Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

A white pie dish with a slice of apple crumble pie, also known as a dutch apple pie with a crumbled topping and green apples in the background in a wood bowl.

5 from 3 votes

Dutch Apple Pies are also known as Apple Crumble Pies baked with a homemade filling, a foolproof flaky crust, and a crumble topping. This type of apple streusel pie is also called a French Apple Pie recipe. The apple filling and crumbly streusel topping are out of this world.

Prep Time45

Cook Time45

Total Time1 30

Course: Desserts & Sweets

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple crumble pie, apple crumble pie recipe, apple pie, dutch apple pie, French Apple Pie

Servings:

Calories: 614kcal

Author: Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Ingredients

Foolproof Homemade Pie Dough

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup cold diced butter

Apple Filling

6 large Granny Smith apples cored and cut into ½" size
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Crumble Topping

½ cup butter softened
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup flour

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pie Dough - food processor method

In a food processor, blend flour, salt, baking powder, butter and pulse 10 times until the butter is the size of “peas”.
Add ⅓ cup ice water, pulse until ball forms.
Wrap in a zip-top bag, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. This makes the butter firm and makes a flaky pie crust.

Pie Dough - by hand

In a large mixing bowl, simply add the flour, salt, cubed cold butter, and baking powder, then use a large fork or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until it forms a crumbled mixture.
There should be large chunks remaining in the mixture. Then, add the ice water a few tablespoons at a time, and mix with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle in additional ice water one tablespoon at a time. Toward the end of using your ice-cold water, mix after each addition.
The dough will have large clumps. Once you can squeeze it with your hands and it holds together, don't add more water or overwork the dough.
Push the dough together on a board, wrap it in plastic, and chill at least 30 minutes before using it in a recipe.

Apple Filling

Wash the apples, peel, core (use a corer/slicer or knife), and cut into ½ pieces. Place the apple slices into a small bowl with lemon juice to prevent browning.
Squeeze ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, whisk in 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Set aside. This is your pie filling thickener.
In a large skillet or cast iron pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter and cook the cut apples for about 5 minutes, stir every minute until they just turn soft. I like them with a little firmness, so taste them and cook them to the firmness you prefer.
Next, pour the lemon juice and cornstarch mixture over the apples and stir until well combined for a couple of minutes.
Sprinkle ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar over the apples, and the sea salt. Stir until well combined.
Remove from the heat and add the cinnamon and nutmeg off heat. The reason you do this is to keep the flavor of the spices!
Let the filling cool completely so it thickens. Once cool, use it in a recipe, store it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days in a Mason jar, or freeze in zip-top bags.

Crumble Topping

In a large bowl, mix soft butter, brown sugar, and flour.
Blend with two forks until it's a small crumbled mix.

Assemble and Baking

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll the dough ¼" thick on a floured surface. Place in bottom of the pie dish, and crimp the edge of the pie crust.
Add 4 cups apple filling, spread out evenly. Sprinkle ¼ cup crumble topping all over the top.
Bake 400 degrees, 45-60 minutes until crust is golden brown and bubbly. Baking time will vary based on the size of your dish. Always check every 15 minutes to be sure your crust isn't overbrowning. You can place a piece of aluminum foil with couple of holes poked in (to release steam) over the pie to protect the crust.
If baking in a large dish, it will take up to 1 hour. And up to for 1 hour 15 minutes for deep dish pies.
Cool before before slicing, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whip cream, or a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Video

Notes

filling and pie crust tips

If you are short some filling, simply peel an apple or two, slice them thinly, and add to the filling. A fresh apple adds a nice texture, you will LOVE IT!

The amount of water in pie dough is important.

If you add too much, the dough will become too soft and sticky requiring more flour which changes the ratio resulting in a tough crust.

If you don’t add enough water, the dough will be dry and crumbly and not pull together correctly.

baking tips

The crust will be golden brown, and the crumble apple topping will turn a little darker brown, the apples in the filling should be soft.

If baking a large pie, it can take up to 1 hour, all our ovens bake differently-gas or electric, the dish type-ceramic or metal, size of that dish 9" is standard, deep dish is 10", and the amount of filling can all make a difference in baking.

apples

Granny Smith are my go-to pick for baking. They have a slight tart flavor that balances perfectly with the sweet crumble topping. Granny Smith apples hold up well during baking and are a classic choice.

These ten apple varieties are classic favorites for apple pie. Some fall into the firm-tart category, and some the firm-sweet. You can even use a combination the ones listed below.

Granny Smith
Honeycrisp
Esopus Spitzenburg
Northern Spy
Idared
Pink Pearl
Ginger Gold
Golden Delicious
Jazz
Jonagold
Pink Lady

reheating pie

Pull the pie from the refrigerator about an hour before bringing it to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and heat for 10 minutes or until warmed through.

Nutrition