Do you have family recipes that have been handed down? My teenage niece Hana and I have made this deep dish apple pie many times for Thanksgiving. So many times that we’ve dubbed it “Hana’s Apple Pie”. She loves it and I hope she’ll make it for her own family gatherings someday. What I love about this pie is that it only has a single crust and the top is a crumb topping. I’d rather eat a sweet, crackly crumb topping than have more crust. Ya feel me? I also tend to use more tart apples as a contrast to all that sweetness, enhancing it with lemon zest and juice.
Prep in advance for your apple pie this Thanksgiving!
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The great thing about this recipe is that two-thirds of it can be made ahead. The pie crust and topping can be made two days in advance and kept in the fridge. The pie dough can also be made months earlier and kept frozen. Just thaw it out overnight in the refrigerator. What I love to do is make the crust, chill, roll it out and crimp it in the pie pan.
Wrap it well and store in the fridge. Also, have the crumb filling ready too. Then, right before baking, all you have to do is peel and slice apples. You can bake the pie in the morning and allow it to cool. It’s tempting to cut into a hot pie but it’s best to let it chill out and allow the filling to set up. Otherwise, you’ll just have a runny mess of apples when you slice into it.
What type of apples should you use?
There are many good varieties of apples for baking. You should definitely use ones that are specifically good for cooking. Here are some apples I like to use: braeburn, granny smiths, jonagold, honeycrisp, mutsu, winesap, cortland and pink lady. They all have varying degrees of tartness, crispness and sweetness. In this recipe, I mainly use granny smiths along with something sweeter like pink lady. I like a tart apple pie but if you do not, use another apple or mix and match. It’s up to you!
Whatever type of pie your family likes, I hope you’ll give this one a try! There’s always room for another pie on the Thanksgiving table. What’s your favorite pie for Thanksgiving? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to know!
Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
Ingredients
For the Pie Dough (makes 1 single pie crust)
- 1 ¼ cups (170g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, cold (cut into small pieces)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water, ice cold
For the Crumb Topping
- ½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup ( 85g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For the Pie
- 2 ¼ pounds (1135g) baking apples (*see note below) about 10-12 small
- ¾ cup (160g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Method
Make the Pie Dough
- In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and salt. (If making by hand, whisk to combine in a medium bowl.)
- Add butter to the flour mixture. Pulse until butter resembles small, pea-sized shapes. (To make by hand, rub butter into the flour between your fingers or use a pastry blender.)
- While pulsing the food processor, gradually add the cold water until mixture is a cornmeal consistency. Squeeze a little of the mixture in your hands. It should hold together easily. If not, add a tablespoon of water at a time and pulse until it does. (If making by hand, stir with a fork while adding water.)
- Dump the mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Press mixture into a flat, round disk and wrap well. Chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge or 30 minutes in the freezer before rolling out.
Make the Crumb Topping
- Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor (or a medium bowl if making by hand). Pulse until mixture resembles small pebbles in sand, about 18-20 quick pulses. (If making by hand, rub butter into the flour between your fingers or use a pastry blender.) Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Assemble the Pie
- Roll out pie crust on well-floured surface to a circle larger than the top diameter of your pie pan. Gently place in pie pan and trim edge (if needed) so there is a 1 inch overhang. Tuck edge under and crimp pie crust, as desired. Place in fridge to re-chill while prepping the apples.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice apples about ¼ inch thick. Combine apples with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon and salt. Toss to coat well. Let sit at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon or hands, arrange apples in pie crust, fitting apples slices in tightly and neatly without gaps. This will ensure the filling won’t have air pockets and collapse. Disregard any excess juices in the bowl.
- Spoon crumb topping evenly over the apples (it may seem like a lot). Bake on a rimmed sheet pan (to catch drips) for about 1 hour or until golden brown and bubbling. Lower heat to 325 degrees if browning too quickly. Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.
Notes
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This looks so delicious! Going to try this for Thanksgiving!
Let me know what you think!! I’m making three of these today 😲. 2 for my family and one for my partner’s family.
This pie looks so delicious! I’ll definitely have to make this pronto!!
Thanks for checking it out! I hope you do try it sometime. 🙂