Mom's Easy Apple Pie

Square overhead shot of a baked easy apple pie recipe.

4.98 from 35 votes

Warm apple pie with spiced Granny Smith apples and a store-bought flaky crust. Easy enough for a weeknight dessert but special enough for holidays!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple pie, easy apple pie, easy apple pie recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Cooling 2

Total Time 3 10

Servings people

Calories 323kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Equipment

9-inch glass pie plate

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 (14.1 ounce) box refrigerated pie crusts (I use Pillsbury brand, which has 2 crusts in each box)
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water)
Optional: coarse sugar (for topping)

For the Filling

6 cups peeled, thinly sliced Granny Smith apples (about 5-6 apples; approximately 2 lbs. before peeling and slicing)
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
Optional for serving: vanilla ice cream or whipped cream; caramel sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring the refrigerated pie crusts to room temperature. Unroll 1 pie crust. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crust so that it's about 1/4-inch wider all the way around (you can skip this step if you don't want to bother with rolling, but it makes the crust easier to seal and pinch together with the top crust later). Press the crust it into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Cover and chill for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the filling (the cold pastry will yield an flakier crust).
In a large bowl, toss together all of the filling ingredients.
Transfer the filling to the pie plate. Brush the edge of the bottom crust with an egg wash.
Unroll the second pie crust and place it on top of the apples. If there's a lot of extra dough hanging over the edge on the top crust, you can trim some of that excess dough off. Press the top crust to the edge of the bottom crust so that the two crusts are completely sealed around the edges.
Tuck any excess dough under and crimp the edges with your fingers or with a fork.
Brush the top of the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar (this step is optional, but gives the crust a nice shine and some great texture). Cut a few slits in the top of the pie (to allow the steam to vent).
Bake for 38-45 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown. After about 15-17 minutes, check the crust and cover the edges with foil or a pie shield if they're getting dark. At about the 30-minute mark, you may need to cover the entire top of the crust loosely with foil to prevent burning.
Cool the pie on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Video

Notes

I have since learned that "Mom's" apple pie recipe is adapted from a Pillsbury recipe that she got many years ago -- but in my mind, Mom deserves all of the credit! We've also updated the recipe with a few extra tips so that it comes out perfectly every time.

Use firm-flesh apples like Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Braeburn, Fuji, or a combo of these.

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

Keep a close eye on the pie while it's in the oven, and cover the crust edges with foil or tent the top loosely with foil to avoid excessive browning.

Nutrition