The best homemade apple pie recipe? Yeah, I got it, and what of it? Are you trying to buy? I will do you a solid, the recipe is free, but for the apple pie filling and the apple pie crust, you will have to pay for that. Do not worry too much about it, though, the deliciousness is well worth it.

How The Best Homemade Apple Pie Dessert Came To Be

Transparency is key, so let me give you all the keys to my inner soul. Right now, my soul wants me to tell you guys that I have never been the biggest fan of apple pies.

In fact, if you were to ask me about apple pies, I would tell you that they are overrated. Yes, I said it, while I am telling you all to try the best homemade apple pie recipe in the world.

Top-flight apple pie of the world, Craig! Let me relax, it is not even Friday yet.

In my defense, I am not big on pies at all, unless it is a pizza pie, shout to my delicious pepperoni pizza and my amazing spicy chipotle pizza.

Outside that, I adored my Grandmother’s berry pie, which I have concluded that her pies were so good because she put love in every single bite. It also helped that she grew the berries herself, so you can imagine how delicious a pie is with fresh berries.

Speaking of fresh and Grandmothers, using granny smith apple combined with the right ingredients is so good as an apple pie filling.

Once that warm filling hit that crispy apple pie crust, man, that pie be on point!

Off subject, but I think granny smith apple uses the word “granny” because those are the best apples for apple pie, and I am sure whoever reading this Granny knows or knew how to make it.

That is my logic.

What Apples Are Best For Apple Pies And Apple Pie Crust?

For the best homemade apple pie recipe, granny smith apples were used, so I am going to say that they are the best apples to use, but do not just take my word for it, try them yourself.

If you have tried granny smith apples as an apple pie filling in your apple pie crust, and it didn’t work out, then do not stress over that.

Should You Cook Apples Before Putting In Apple Pie Crust?

The first time I made this recipe, I came across an obstacle. Let me give you an idea of my method to create a new recipe.

If I am creating a recipe for something I have not made before, I typically go through multiple recipes in order to get an idea of how to cook the meal at hand.

Additionally, I like adding my own twist to the dish, giving the recipe a unique feel.

The way I create this twist is by looking at the main ingredients needed for the recipe, then combining that with ingredients that I feel are compatible with those main components.

Do not mind me, I just got a little off track. Anyway, the first time I created this recipe, I had trouble getting the apple filling to be nice and soft. The apple crust would be cooked, but the actual apple was still hard.

This is due to not cooking the apple pie filling beforehand, yet every homemade apple pie recipe I came across said to not cook the apple pie filling before you put the pie in the oven.

However, based on my experience, the best way to cook your apple pie is to cook the apple pie filling before you add it to your apple pie crust.

How Do You Cut Apples For Apple Pie?

The first thing you need to do is peel the apples, unless you like the apple skins in your apple pie. You may be too lazy to peel the apple skins and that is your business, I will not get involved in that.

After you peel, or not peel the apple, use a knife to slice up the apple. There is no particular way to slice the apple, however, I would recommend avoiding cutting the core. I just cut the sides of the apple.

Once the sides are cut, I dice that part of the apple up into small pieces. Again, If you do not want to cut the apples into small pieces, that are okay. Do whatever will work best for you.

Should I Bake The Bottom Apple Pie Crust First?

No, you do not have to bake your bottom apple pie crust first. I am sure there are apple pie recipes that tell you to bake the pie crust first, but it is not necessary if you do not want to use that cooking method.

Honey Crisp Apples For Your Apple Pie Filling Will Work?

Although this recipe uses granny smith apples, honey crisp apples are a great substitute to use for the apple pie filling.

Honey crisp apples have the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness, making them incredibly compatible with the rest of the ingredients that will go in the best homemade apple pie.

Making The Best Homemade Apple Pie Recipe

Servings: 8

Apple Pie Filling:

3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
30 oz Granny Smith Apples, Peeled and Sliced (About 6 Medium Sized Granny Smith Apples)
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/8 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/4 Tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 Cup Warm Water

Apple Pie Crust:

2 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
3/4 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Ice Water

Pie Crust Equipment:

Stand Mixer, Hand Mixer, or Dough Blender
Marble Pastry Slab
Marble Rolling Pin
Plastic Wrap
Glass Pie Pan
Autumn Leaves Pie Cutters

Pie Filler Equipment:

Skillet
Spatula
Lid

Cooking The Apple Pie Filling

Put all the ingredients into a skillet. Stir the ingredients, then cover the skillet with a lid. With the lid, cook the apple pie filling for an hour and 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and get ready to put the apple pie filling into a pie crust.

Making The Easy Homemade Pie Crust Dough

while the apple pie filling is cooking, place all the ingredients into a stand mixer and mix the ingredients on a medium speed for a few minutes.

After the ingredients are mixed together, sprinkle some flour on a clean cool surface and use that surface to form two even sets of pastry dough.

Once the sets are formed into two round balls, wrap each pastry dough in plastic wrap, then place them in the freezer to chill for about 30 minutes.

Making The Apple Pie Crust

Creating Your Pie Crust

Take one pastry dough out of the freezer, then use your rolling pin to roll it out into a flat disk.

Now, place that flat pastry disk into a glass pie pan, then place it in the fridge to prevent your pie crust from getting warm.

Creating The Top Layer Of Your Pie

Now remove the last pastry dough from the freezer and divide the dough into two portions, with one portion containing an estimate of about 75% of the pastry dough and the other contain an estimate of about 25%.

After separating the dough into the portions noted above, flattened out the 75% pastry dough portion into a round disk.

Now, using a pastry cutter, pizza cutter, or even a knife, cut the disk into strips and set these strips aside.

So finally, roll out the last portion of the pastry dough (the portion with 25%) then use your pie cutters or pie stamps to create your decorations.

Assembling Your Pie

Remove your pie crust from the fridge, add the apple pie filler, then continue by adding the top layer to the pie.

When creating the top layer of the pie, the strips will overlap one another. Once that is done, decorate the top layer by adding your decorations to the top of the pie.

The pie will cook at 400F° for an hour.

The Best Homemade Apple Pie!

When you finish cooking the greatest apple pie, it is only right to eat it.