Easiest Apple Pie Ever
Have 15 minutes of time to spare? Bake some apple pie! This quick and easy apple pie recipe has been handed down from my grandma, to my mom, and now to me. Keep reading for the easiest apple pie ever!
If you’ve found yourself at home more often lately, what better way to spend it than baking the ultimate comfort food? Apple pie!
Whether you’re alone at home or trying to keep your kiddos entertained, this is a surprisingly simple project even for inexperienced bakers. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this post for the video tutorial to see me and Mom of All Trades back in my old kitchen in Seattle.
Why I Love This Recipe
I learned to bake as a toddler, sitting on my grandma’s countertop, likely making way more of a mess than actually helping. She let me cut the apples with a butter knife and she let me stir the flour and the butter together with a fork.
My mom and I have carried on the tradition of baking together, and our times together in the kitchen are my absolute favorite thing in the world. Especially in tough times, it’s memories like those I cling to. To that end, I wanted to share our homemade apple pie process with you all as well. Don’t be intimidated, just try it! Even ugly pies still taste good :)
My mom shares her wisdom that pie is a very basic recipe (as long as you don’t try to complicate it!) and everyone should try their hand at baking pie at least once.
Best Apples for Apple Pie
I love that apple pie is a great way to use up bruised or marked-up apples that won’t do well for long-term storage. If our “ugly” apples aren’t being used for pressed cider, they’re getting used for pie!
Depending on your taste preference, you can choose to make your apple pie from a singular apple, or a combination of apples. The best apple pie, in my opinion, is the apple pie you actually make, so don’t let yourself get too hung up on the right apple variety. They’ll all taste delicious, but you can mix and match, or make a bunch and find your favorite!
Ingredients
The beauty of apple pie is that it requires very few ingredients, all of which many kitchens already have on hand.
crust
1 1/2 cup flour - All-purpose flour is best.
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter - room temperature works best, but if it’s still a bit cold that’s better than too soft (this is an updated amount from the recipe card above… trust me, more butter is never a bad thing!).
Ice cold water - the amount will vary, add to your crust one tablespoon at a time.
Filling
5-6 medium apples - You may need more or less, depending on the size.
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
How to Make Apple Pie
Peel and slice the apples
The first thing you’ll want to do, after bringing your apples in and giving them a quick wash, is to peel and slice the apples. Mom of All Trades suggests about 12 slices for a medium-sized apple. Again, don’t get hung up on precision!
make the dough
In a large bowl, cut the butter into your flour with a fork or pastry cutter until all pieces of the butter are no larger than your pinky nail (roughly the size of a pea).
Once the butter is incorporated, slowly drizzle your ice-cold water, one tablespoon at a time, into the dough while continually mixing.
As soon as the dough begins to form a ball, stop adding water. The best tip for pie crust is to not overwork the dough!
At this point, you can divide the dough in half and wrap each ball in plastic wrap, then place it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake or move on to the next step.
roll out the dough
Taking one half of your dough, on a well-floured counter, roll it out to a circle just larger than your pie pan.
PRO TIP: Don’t be too precious about the shape or “prettiness” of your crust as this will just prolong the pie-making process (remember, we’re aiming for just 15 minutes of hands-on time!). If you take 45 minutes to braid the top of the crust, which I can’t even braid my hair, so you know that would take forever, then you’re not going to have pie in a hurry.
Gently fold the dough over on itself and carefully lift it into the pan. Unfold the dough and press any areas that need fixing.
Pie Filling
Dump your sliced apples into the crust-lined pan and, in a separate bowl, combine the rest of the filling ingredients (sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon), mix well then dump on top of the apples.
Roll out the second half of your pie crust, this one you can be a bit more precious about as it’s what goes on the top, but really, not too much effort is needed!
Place the top crust on and pinch around the edges to seal in all the ingredients. Sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar and then gently cut venting holes into the top.
bake
Carefully slide your pie into a preheated 350 degrees F oven and bake for about one hour, or until your kitchen starts to smell like fresh baked pie!
Allow pie to cool slightly before cutting into it, but, if you’re like me, you won’t be able to wait long!
My hope is to become like my mother, with a coffee table always open for visitors that I can serve warm apple pie, maybe a scoop or two of ice cream, and some delicious coffee while we chat the afternoon away.