Equipment
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling Pin
- 9-inch pie pan
Ingredients
Pie Dough (makes 2 crusts)
- 385 g all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
- 28 g sugar (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 pinches fine salt
- 285 g butter cold, not frozen, cut into cubes of different sizes (about 1 ¼ cups)
- 115 g water ice cold (about ⅔ cup)
- 1 tbsp vodka vinegar is fine replacement
Apple Pie Filling
- 6 cups diced apples half granny smith apples, half honeycrisp apples, about 6 medium apples
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 4 tbsp potato starch
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
- 1 pinch ground cloves a very tiny pinch (just your index finger and thumb)
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ cups water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
Make pie dough
- In a liquid measuring cup, add ice and the fill up with water (about 1 cup) and add the vodka. Don't weigh anything right now. This is just to get the water-vodka mixture super cold before you weigh it.1 tbsp vodka
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, salt.385 g all-purpose flour, 28 g sugar, 2 pinches fine salt
- Add cubes of butter and toss until all of the butter is coated.285 g butter
- Using your hands, gently flatten the pieces of butter into the flour. You want some pieces between the size of a marble and a grape and some completely flattened.
- Once your mixture has about 50/50 large pieces to flat pieces of butter massaged into the flour, weigh or measure out the water.115 g water
- Make a well in the center of the mixture. Don't pour all of the water at once. Start by pouring in about ½ cup of the vodka-water mixture. Use a fork and gently work the flour into the water until it is mostly hydrated.
- Add 1-2 tbsp of water to the drier parts of the dough at a time, mixing in between.
- Repeat 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough has reached a shaggy consistency.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and gently knead until it holds together.
- Press the dough into a square, about 1½ inches thick, and then cut it in half lengthwise.
- Cut the two halves into 4 quarters each.
- Create 2 stacks, each 4 quarters high.
- Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap. Set a stack of dough in the center and wrap loosely. Repeat for the second stack.
- Use a rolling pin and roll out the covered dough until it is about 1½ inches thick. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
Make pie filling
- In a medium saucepan, toss apples with lemon juice.6 cups diced apples, 1 tbsp lemon juice
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk sugars, potato starch, salt, and spices together.½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 4 tbsp potato starch, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ⅛ tsp ground ginger, ⅛ tsp ground allspice, 1 pinch ground cloves, ½ tsp salt
- Add the mixture to the apples. Add the water and stir to combine. Turn on the heat to medium and heat until glossy and bubbling.2½ cups water
- Cook about 10–15 min until thick and gooey. Stir in butter and vanilla. Cool slightly.2 tbsp salted butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Roll out bottom pie crust
- Remove 1 disc of pie dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap and place on a clean work surface dusted lightly with flour. Dust the top side of the dough lightly with flour.
- Roll out the dough into a circle about ⅛- ¼ inch thick. You might have to dust the surface lightly with flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking.
- Fold one-third of the dough into the center.
- Fold the other one-third over the top.
- Fold the shape in half by taking one end and folding it over to the other.
- Roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle about ⅛- ¼ inch thick. You might have to dust the surface lightly with flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking.
- Transfer the dough to the pie pan.
- Cut the excess dough to about ½ inch of excess.
- Fold the edges under so the pie dough edge rests on the pan edge. Place in the freezer while you prep the lattice crust.
Make the lattice crust
- Roll out the top crust using the same method of rolling into a 12-inch circle, completing the letter fold, and then rolling out into a 12-inch circle again.
- Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the dough into strips about 1"-1 ½" wide. For a standard 9-inch pie, you’ll usually want 8-10 strips.
Assemble
- Remove the pie dough from the freezer. Add the filling.
- Start with the longest strip of pie dough – lay it straight down the center of the pie. Place additional strips parallel to it, using shorter pieces toward the edges and medium-length pieces in between, spaced about ¾ to 1 inch apart. Make sure all strips run in the same direction.
- To start weaving, fold back every other vertical strip halfway across the pie. (Think: fold back strips 1, 3, 5, etc.)
- Take another long strip and lay it across the pie horizontally, right over the center.
- Then unfold the folded strips back down over the horizontal strip. Now you’ve made the first woven cross.
- Next, fold back the other set of vertical strips (the ones you didn’t fold the first time).
- Lay down a second horizontal strip about ¾ to 1 inch above the first one. Unfold the strips back over it.
- Repeat the process and continue weaving: fold back alternating strips, add a new horizontal strip, unfold back over it.
- Work your way up to the top of the pie, then repeat going down toward the bottom until the lattice is complete.
- Once the lattice is finished, trim excess dough to about a ½-inch overhang
- Press the lattice ends into the edges of the bottom crust and press together to seal
- Crimp the edges however you like: finger pinch, fork press, rope braid style or leave as-is.
- Brush the lattice with egg wash.
Bake
- Place a pie shield or aluminum foil on the edge of the crust to prevent burning.
- Bake at 400°F for 25 min.
- Remove the pie shield and bake at 375°F for 35-45 min.
- Cool the pie for 3 hours before slicing for the best set.
Notes
What do you think of this recipe?Keep scrolling for the full recipe post. Please consider Leaving a Review!You<>This Apple Pie – Your Search for the Perfect Apple Pie Ends Here
I’m just going to say it: I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to recreate the best apple pie. You know the one. That thick, gooey, almost syrupy filling with tender apple pieces and a pie crust that somehow manages to be both flaky and sturdy? The one that makes every other apple pie feel like a sad, watery disappointment?
Yeah. That one.
And after more failed attempts than I’d like to admit—soupy fillings, mushy apples, soggy crusts that looked like they gave up halfway through baking—I finally cracked it. This is the pie. The gooey, glossy apple pie that actually slices clean and tastes like it came from somewhere that charges $48 for a whole pie.
Spoiler: it did not cost $48. It cost me my dignity (temporarily) and a lot of apples.
Why This Isn’t Your Grandma’s Apple Pie
First off, even though this isn’t your grandma’s apple pie, she would definitely approve. I just had to clear up. Anyway.
Most apple pie recipes have you toss sliced apples with sugar, cinnamon, and some kind of thickener, dump them in a store-bought crust, and hope for the best. And sometimes that works fine. But “fine” isn’t what we’re going for here.
This recipe takes a completely different approach: you cook the apple mixture on the stovetop first. That means you’re building a thick, clear, glossy syrup and then folding your apples into it, cooking them just until they’re tender but still holding their shape. By the time the filling goes into the crust, it’s already perfectly thickened—no more crossing your fingers and hoping it sets during baking.
The other big difference? Diced apples instead of slices (and yes, they need to be granny smith apples). I know that sounds like a small thing, but it changes everything. Those little half-inch cubes nestle into that gooey syrup way better than slices do, and you get filling in every single bite instead of awkwardly pulling out a long, floppy apple slice and wearing it down your shirt. (Just me? Okay.)
The Frozen Butter Trick (AKA the Laziest Path to a Flaky Pie Crust)
Let’s talk about the pie crust, because it’s kind of the unsung hero here.
The grated frozen butter method is one of those techniques that sounds like it shouldn’t work as well as it does. You literally grate frozen butter on a box grater directly into the flour, and it creates these tiny butter flakes throughout the pie dough that puff up into layers when they hit the oven.
Is it a little awkward grating a stick of butter? Sure. That’s why it needs to be frozen solid when you start. Will your fingers get cold? Absolutely. But the result is a pie crust that’s flaky, tender, and requires almost zero skill to pull off.
If you can grate cheese, you can make this pie crust. The bar is literally that low.
The shortening-butter combo is intentional here, too. Butter gives you flavor and those gorgeous golden layers, while the shortening adds tenderness and makes the pie dough way more forgiving to work with. It’s basically the best of both worlds—flavor from butter, structural help from shortening. Think of shortening as the training wheels that make your pie crust look professional even when you’re still figuring things out.
Apple Varieties That Work Best
You want apples that hold their shape when cooked—nobody wants apple mush pie. Granny Smith is the classic choice for a reason: they’re tart, firm, and keep their structure beautifully. Honeycrisp works great too, with a sweeter flavor and that satisfying crunch. Braeburn, Fuji, Pink Lady are also solid picks.
My preference? A mix. Something tart like Granny Smith combined with something sweeter like Honeycrisp gives you a more complex, interesting filling. But honestly, use whatever looks good at the store. This isn’t the time to stress about finding the “perfect” apple—the filling is sweet and spiced enough that it’ll taste great regardless.
The one apple to avoid? Red Delicious. They’re mealy, they fall apart when cooked, and despite the name, they are not particularly delicious. Sorry, Red Delicious. Someone had to say it.
Potato Starch: The Secret Nobody Talks About
Here’s where things get nerdy, and I’m not sorry about it. This tip is going to change your lie (it certainly was ground-breaking for me).
Most pie recipes call for cornstarch or flour to thicken the filling, and they work fine (there’s that word again, yuck)—but they leave you with a filling that’s cloudy and kind of paste-like.
Not bad, just… not that crystal-clear, glossy, bakery-window look.
Potato starch changes the game.
It creates a gel that’s completely clear, so your filling looks like liquid amber instead of apple-flavored paste. It also has a silkier mouthfeel that just feels more luxurious. The first time I made this switch, I actually stopped and stared at the filling like a weirdo because it looked that much better.
The only thing to know about potato starch is that it thickens at a slightly lower temperature than cornstarch, so you want to whisk it into your liquid while everything is still cold and then heat it up. If you dump it into hot liquid, you’ll get lumps, and nobody wants lumpy pie filling. Nobody.
The Lattice Situation
Okay, real talk: lattice tops look intimidating, but they’re not that bad once you commit to just doing it. The pie dough is forgiving enough that even if your strips aren’t perfectly even (mine never are), the finished pie still looks gorgeous. Imperfect lattice has a rustic charm that says “I made this by hand and I’m not a robot.”
The double-crust batch is important here. A lot of recipes give you barely enough dough for a bottom crust and a few sad strips on top. This recipe gives you plenty to work with, so you can actually weave a full lattice top without stretching your dough so thin it rips. There’s nothing more frustrating than running out of dough halfway through your lattice top and having to improvise.
Ask me how I know (please, don’t).
A quick egg wash on the top of the pie before baking gives the lattice that deep golden-brown color that looks like it belongs in a bakery window. You can skip it, but your pie will look paler and less Instagram-worthy. Your call.
The Cooling Situation
I know. I know. You just baked the best apple pie you’ve ever laid eyes on, your kitchen smells incredible, and now I’m telling you to wait 3–4 hours before cutting into it.
That feels cruel, and honestly, it kind of is.
But here’s the thing: that potato starch needs time to fully set. If you cut into the pie too early, you’ll get a gooey mess that slides all over your plate instead of clean, bakery-style slices. The filling needs to cool down and firm up into that thick, gel-like consistency that holds its shape when you serve it.
Think of it this way: you didn’t spend all that time making this pie just to serve it as apple soup in a crust. Give it time. Go do something else. Take a walk. Watch a movie. Stare at the pie through the oven window and whisper encouraging things to it. Whatever you need to do.
If you absolutely cannot wait (I get it), cutting it warm will still taste incredible—you’ll just need a spoon instead of a fork.
And honestly? Warm, gooey apple pie eaten with a spoon—certainly not the worst thing in the world.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
The pie dough can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in the fridge, or frozen for up to 3 months. If you freeze the pie dough, thaw it overnight in the fridge before rolling. The filling can also be made a day ahead—just store it in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before assembling so you’re not putting cold filling into your crust and messing with the bake time.
Leftover pie (if such a thing exists in your house) keeps well covered at room temperature for a day or two, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, pop individual slices in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes. The microwave works in a pinch, but the pie crust will lose some crispness—which is the trade-off for instant gratification.
What to Serve Alongside
A warm slice of this easy apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is basically a religious experience.
The contrast between the cold, creamy ice cream and the warm, spiced filling is the kind of thing that makes people close their eyes and go quiet for a second. That’s how you know it’s good.
The Bottom Line
This pie took me a lot of tries to get right, and I’m weirdly proud of that. Every soupy failure and every overcooked crust taught me something, and the result is an apple pie recipe that I genuinely believe makes a better homemade apple pie than you can buy at most bakeries.
Is it more involved than just dumping apples in a crust and hoping for the best? A little. But the stovetop filling method means you’re in control the whole time—no more guessing whether the filling will set, no more watery first slices, no more apologizing for the pie while people politely eat it anyway.
Make this for Thanksgiving. Make it for a Tuesday. Make it because you have apples and feelings and a box grater. Whatever your reason, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
And when someone inevitably asks if it’s from Marie Callender’s, just smile and say, “Nope. Better.”