How to Make Apple Pie: 5 Secrets to Better Apple Pie
Find out our best secrets—from the right tools to use to the most delicious apples to use in pie—to make perfect, healthier apple pie every time.
Pictured Recipe: Maple-Ginger Apple Pie
Apple pie is an iconic American dessert. It's pretty simple to make-put together a crust, throw in some apples, bake and wham! Apple pie. But if you want your pie to be memorable, true apple pie aficionados know a few secrets that can really elevate the apple pie experience and luckily we're here to share our secrets. Not only do these tips help make the most delicious apple pie ever, they also make it healthier too!
Try these: Mouthwatering, Healthy Apple Pie Recipes
Secret #1: Use a Deep Dish
Pictured Recipe: Cinnamon Swirl Apple Pie
What's the best part of an apple pie? The apples, of course! Ditched a regular pie pan, and opt for a deep-dish. Why? There's more room for more filling. You can squeeze in about 1 1/2 more cups of fruit into a deep-dish pie pan vs. a regular pie pan.
Secret #2: Keep Your Crust Ingredients Cold
Pictured Recipe: Chai-Spiced Apple Pie
Follow the basic rules of great pastry: Always use chilled butter and ice-cold water. Dough likes to be cold. If the butter melts into the flour, the crust will be tough.
Secret #3: Use Two Kinds of Apples
Pictured Recipe: Oatmeal-Nut Crunch Apple Pie
Some apples are better suited than others for baking. Use a mix of sweet and tart apples, like McIntosh and Granny Smith, in your pie. The McIntosh add a bright flavor while the Granny Smith also contribute flavor and break down less when they cook so you get a filling with texture instead of mush.
Secret #4: Precook Your Apples
Pictured Recipe: Deep-Dish Apple Pie
Throwing them all in raw may be easy, but it isn't the best way to go. When you add the apples to the crust raw, they let off steam and shrink in size. That can leave you with a void between the crust and the filling. Precooking your apples just a little bit causes them to shrink less when they're in the crust.
Secret #5: Use Whole-Wheat Flour and All-Purpose Flour
Pictured Recipe: Triple-A Apple Pie
There's a fine balance between making your pie crust healthy and making your pie crust taste like cardboard. The results can be less than appetizing if you use all whole-wheat flour, but a mix of traditional all-purpose and whole-wheat pastry flour does the trick. The whole-wheat pastry flour adds fiber, but keeps the texture tender, and by blending it with all-purpose you get a less wheaty taste.
Watch: How to Make No-Sugar-Added Mini Apple Pies