Apple Crumble Pie

Grab your Honeycrisp haul. This apple pie is ready in about half the time of a traditional double crust recipe.

Apple Curmble Pie
Photo: Micah A. Leal
Active Time:
45 mins
Total Time:
3 hrs

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.

Ingredients

Filling

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

  • 2 ½ pounds Honeycrisp apples, peeled and cored, cut into ¼-inch thick slices

  • cup packed light brown sugar

  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

  • teaspoon cloves

  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ¾ cup water

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Topping

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • cup dark brown sugar

  • cup pecans

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

  1. Roll pie dough to a 1/8-inch thick circle and place inside a greased 9-inch metal tart pan or pie pan. Cut excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under itself, creating a thicker ring of crust around the pie's edge. Crimp edge. Freeze crust for 1 hour or overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F. Fill crust with a circle of parchment paper and pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights and return to oven for an additional 12 minutes, until no more raw dough spots remain. Set aside to cool.

  2. Make Filling: In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine butter, apple slices, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Cook over medium-high heat until apples are softened and coated in syrup, about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water until no lumps remain. Add to apples and cook until the liquid in the Filling thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, and stir to combine.

  3. Make Topping: In a mixing bowl, combine ingredients until evenly moistened.

  4. Pour Filling into slightly cooled pie crust and spread evenly. Crumble Topping evenly over Filling. Place pie shell on a baking sheet and bake until the Topping is lightly browned and the Filling is bubbling underneath, about 45 minutes. Allow pie to cool completely before cutting.

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