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Easy Apple Pie Recipe: Homemade Perfection in 6 Simple Steps

This Ultimate Apple Pie Recipe combines a flaky, buttery crust with perfectly spiced apples for a dessert that’s beloved across America. With its balance of sweet and tart flavors, golden crust, and bakery-quality results, it’s no wonder apple pie continues to reign as the most popular dessert in 43 states.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert, Holiday Recipes
Cuisine: American
Calories: 285
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Pie Crust:
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 6 –8 tbsp ice water
For the Apple Filling:
  • 6 –7 cups apples Granny Smith + Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, sliced
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp cold butter cubed
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water (for egg wash)
  • Optional: sprinkle of coarse sugar

Method
 

  1. Make the crust: Combine flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in cold butter until coarse crumbs form. Add ice water gradually until dough comes together. Divide into two discs, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
  2. Prepare apples: Toss sliced apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, and zest. Let sit for 15 minutes.
  3. Roll crust: Roll one dough disc into a 12-inch circle and fit into a 9-inch pie pan. Roll out the second disc for the top crust.
  4. Assemble: Preheat oven to 425°F. Fill crust with apple mixture, dot with butter, cover with top crust, seal edges, cut vents. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle coarse sugar.
  5. Bake: Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350°F and bake 35–45 minutes until golden and bubbling. Cover edges with foil if browning too quickly.
  6. Cool: Allow pie to cool for at least 3 hours before slicing for clean cuts and set filling.

Notes

For best results, use a mix of tart Granny Smith and sweet Honeycrisp apples. Always let the pie cool fully before slicing to prevent a runny filling. To avoid soggy bottom crusts, bake on the lower oven rack for the first 15 minutes.