How To Make The Best Macintosh Apple Pie Recipe
A classic double crust apple pie recipe from scratch with tender, cinnamon-scented Macintosh apples tucked into a flaky pie dough. Video included!
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I originally published this recipe in 2022 and have since updated the recipe with clearer instructions.
I don’t think there’s anything more beloved in the baking world than apple pie and consequently, anything more terrifying to make.
What if you mess it up and you leave everyone disappointed?!! It’s a lot of pressure.
I’m here to help. After baking possibly thousands (I never actually counted) of apple pies, galettes, and tarts as a pastry chef in San Francisco I have learned a thing or two about what kind of apples to use, to cook them first or not, and how to get that perfect crust.
I’ll walk you through step-by-step to how to make the best apple pie recipe from scratch! See my other 30 must-make apple recipes!
What Are The Best Apples To Use For Apple Pie?
If variety is the spice of life, it is also the secret to the ultimate apple pie.
I try to use at least 2 different types of apples in my apple pie filling, but three or even four is better. Each apple’s texture and sweetness adds complexity. Choose varieties that are bursting with flavor, my favorite apple to use is Macintosh apples but Pink Lady (like I use for my apple oatmeal muffins), Braeburn, Honey Crisp and Fuji also work. Stay away from mealy water bombs like Red and Golden Delicious.
I always like to add a couple of Granny Smith apples as well—they add needed tartness and bite—but too many in one pie will leave you with puckered lips. Granny Smith’s are what I use in my caramel apple pound cake too.
Ingredients For An Apple Pie Recipe From Scratch
- All purpose flour. I always use King Arthur (not sponsored, I just love them) unbleached All Purpose flour unless otherwise specified.
- Granulated sugar. I like the clean, sweetness of white sugar but you can also do half white sugar and half brown sugar.
- Kosher salt I always use Morton Kosher salt unless otherwise specified.
- Vegetable shortening, specifically Crisco. It’s the best. Also makes this pie dairy-free!
- Water
- Apples. See above for my favorite apples.
- Lemon juice. The perfect apple pie is a balance of sweet and a touch of acidity.
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground ginger
- Ground allspice
- Large egg
- Coarse sugar. Like turbinado or raw cane sugar, for decorating the top.
How To Make An Apple Pie Recipe From Scratch
step one
Make the pie dough. Stick the Crisco in the freezer about 30 minutes before you plan on making the crust. I like to use the Crisco sticks. They’re much easier to measure and cut.
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the cubes of frozen shortening and toss to coat in flour. Use a pastry cutter to cut the shortening into the dough until it mostly resembles sand with a few small pebble-size pieces of shortening here and there.
Drizzle the ice water over the mixture and gently mix in with your hands, tossing the dough with your fingers like you would toss a salad. Don’t knead the dough. Once it starts coming together, divide the dough into two pieces. Form them into disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days in advance.
step two
Make the apple filling. Chop the peeled apples into bite-sized cubes. Try to get them all the same size as possible this will help them cook evenly. Combine the apples with the remaining filling ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to coat the apples evenly.
step three
Heat the oven. Heat oven to 450°F.
step four
Roll out the dough. Place one piece of dough (leave the other in the fridge) on a lightly floured surface. Place the disk on top of the flour and sprinkle a little flour on top of the disk. Dust your rolling pin with a bit more flour. I love my French rolling pin—it’s the best.
Starting from the center of the disc work your way out in all directions, dusting the top and bottom of the dough with more flour as needed. Flip the dough if it feels like it is sticking on the bottom and sprinkle with a bit more flour. Don’t press too hard. Rotate the dough as it gets bigger to ensure even thickness all the way around.
If the edges look like they are beginning to crack, dip your fingers in ice cold water and meld them back together.
Roll the dough into a 1/4-inch-thick circle. It will be about 12-inches wide. Fold it in half then pick it up and lay it in the bottom half of a 9-inch pie plate. Flip the top of the dough up to cover the top half of the plate. Press the dough into the edges. Place in freezer while you roll out the other half of the dough.
step five
Roll out the other dough. Roll the second piece of dough the same as the first.
step six
Fill the pie. Give the filling one more stir then pour into the bottom crust. Press the apples down into the crust so there are no gaps.
Lay second piece of dough over the pie. Cut a few slits in the top to vent. Pinch the two pieces of dough together at the edge. Any dough that hangs over by more than an inch, trim off with a sharp pairing knife.
step seven
Decorate the edge and freeze. Tuck the top crust under the bottom crust to seal then create a fluted edge by pinching the dough around the pointer finger of one hand with the pointer finger and thumb of your other hand. To ensure the crust won’t loose its shape in the oven, I like to stick it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes before baking.
Beat the egg with a few drops of water and brush this egg wash all over the top of the dough and edge of the crust. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar.
step eight
Bake. Place pie pan on a parchment-covered baking sheet in the preheated oven. Bake until the top of the pie is just starting to brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and continue baking until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about another 45 minutes more. The baking time will vary depending on your oven, what type of pie plate you use, etc. Use this time as a guide give or take 20 minutes.
step nine
Cool. Remove the baked pie from the oven and let the pie cool for at least 1 hour before slicing. The longer you let it sit, the more it will set up. I think 3 hours is ideal, to really let it come to room temperature. If you really like a warm piece of pie, then you have to be okay with a juicy, runny filling.
step ten
Serve. Slice the baked apple pie and serve with vanilla ice cream and maybe even some salted caramel sauce, just like our pear cranberry crisp—oolala!
Storing and Freezing Instructions
There are several ways you can make this pie ahead of time. Here’s how to store and/or freeze this apple pie:
- Make the pie from start to finish up to a day in advance. Let cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep out on the counter.
- Like we did with our peach and raspberry pie, you can prepare the dough, wrap tightly and store in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the frozen dough completely in the refrigerator before continuing with the recipe.
- Bake the pie, let cool, wrap tightly and freeze the baked pie for up to 3 months. Thaw the pie overnight before eating.
- Assemble the pie but don’t bake it. Wrap tightly and freeze the unbaked pie for up to 3 months. Bake as directed from frozen but add 15-20 minutes to the bake time.
- Make the filling in advance. Refrigerate overnight or wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
What Makes This Apple Pie Recipe From Scratch The Best?
- This is a really good apple pie because there are layers upon layers of tender, but not mushy sweetened and perfectly spiced apples tucked into a flaky crust.
- No need to cook apples before baking the pie! Macintosh apples break down easily while baking.
- The perfect crust (this is my favorite recipe). Using Crisco ensure flakiness plus baking the pie on a hot baking sheet guarantees a crisp bottom.
- Starting out in a hot oven crisps the outside of the crust immediately giving it no opportunity to get soggy.
- Just like my nutty apple bread, it’s dairy-free! Which is a bonus when you are serving different dietary needs around the holidays.
Apple Pie FAQ’s
Can I use butter instead of shortening? Yes, there is a flavor advantage to using butter but I believe the texture from using Crisco in the finished pie crust makes the best pie (I even use it to make the pie dough for my chicken pot pie) and overrides the flavor of butter. If you want to use butter (or even 1/2 and 1/2) it’s fine. Make sure to use a cup of fat total.
Why is my crust tough? You overworked the dough. The more you handle the dough the tougher it will be. Try your best to knead it as little as possible and make sure the fat is cold and the dough is cold before rolling it out.
What kind of pie plate should I use? A classic 9-inch glass pie plate is perfect or a metal pie plate is second best.
Why is my dough crumbling and cracking? You didn’t use enough water. Start with 1/2 cup of ice water, drizzle a little in at a time while mixing. Once the dough starts holding together stop adding water. I almost always use 1/2 cup of water, sometimes a little more if it is really dry outside.
Even More Baking Recipes To Try!
- Double Chocolate Cookies
- Soft Pumpkin Cookies
- Vegan Zucchini Bread
- Dark Chocolate Espresso Brownies
- Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Iced Pumpkin Molasses Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Watch The Video!
Show Off Your Perfect Pie
Making an apple pie recipe from scratch is no walk in the park, I want to see all your hard work. When you try them, let me know how it goes by snapping a pic and tagging me on Instagram @katesbestrecipes so I can see or leave me a comment below (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating)!
Macintosh Apple Pie Recipe
Ingredients
for the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening, frozen and cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup ice water
for the filling:
- 3 1/2 pounds Macintosh and Granny Smith apples (mostly Macintosh with a couple Granny Smiths added) peeled, cored, and cut into medium dice
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
to assemble:
- 1 large egg
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
for the crust:
- Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and stir to incorporate. Add 1 cup frozen, chopped shortening and toss until the pieces are coated with flour. Using a dough cutter, cut shortening into the flour until pea-sized pieces form.
- Add ice water, a couple tablespoons at a time, and blend into dough by tossing with your fingers (don't knead the dough). Once dough starts coming together, divide into 2 equal-sized balls then flatten into compact disks. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
for the filling:
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss until apples are evenly coated.
to assemble:
- Heat oven to 450°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough into a 11 to 12-inch circle (about 1/8-inch thick), and place in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Press into plate so the dough is snug against the edge.
- Give filling a few more stirs to distribute all the juices and pour into pie shell. Press down on the filling so the apples are compact.
- Roll out remaining disk of dough the same as the first and lay over filling. Pinch the two edges of dough together and trim off any that hangs over the lip of the plate by more than 1 inch.
- Make a decorative edge by pinching sections of dough around the pointer finger of one hand with the thumb and pointer finger of the other, making little triangles as you go around the perimeter of the pie.
- With a sharp knife, make a few slits on the top of the pie to let steam escape. Place in the freezer for 15-30 minutes before baking to make sure the pie dough holds its shape.
- Beat egg with a teaspoon of plant based milk or regular milk and brush egg wash over the top of the pie. Sprinkle top with sugar if you'd like and place on a parchment covered baking sheet to catch any drips.
- Bake until just starting to turn golden, about 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F. Continue baking until crust is a deep golden brown and filling is bubbling in the middle, about 45 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Preventing a Soggy Bottom: Chilling the assembled pie before baking and starting with a hot oven helps create a crisp, flaky crust.
- Storage: Leftover pie keeps well at room temperature (covered) for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Make Ahead Tip: You can prepare both the pie dough and the apple filling up to 2 days in advance. Store the dough wrapped tightly in the fridge, and the filling in an airtight container (drain any excess juice before assembling).
- Serving Suggestions: This pie is perfect on its own, but if you want a classic touch, serve with a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream or coconut whipped cream.
Video
