Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

This Dutch Apple Pie recipe is the perfect way to indulge your sweet tooth and celebrate the fall season. With its flaky crust, juicy apples, and crunchy crumble topping, this pie is sure to be a hit with everyone who tries it. This recipe is much easier than it sounds! 

 

When the cooler air hits and the leaves start to change, I just can’t help but bake up all the delicious apple recipes, from apple hand pies, mini apple pies to Apple Turnovers to Apple Crisp. But of course, Dutch Apple Pie is the queen of all apple desserts, and it’s so easy to make!

And as much as I love a regular apple pie, nothing beats an apple crumble pie!

I used to be intimidated by making pies from scratch, but this easy, homemade Dutch Apple Pie recipe has made me a convert. The buttery pie crust is flaky and delicious. The filling is made with a generous amount of apples, spices, and brown sugar. It’s the perfect pie for Thanksgiving or just a cozy Fall weeknight treat.

And don’t forget the vanilla ice cream! Dutch apple pie is best served warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tart, and it’s sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.

It’s an old-fashioned Dutch apple pie – meaning its a double-crusted pie, with lots of apples, spices, all stirred together. Pie perfection if you ask me. Now who brought the vanilla ice cream, because we’re gonna want it!

What is the difference between apple pie or Dutch apple pie?

A Dutch apple pie is a traditional apple pie with a streusel topping. The streusel topping is usually flour, sugar, butter and sometimes oats. 

A traditional apple pie has a double pie crust – a top crust and a bottom crust. 

See Also:

• Move over pumpkin bread, this butternut squash bread is the new Fall quick bread to make!
• Apple cider cookies are soft and chewy. And full of apple flavor! Topped with an apple cider icing these will be a favorite!
• Looking for a cinnamon roll that’s made a little healthier? Then try my healthy cinnamon rolls! Made with coconut sugar, whole wheat flour and a maple icing.

Why You Will Love this Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

• Great make ahead dessert. I love making this pie for Thanksgiving because I can make it and bake it the day before then serve it the next day once it’s cooled.
• It’s customizable. You can customize this recipe to your liking by adding different spices, fruits, or nuts to the filling. You can also make it gluten free or vegan if need be.
• Wonderful to freeze – I love getting ahead of my Thanksgiving pies by assembling and freezing my pies ahead of time. Get my freezer guide here!

Best Apples To Use For Pie

For apple pie I love to use either Granny Smith or Honey Crisp. But there are many great varieties perfect to bake a pie with. I also like to use Pink Lady apples, or Golden Delicious. I also love pairing Granny Smith with a few Cortland apples. 

I would avoid MacIntosh apples as they get too mushy. And I also don’t recommend Red Delicious as they don’t have great flavor. 

For more on which apples to bake with, read this post!

Ingredients Needed for Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

For the pie dough:

• 1 single pie crust recipe – store-bought or homemade

For the crumb topping:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (135 g) all-purpose flour.
• ½ cup (107 g) light brown sugar.
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar.
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
• 1/8 teaspoon salt.
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick, 85 g) unsalted butter melted, cooled slightly.

For the Apple pie filling:

• 3 pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced into ¼-inch thick slices (about 7 large apples)- You can use any type of apple for this recipe, but I recommend using a tart apple variety, such as Granny Smith apples or Honeycrisp. These apples will hold their shape well when baking and provide a nice contrast to the sweetness of the apple pie filling
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice- Lemon juice prevents the apples from browning and adds a tart flavor.
• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar.
• ¼ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour.
• ¼ teaspoon salt.
• 1 tablespoon apple pie spice- Apple pie spice is a blend of spices that is commonly used in apple desserts. It typically contains cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.

How to Make Dutch Apple Pie

For the pie dough (if making homemade):

Combine dry ingredients. 

Process the salt, and flour in a food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. If making by hand, then whisk together in a bowl. 

Add butter. 

Scatter butter over top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal (about 10 seconds). 

If making this by hand, then cut butter into the flour using a pastry cutter (or pastry blender) until mixture is crumbly and the butter is pea-sized. 

Add water. 

Sprinkle 6 tablespoons ice water over mixture and pulse or stir to combine until it forms large clumps. If does not come together or still looks dry, stir in remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

If making by hand, then stir the water into the flour mixture with a spatula.

Give the dough a squeeze with your fingertips to see if it holds together. Add extra water if needed.

Bring dough together. 

To bring the dough together easily, I dump the dough onto a clean kitchen towel, and bring up the ends of the towel and twist.

You can also knead the dough together lightly on a lightly floured surface, but I find the towel trick works best! 

Refrigerate dough. 

Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Before rolling dough out, let it sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to a month.

For the crumb topping:

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. 

Stir in melted butter until a crumbly mixture forms.

Set aside.

For the Apple pie filling:

Stir apple slices and lemon juice together into a large bowl. 

In a medium bowl, mix sugar, flour, salt and spices together. 

Toss dry ingredients into apple mixture until evenly coated. Let the apple pie filling sit, while you roll out the pie crust. 

Prepare and bake Dutch Apple Pie:

Prep oven. 

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack and heat oven to 400°F. 

Roll out pie crust. 

Remove one ball of dough from the fridge, and on a lightly floured counter roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle, turning the dough after a few rolls to ensure the dough isn’t sticking to your surface.

Transfer pie crust to pie plate. 

Fold the dough in quarters, and then transfer to your 9”x2” pie plate.

Carefully unfold the dough, and tuck in with your fingers.

Fold the excess dough under and crimp the edges (or you can also use a fork and press the edge down to seal.)

Add Apple pie filling. 

Spoon apple pie filling into the pie crust, leaving behind any juice that has collected at the bottom of your Dutch Apple Pie (this can make for a runny filling). 

Add crumb topping. 

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apple filling making sure to cover all of the apples. 

Bake pie. 

Place the pie on large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (this is just for easy clean-up and to catch drips) and bake for 20 minutes at 400°F then reduce the oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes until juice bubbles and crust edges is deep golden brown.

If pie crust edges or topping is browning too much, cover with tinfoil or pie shield. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.

Recipe Tips

• Use ice cold water for the dough. This will help to create a flaky crust.
• Do not overwork the dough. Overworking the dough will make it tough.
• Chill the dough before rolling it out. This will make it easier to work with.
• Sticky Crust. If the pie crust is too sticky to roll out, lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin.
• Use a pie shield. If the pie crust edges brown too quickly, cover them with foil or a pie shield.
• Allow the baked pie to cool completely before slicing and serving. This will help to prevent the filling from running out. I like to make my pie the day before and allow it cool overnight.

Recipe Variations

• Different types of apples. You can use any type of apple for this recipe, but I recommend using a tart apple variety, such as Granny Smith apples or Honeycrisp. These apples will hold their shape well when baking and provide a nice contrast to the sweetness of the filling. However, you can also use sweeter apple varieties, such as Golden Delicious or Fuji.
• Different spices. You can add different spices to the filling to change the flavor of the Dutch Apple Pie. For example, you could add nutmeg, allspice, cloves, or ginger.
• Other fruits. You can add other fruits to the filling, such as pears, peaches, or blueberries.
• Nuts. You can add nuts to the crumb topping, such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds. I always recommend toasting your nuts first.

Serving Suggestions

I love serving my apple crumble pie warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But you can also top with a dollop of whipped cream.

And don’t forget a little drizzle of caramel sauce!

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes to Try

If you are craving more pie, be sure to check out my fresh raspberry pie recipe! Just 3 simple ingredients for the filling is all it takes.

I also love making my no bake Millionaire pie recipe and this cinnamon pie recipe for Thanksgiving!