Apple Crumble Pie

Flavored with the spices you've come to love in a classic apple pie, this twist takes a few liberties to set it apart from the traditional fare. Rather than covering the richly spiced fruit with another layer of pie crust pastry, this recipe calls for a pecan and brown sugar crumble topping generously sprinkled across the surface. This layer soaks up some of the juices from the fruit underneath while maintaining a crunchy texture after it bakes. The pecans in the topping toast as the pie bakes. The filling itself calls for Honeycrisp apples because of their optimal balance of sweetness and tartness. The natural sweetness of this apple variety also means that less sugar is needed in the filling, keeping the pie from being cloyingly sweet. Instead, just the right amount of sweetness is present in a filling perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and this beautiful fruit filling is supported by a single layer of buttery pie crust and covered in a crunchy pecan topping. Since the apples are first cooked on the stovetop, the bake time of the actual pie is less than an hour–about half the time of a traditional double crust apple pie. This method also ensures that the apples are just moist enough without being too liquid. The end result is a pie that displays beautiful stacked slices of apple without filling oozing out when a slice is cut. This recipe is ideal for anyone who wants to switch up their apple pie experience and doesn't want to fuss with a second layer of pastry dough.