Upgrade your traditional apple pie with this Dutch Apple Pie! Made with an all-butter pie crust, creamy apple filling, and a buttery sweet crumb topping.
What is a Dutch Apple Pie?
A Dutch apple pie is very similar to a traditional apple pie, except instead of covering with a second layer of pie crust it is covered with a buttery crumb topping. Another difference with this apple pie is the apples have a creamy, ultra tender texture! This texture is achieved by soaking the apples in heavy cream prior to baking so the apples absorb some of the cream. Another great feature of a Dutch apple pie is that the crumb topping is easier and quicker to assemble than a regular top pie crust.
How to Make Dutch Apple Pie
- Prepare the apples: peel, core and thinly slice the apples. You should have about 2 1/2 lbs of apples AFTER peeling and coring. Add to a large bowl along with all other filling ingredients, stir, and let sit at room temp for 1 hour.
- Make the crumb topping: combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Mix with melted butter until evenly moistened. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Prepare and blind bake the crust: roll out the pie dough and line a 9″ deep dish pie pan. Crimp the edges as desired and chill the prepared dough in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Once thoroughly chilled, fill with parchment paper and baking weights and blind bake the crust for 15 minutes on the lower third rack in the oven. Remove parchment and weights and continue baking for an additional 5 minutes. The dough should begin to look dried out and slightly golden brown in color.
- Assemble the pie: carefully place the apples evenly into the warm pie crust, making sure they are compact and fill in any large gaps. Break up the crumb topping with your hands and sprinkle on top of the apples. Press down gently to help the topping stick.
- Bake: bake the pie for about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min, or until the top is golden brown and the apples are bubbling.
- Let cool: allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for several hours. Then transfer to the fridge to chill overnight. A well chilled pie is best for achieving clean slices as it allows the filling time to set up.
Tips for the best Dutch Apple Pie
- Blind Baking the Crust: unlike a double crusted apple pie, with this pie we are blind baking the crust to give it a head start on creating a golden flaky bottom before adding the fruit which is full of liquid.
- Apple Varieties: use a mixture of two different baking apple varieties for a greater depth of flavor. But of course, if you have one variety you prefer above all others go ahead and use just the one! The pie will be delicious either way. Just be sure to use apples that hold up well when baking, such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Golden Delicious.
- Thinly Slice the Apples: thinly sliced apples will cook up faster and more evenly. Use a sharp chef’s knife or a mandolin to make slicing the process easier.
- Pack in an Even Layer: do your best to lay the apples in a neat and tightly compact layer with no gaps. It helps the overall structure and integrity of the pie when cutting into it.
- Allow to Cool Completely: as with just about every pie, proper chilling time is KEY! The warm fruit filling needs plenty of time to firm up before slicing into the pie, otherwise you will end up with a runny filling.
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Dutch Apple Pie
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: one 9” pie 1x
Description
This Dutch apple pie combines a creamy apple filling with a delicious buttery crumb topping for a fun twist on a classic apple pie.
Ingredients
Scale
Filling:
- 2 1/2 lbs apples, peeled, cored & sliced 1/4″ thick
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Filling: Combine all of the filling ingredients into a large bowl and stir to evenly coat the apples. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Topping: Stir together all of the topping ingredients in a bowl until evenly moistened and the mixture begins to form clumps. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Prepare pie dough: Roll dough out to roughly a 12″ circle on a floured surface. Place into a 9″ deep dish pie pan and gently ease the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim the excess dough around the edges so it is 1/2 inch beyond the lip of the pie pan. Tuck the overhang under itself so it is even with the edge of the pan. Crimp the outside edge of the dough as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 20 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 425°F and place the oven rack in the lower third position. Line the chilled pie shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet on the lower third rack in the oven for 15 minutes, the pie dough should begin to look dry and pale in color. Remove foil and pie weights and continue baking for 5 minutes, until the crust is dry and just beginning to turn golden in color.
- Lower oven temperature to 350°F.
- Assembly: Use your hands to evenly place the prepared apples into the partially baked pie crust, packing them in tightly and filling in any gaps. Discard any liquid remaining in the bowl. Break the topping up into clumps (it will harden in the fridge) and sprinkle on top of the apple filling. Pat down gently to adhere.
- Place the pie bake on the rimmed baking sheet and bake until the top of the pie is golden brown, about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min. Check the pie about halfway through cooking and, if needed, cover the edges of the pie with a pie shield or foil ring to prevent over browning of the crust.
- Let the pie cool on a wire rack for several hours before transferring to the fridge to chill overnight. This will give the filling time to set up and hold together when sliced.
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