, 2018
Really delicious - the fruit to spices and flour ratio was perfect and although i used slightly different Apple varieties, the method and mix was tasty. I used a different crust recipe but plan to try this one next time.
Crispy
December 26, 2016
Rave reviews from the Christmas crowd at a friend's house. I had to cheat just a little since I don't have a food processor and used a Trader Joe's pie crust (frozen) but look forward to making this crust in the future. Also used a little less sugar and added a dash of Allspice. Will definitely make it again!
Kate S.
November 10, 2016
I made this pie last month for Thanksgiving (I live in Canada) and the reviews were great from family and friends. I'm not a pie expert, but I've been told by several friends/connoisseurs, that the pastry is "perfect". I'm making a few more pies this weekend as I've had several requests to repeat the magic. As far as I'm concerned, this is now my go-to apple pie recipe.
RB
April 10, 2016
This is a keeper. Made this twice already. At both times, very well received. Thanks too for the reference to the all-butter crust. Added 2 tbsps of vodka to the ice water and the crust turned out super flaky :)
NotTooSweet
November 27, 2015
GREAT crust - the best I've made. My husband prefers a tarter apple so I used all Granny Smith. That was the only change I made and it was a delicious pie! This is now my good to crust recipe and apple pie recipe. Thanks mrslarkin!
Scarlet
November 27, 2015
I made this yesterday, using an all butter crust recipe (Smitten Kitchen). The crust was awesome (very proud as it was my first!). The filling tasted great, but did not get thick & bubbly. There was more liquid than I would like. My assumption is this is caused by the apples used (granny, Fuji, and honeycrisp). I bought the Granny, but the others we already had, my husband is not fond of Golden Delicious or Macintosh. When cooked, do those disintegrate more? Do they have more fiber? I really liked the recipe & taste, but would like to get the filling thicker.
mrslarkin
November 27, 2015
Hi Scarlet! Yes, macs and Goldens are a softer apple. Honeycrisps are super juicy; a better eating apple, imho. Fujis are better eating apples, too. I made a pie yesterday using Opals, Cortlands, Pink Lady, and something else. It was delicious! Good luck next time!
Nicole L.
November 27, 2015
I have the same issue, the filling is more soupy than I prefer. I added about at tablespoon of cornstarch the second one time around and let the apples sit over night with spices and sugar to loosen then up because the first time they were too crunchy to my liking. Hoping the 3rd time I make this pie the filling would be a thicker consistency. All in all I love this recipe especially the crust
Jade
October 4, 2015
I'm a complete novice at this. When you say to slice the apples thin, how thin do you mean?
mrslarkin
October 5, 2015
hi Jade! if you look at the picture up top (3 of 8) you'll get a better idea. It's about a good 1/4" to 1/2" slice. Or you can do chunks. Doesn't matter, really. It's all tasty. Don't sweat it! (I'm not really sure why I ever specified thin, because lately I've been doing sorta chunky, and it's delish!)
Josie M.
January 13, 2015
This pie was great, however I made a few changes. I used lard instead of vegetable shortening, used 100% goldrush apples (highly recommended), and left out all but a dash of the nutmeg. Fantastic!
Jelena
December 29, 2014
I was wondering what is the benefit of using butter and vegetable shortening in the crust vs just butter?
Shelly
May 29, 2015
butter alone will cause the crust to burn quickly or brown to fast. Nobody wants a burnt crust yuck!
Christie
October 27, 2015
That's not exactly true...I've used a 100% butter pie crust for years, and have never had burning problems--not even once. If you keep the butter cold, the crust will be flaky and taste delicious. Smitten Kitchen has a good tutorial.
Vick
November 24, 2014
I've had the pleasure of eating mrs Larkins apple pie. We ordered one for Christmas dinner last year and it was a hit! This is THE quintessential apple pie.
mrslarkin
November 23, 2014
I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone making this pie this week. Hope you all enjoy!
Ian
November 17, 2014
When making the pie crust should I use frozen butter that I always have stored in my freezer, or would it be to hard and won't work in when using the stand mixer.
mrslarkin
November 18, 2014
Ian, take the butter out of the freezer for 5 minutes or so, or transfer to fridge the day before. Then it will be just right.
terrytj
November 13, 2014
How can I best make the crust if I don't own a food processor?
mrslarkin
November 13, 2014
You can cut the butter in with a fork, or a pastry blender, or two knives. Or your fingers, even, then chill the flour/ butter mixture before adding water.
terrytj
November 14, 2014
Thanks mrslarkin. I have successfully made pie crusts using a fork. Just needed some reassurance.
terrytj
November 14, 2014
ps If water is added after chilling, could that cause the dough to be handled too much? or is a flakey crust the result of not over mixing fat & flour?
mrslarkin
November 14, 2014
Hi Terry, I don't think adding the water to the chilled flour mixture will cause the dough to be handled to much. I do think the best advice is be gentle with your mixing when adding the water, regardless of method used. The food processor is great because it cuts the butter in super fast. I sometimes use the stand mixer with great success - again, aiming not to overmix. You want to see bits and bobs of fat, so the general idea is to not fully incorporate the fat into the flour. This is what makes the dough flaky. As the bits of fat in the dough melt when the pie is baking, it creates pockets, or layers, sort of, of air, and that's what creates the flakiness. What I sometimes do is, after laying the crust into the pie pan, stick the pan with the bottom crust in the fridge to firm up the fat a little. Then, fill your pie, top it, and bake it. You can also chill the whole assembled pie. This will also help to keep the pretty shape of your crimping. I know some folks who successfully freeze whole unbaked pies, and bake them from frozen. I have never done this, however. I hope this was helpful. Good luck!!
terrytj
November 14, 2014
Thank you so much. My mother (& her mother) made perfect pie crusts & I am still somewhat of a novice pie baker but I am determined to learn to make good crusts. These tips will help. Thanks!!
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