This classic fall pie features tender, juicy, spiced apples, a flaky crust and a cinnamon and sugar crumble topping.
Your family will love this tasty apple pie which is pretty easy to make and bake. Personally, I love the flaky, buttery crust, cinnamon-spiced apples, and delectable crumb topping so much!
It tastes good alone or served with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Apples are one my favorite fall foods to bake with. There is just so much you can do with fresh or canned apples. Some of my favorite desserts happen to be this Apple Dessert Pizza, this Apple Spice Cake, and these Stove top Caramel Apples.
My go-to pie recipe is normally this Apple Pie made with Store bought Crust, but my husband requested my Apple Crumble Pie.
But, not every apple is created equally. Sure, they are all tasty to enjoy alone, but some bake up better than others.
Best apples for this recipe
For this apple crumb pie, the best apples to use that are perfectly tart, and crisp are Granny Smith apples. They are not a sweet apple by nature and are on the sour side. However, they are balanced perfectly with cinnamon and sugar making them my favorite choice.
If Granny Smith apples are not available, I also love to bake with Macintosh Apples. These are much more tender and sweeter, but they cook down quickly.
Best apple thickness for pies
Chances are you might have an apple wedger on-hand. If so, that is great, but I find the chunks to be too thick. The easiest way to get them to about 1/2″ thick is to wedge your apple, and then cut the slices in half once more. If you want your slices 1/4″ thick simply cut them to size. I prefer a chunkier apple slice.
By having your slices the same thickness, they will cook more uniformly and bake up to a perfect texture and consistency.
Apple crumb topping tips
Crumble toppings are typically made with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, maybe nutmeg, flour, and butter. I decided to add walnuts to my crumble for a tasty, crunch texture. Walnuts are my favorite even though I di have a mild allergy to them.
When you mix the crumble with walnuts, it provides a really delicious nutty, buttery, cinnamon-spiced crumble topping.
Using a store bought crust
One of my favorite quick tips when I bake apples pies is using a store-bought crust. A refrigerated or frozen pie crust can be a lifesaver. They bake up just as flaky and buttery and can be doctored a little to taste even better.
I lined a 9″ ceramic pie plate with one refrigerated crust. I suggest gently spraying the pan before adding the crust so the pie is easier to remove once cooled.
Crumble ingredients
Flour- all purpose flour is the base of the crumble and will create a delicious texture and flavor.
Butter- you will need unsalted for this recipe. This will wet the ingredients to help form the crumble and provide the buttery flavor.
Cinnamon- this enhances the flavor of the crumble and provides a sweet and spicy taste of goodness.
Walnuts- these can be omitted but I love a good crunch factor in my desserts. Nuts provide a deep, earthy flavor when added to a crumble mixture. You can use chopped pecans if you do not have walnuts, but walnuts are cheaper.
Baking tips
This pie initially cooks at a higher temperature for the first 20 minutes of baking time. I put my pies on a baking sheet just in case any filling overflows. The pan catches the mess.
After the first 20 minutes, the oven temperature is lowered. I then use a silicone pie shield to cover the pie edges. This protects them from over browning in the oven. If you do not have a pie shield, you can wrap the crust in aluminum foil strips which will serve the same purpose.
This pie needs to be fully cooled at room temperature for quite a few hours. The least amount of time would be 2 hours, but the best amount of time before slicing would be 4 hours.
Using a pie spatula is best to scoop out triangle pieces. This pie is messy and will not be picture picture as you can see from my images.
Whipped cream topping or a scoop of vanilla ice cream will make for a delicious apple pie ala mode dessert.
You do not need to refrigerate apple pie. This pie can be stored at room temperature in a pie keeper, or properly wrapped for 2 days. You can refrigerate it and enjoy it for up to 4 days when covered properly.
More apple desserts
- Cream Cheese Danish
- Mini Puff Pastry Apple Pies
- Crescent Roll Apple Danish
- Caramel Apple Latte
- Apple Donut Slices
- Mulled Spiced Cider
Apple Crumble Pie
Equipment
- 9" pie dish
Ingredients
- 14.1 ounces pie crust refrigerated variety, 1 single crust
- 6 large Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, sliced to 1/2" thick
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsps lemon juice
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tbsps. butter diced cold
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup light Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spray a 9" pie dish with nonstick spray and line the pan with your pie crust. Crimp the edges.
- Peel, wedge/core apples to 1/2" thickness. Add them to a large bowl.
- Add cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, and lemon juice directly to the apple slices bowl and toss.
- Pack the pie crust with the spiced apples. Add the tiny cubed butter pies around the apples in a scattered method.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, softened butter, cinnamon, walnuts, and sugars. With clean hands, work mixture into a crumble. The pieces should be a a little larger than peas.
- Bake pie on a baking dish on the middle rack for 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Reduce oven temp to 375, add a pie crust shield to pie and return to the oven to bake another 30 minutes.
- Allow pie to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. It is better to wait a full 3-4 hours though. Enjoy!
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