Skip to content
FriendsPantry

American

Apple pie

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

A double-crust pie of flaky all-butter pastry filled with thinly sliced apples tossed in sugar, cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg, baked until bubbling and golden.

Apple pie is an American dessert, ready in about 4 hours 45 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, unsalted butter and apple. It serves 8 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A slice of apple pie on a plate
Photo: Shisma / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-4.0
Prep
40 min
Cook
1 h 5 min
Rest
3 h
Total
4 h 45 min
Serves
8
Level
Intermediate
Calories
551

Includes 1 hour chilling the pastry and 2 hours cooling the pie.

Ingredients

8 servings

For the pastry

For the filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, salt and 1 tbsp sugar (opens in a new tab). Rub or pulse in the cold butter until the largest pieces are pea-sized. Drizzle in the ice water, mixing just until the dough holds together when squeezed. Divide in two, flatten into discs, wrap and chill 1 hour.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 220 °C with a tray on the lowest shelf. Toss the apples (opens in a new tab) with 140 g sugar (opens in a new tab), the brown sugar (opens in a new tab), cornstarch (opens in a new tab), cinnamon (opens in a new tab), nutmeg (opens in a new tab) and lemon juice (opens in a new tab).

    • 15 min
    • 220°C

  3. Step 3

    Roll one disc to a 30 cm round and line a 23 cm pie dish (opens in a new tab). Pile in the apples (opens in a new tab), mounding them in the centre. Roll the second disc, lay it over, trim, crimp the edges and cut a few air vents in the top.

  4. Step 4

    Brush with beaten egg (opens in a new tab) and sprinkle with the last 1 tbsp sugar (opens in a new tab). Bake on the hot tray for 20 minutes, then lower to 180 °C and bake until the crust is deep golden and the juices bubble thickly through the vents, 40–45 minutes more.

    Cover the edges with foil if they brown too fast.

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Cool at least 2 hours so the filling sets before slicing.

    • 120 min

About this dish

Origin
Not attributed to one place · Origin disputedApple pies were baked in England and elsewhere in Europe long before America; the double-crust cinnamon version became an American icon.Also popular in United States, Canada, United Kingdom
Dish
Dessert · Desserts · Pastries
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
sweet, buttery, fruity, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-sodium
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Unsalted butter · Apple · Sugar · Brown sugar · Cornstarch
Techniques
Baking

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom unsalted butter
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

551 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 272 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 4%
  • Carbohydrate 58%
  • Fat 38%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy551 kcal202 kcal
Protein5.7 g2.1 g
Carbohydrate81.1 g29.8 g
Net carbohydrate76.1 g27.9 g
Sugars41.2 g15.1 g
Added sugars25.5 g9.3 g
Fibre5 g1.8 g
Fat24.1 g8.8 g
Saturated fat14.5 g5.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol84 mg31 mg
Sodium308 mg113 mg
Salt equivalent0.8 g0.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
232 mg
Calcium
37 mg
Iron
2.3 mg
Magnesium
19 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
207 µg
Vitamin C
8 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
129 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Visible flecks of butter in the dough are what make the pastry flaky.

Common mistakes

  • Cutting the pie hot — the juices run everywhere and the filling slumps.

Serve with

  • Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or a slice of sharp cheddar.

Storage

  • Keep covered at room temperature for 1 day, or refrigerate up to 4 days.

Reheating

  • Warm slices in a 160 °C oven for 10–15 minutes.

Variations

  • Dutch apple pie: Replace the top crust with a crumbly butter, flour and brown-sugar streusel.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Egg, beaten, for glazing1 piece · 50 g
Used in step 4

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 40 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 1 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 1 h 5 min at 180 °C

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Cool · about 2 h

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  5. Start to finish: about 4 h 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like