Food and Recipes Entertaining Ideas & Tips 24 Inviting Apple Pies for Every Fall Occasion By Southern Living Editors Updated on August 26, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Looking for a delicious apple pie recipe that will impress everyone at your table? Make your best-ever homemade apple pie using one of our tried-and-true Southern recipes. From classic to creative, we have a pie for every baker needing a staple apple pie recipe. For a quick, crowd-pleasing dessert, whip up an easy apple pie using a cast-iron skillet and refrigerated pie crust. Or, take your pie up a notch by making a flaky homemade pie crust from scratch. We've configured our favorite pie crust recipes using tasty ingredients like pecan shortbread, cornmeal, and even white cheddar cheese. Find out how to get the flakiest pie crust and the most flavorful, gooiest filling to make your apple pie the best at the bake sale. No matter which recipe you choose, you and your family will crave the sweet, buttery pastry time and time again. And remember: no slice of warm, homemade apple pie is complete without creamy, fresh, homemade ice cream. 01 of 24 Easy Skillet Apple Pie Photo: Luca Trovato Recipe: Easy Skillet Apple Pie Making an apple pie has never been so easy. Toss apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar, and spoon over a refrigerated pie crust in the cast-iron skillet. Top with another crust and bake. 02 of 24 Mini Apple Pies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Mini Apple Pies Forget forks. These mini pies take the work out of dessert and fit wonderfully into any holiday buffet spread. Though small in size, these bite-sized pies are big in flavor and have not lost any of their larger counterpart's buttery texture. 03 of 24 Apple-Bourbon Pie Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Apple-Bourbon Pie This pie is anything but ordinary. Bourbon-infused raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, apricot preserves, and toasted pecans or walnuts give this dessert a warm fall spice perfect for the holidays. The steamed apple slices help make the filling even more soft and delicious. 04 of 24 Ultimate Apple Pie Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Ultimate Apple Pie When it comes to Southern classics, look no further than Buxton Hall Barbecue in Asheville, North Carolina, for pie perfection. Luckily for us, they decided to share their secrets. Three different apple preparations—fresh, dried, and apple butter—are the key to mouth-watering pie. 05 of 24 Apple Pie Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Apple Pie Cookies Mix things up with a bite-sized dessert that tastes like a classic pie but takes far less time. These fluffy cookies are buttery, hand-held pockets that burst with apple pie flavors. Plus, each cookie has a fork-crimped edge, just like some of our favorite traditional pies. 06 of 24 Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Surprise guests with a cinnamon roll twist on this traditional fall treat. Inspired by the fan-favorite breakfast pastry, the second slice of this pie makes a great breakfast the next day. Save time by using store-bought crust and cinnamon roll dough. 07 of 24 Apple Pie Baked Apples Southern Living Recipe: Apple Pie Baked Apples Enjoy all the flavors of a warm apple pie without the finicky filling or time-consuming crust. It's pre-portioned to suit your guest list and has all the essential apple pie ingredients like brown sugar, cinnamon, and a buttery woven crust topping. Oats, pecans, and flour give the filling a nutty flavor unique to this apple-filled dessert. 08 of 24 Caramel Apple Blondie Pie Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: Caramel Apple Blondie Pie Buttery-rich layers of tender cake and caramelized apples add up to one sweet combo. The secret to the crisp, flaky crust? Baking in a cast-iron skillet on a lower oven rack. 09 of 24 Arkansas Black Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Arkansas Black Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce Keep an eye out for heirloom Arkansas Black apples for this pie. These fragrant apples continue to ripen after they are picked and transform into a nearly black hue. Granny Smith apples are a great, tasty substitute. 10 of 24 Salted Caramel-Apple Hand Pies Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Katie Jacobs Recipe: Salted Caramel-Apple Hand Pies Made with Granny Smith apples and lots of warm, seasonal spices, these miniature pies are a treat. They're tasty, easy to prepare, travel well, and conveniently hand-held. What more could you want? 11 of 24 Apple-and-Pear Cornmeal Galette Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Apple-and-Pear Cornmeal Galette This dessert is pie's low-maintenance cousin. We love galettes because they serve up all the yummy, warming flavors we love in a pie with rustic flair. Bake this recipe in the lower third of your oven, so it's golden brown on top, the apple and pear filling is tender in the middle, and the cornmeal crust is perfectly crispy at the bottom. 12 of 24 Apple Rose Tart Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Recipe: Apple Rose Tart While we think that all apple pies are stunning, none are quite as well suited to impress as this beauty. Honeycrisp apple slices are flavored and softened with lemon juice, cinnamon, cardamom, and sugar to form a gorgeous rose design. Give the apple slices time to sit in the lemon juice mixture. Softer apples are easier to use. 13 of 24 Blackberry-Apple Butter Pie Bars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Blackberry-Apple Butter Pie Bars Why choose between a pie and a cookie when bar desserts exist? This delicious sheet pan pie bar is delightful, with fresh blackberries and homemade apple butter made in the slow cooker. Get all the pie flavoring in a hand-held treat. 14 of 24 Salted Irish Cream Apple Crostata Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Salted Irish Cream Apple Crostata The only thing better than a warm slice of Salted Irish Cream Apple Crostata is a warm slice of Salted Irish Cream Apple Crostata with vanilla ice cream and a glass of Irish cream. This recipe by Dallas-based food stylist, Jerrelle Guy, uses pastry dough put through the food processor for a crust that is buttery and crumbly like a biscuit. 15 of 24 Apple Pie with Salted Pine Nut Streusel Ann Pittman Recipe: Apple Pie with Salted Pine Nut Streusel Salted pine nut streusel is the cherry on top of a good apple pie. The recipe calls for pine nuts, but you can substitute them with any nuts you prefer. This sweet and crunchy topping is gluten-free, too. 16 of 24 Mini Cinnamon-Apple Pies David Malosh; Prop Styling: Robyn Glaser; Food Styling: Maggie Ruggiero Recipe: Mini Cinnamon-Apple Pies How did we fit all of those sweet and tart flavors into such tiny packages? By cooking down Granny Smith apples with all our favorite seasonal spices and layering the mixture into our favorite pie crust cut into bite-sized portions. These cute, miniature pies have it all. 17 of 24 Caramel Apple-Pear Pie Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Caramel Apple-Pear Pie This picture-perfect, knock-out pie teams up pears and apples drizzled with caramel sauce. Though apples are usually the fruit stars of the season, tender Bartlett pears shine bright alongside Honeycrisp apples. Use store-bought caramel sauce to save time, or try a homemade version. 18 of 24 Old-Fashioned Apple Pie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Old-Fashioned Apple Pie As its name implies, this double-crusted dessert will remind you of traditional Thanksgiving apple pie. This nostalgic recipe is the product of an attempt to recreate a Southern grandma's long-lost recipe, and boy, are we thankful for this restoration. Thinly sliced Granny Smith or McIntosh apples fit perfectly in this buttery, flakey crust. 19 of 24 Apple Crumble Pie Micah A. Leal Recipe: Apple Crumble Pie This recipe sings with all the traditional apple pie flavors you've been craving but with a few lovely additions to set it apart from the pack. You won't be able to get enough of the pecan and brown sugar crumble topping. Plus, you can prepare it in about half the time of traditional apple pie. 20 of 24 Granny Smith Apple Pie Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns Recipe: Granny Smith Apple Pie Roasted Granny Smith apples are the wow factor in this seemingly humble pie. Don't be fooled by its typical apple pie appearance. This version's deep, caramelized flavor is second to none. 21 of 24 Disney World Apple Pie Walt Disney World Recipe: Disney World Apple Pie Hailing from the most magical place on Earth, this pie has a fascinating secret. It's more like a pie inside a cake. This non-traditional recipe from Disney's Wilderness Lodge will put a smile on your face. 22 of 24 Apple Pie with Rye Crust and Cider Caramel Johnny Autry; Food Styling: Keia Mastrianni; Prop Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Apple Pie with Rye Crust and Cider Caramel Complex, intriguing flavors are at the essence of this game-changing apple pie. It's got a rye-spiked crust and cider caramel for a fruity dessert that's just the right amount of not-too-sweet. Make sure to use fresh-pressed apple cider for the caramel. 23 of 24 Skillet Caramel Apple Pie Photo: Stephen DeVries, Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Skillet Caramel Apple Pie Set aside your usual pie plate in favor of your trusty cast-iron skillet. This swap goes the distance to ward off soggy bottoms and ensure a crisp bottom crust. For the crispiest results, refrigerate your skillet after adding the bottom crust. 24 of 24 Apple Pie Cake Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Apple Pie Cake Mash-up apple pie dessert is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser. Rather than fussing with a pie crust, this recipe surrounds delicious apple pie filling with tender white cake. Chopped toasted pecans top this dessert for extra texture and flavoring. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit