I’m not a huge fan of apple desserts (warm apples freak me out) but I have to say…this recipe was AMAZING! I tried another recipe from The Sweet and Simple Kitchen and she did not disappoint. This was my first time making my own pie crust & it actually came out really good!!
I know this recipe looks difficult or super involved, but it’s really not. I always freak out a bit when I see a ton of instructions or a long list of ingredients- who has the time to spend all day baking one pie. But honestly this recipe was easy to follow & it broken down into three steps.
This recipe would be amazing for Thanksgiving & of course serve it with some vanilla ice cream!


- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- ¼ cup butter, cold & cubed
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup ice cold water
- 8 medium apples (Mcintosh, Granny Smith or Honey Crisp)
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. ginger
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. rolled oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1½ cups rolled oats
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- ½ cup butter- cold & cubed
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. whipping cream
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar
- In a liquid measuring cup, combine the cold water & lemon juice. Put this in the fridge until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt & baking powder. Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture and gently toss with your hands to coat each piece of butter. Use a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour until small, pea sized chunks of butter remain.
- Remove the water from the fridge & drizzle over the dry ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold the water into the flour mixture until a dough forms. Turn the dough onto a cool, lightly floured surface and shape dough into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap & chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge or you can chill overnight.
- Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge & place it on a cool, floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 11-12 inch circle (about ¼ inch in thickness). Place dough into a pie plate and gently press into the edges. Leave one inch of overhang & cut off the excess dough. Tuck the rough edges under & pinch into a pretty scallop design.
- Place the pie shell in the fridge until you are ready to fill.
- In a bowl, whisk together cornstarch, brown sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger.
- Core and slice your apples into thin slices. Add them to the mixing bowl and stir to coat. Add vanilla and mix everything until evenly coated. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & baking powder. Add the cold, cubed butter and toss with the flour mixture to coat. Work the butter in with your fingers until the mixture feels like coarse sand. Add in the rolled oats and mix until crumbly.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Remove pie shell to the fridge and sprinkle the bottom with 2 tbsp. of rolled oats. This helps not to make the bottom of the pie soggy. Brush the edges of the pie crust with the egg wash.
- Pour the filling into the pie crust and spread evenly to edges. You might have some filling leftover!
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apple filling and completely cover the top. (You will definitely have extras of the topping- make cookies with it!)
- Place the pie on the bottom rack of your oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake for an additional 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven & cool for at least 10 min. Serve with vanilla ice cream!