When the nights start getting cooler after a long hot summer, and the leaves show glimpses of turning color, that’s when apple season starts around here. We grow Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Pink Lady, and Fuji apples, all great for making apple pie!

Here is our favorite apple pie recipe, with an easy, no-fail, buttery, flaky homemade pie crust (the crust makes all the difference, don’t you think?), and a filling with a mix of different types of apples, spices, vanilla, and a splash of brandy.

Apple Pie

My homemade apple pie is like a siren call to my family. All I have to do is pick up the phone and say “pie” to my father and he’s here in less time than it takes to clear a place at the table. You know when people are eating and they aren’t saying a word? It’s either a very good thing, or a very bad thing. In this case, it’s all good. Enjoy!

Apple Pie Recipe

  • Prep time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 8

If the crust looks like it’s getting too browned, take a large piece of aluminum foil and place on top of the pie in the oven. No need to wrap it around the pie, just place it on top. That will keep the top from browning further.

Pies always seem to take longer to cook than one expects. (Perhaps it’s because we’re always opening the oven to check on how the pie is doing?) The filling should be visibly bubbling, which you should be able to see through the steam vents.

I recommend putting a rimmed baking sheet on a rack beneath the rack of the pie to catch the filling as some of it invariably bubbles up and out over the pie. Makes oven clean-up a lot easier.

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients for a flakey pie crust

  • 2 1/2 cups (285 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
  • 10-ounces (1 1/4 cups, 285 g) unsalted butter (room temperature), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup (115 ml) sour cream (use full-fat sour cream for best results)

Filling Ingredients

  • 3 pounds of good cooking apples such as Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, or Pippin (about 6 to 8 apples, depending on the size of your apples and the size of your pie dish)
  • 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (to toss with the sliced apples so they don’t brown as you slice them)
  • 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your pie
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour for thickening
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp brandy (Optional. By the way, if you have Calvados apple brandy, use it!)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Wash

  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 Tbsp cream

Read More: Apple Pie