With just the right balance of sweet and tart along with the buttery, flaky pie dough, this is the perfect apple pie from scratch recipe. The lemon zest and juice combined with the caramelized sweetened condensed milk adds a rich and complex blend of flavors. This apple pie is the best dessert for any occasion.
For Christmas this year my family flew for the first time as a family of 5! Since our daughters are both under two, my husband and I both had a lap child fly for free while my son had his own seat. We were able to board early and choose our own seats, so we found a comfortable spot for all 5 of us to pile into one row.
That is, until our flight attendant came to let us know we would need to split up because there are only 4 oxygen masks per row of 3 seats and we had 5 people. I never had even thought about that before! So I quickly tried to figure out what would be the best seating situation for us. My husband and I decided that he would hold our almost two year old daughter and sit with our son keep sitting at the window seat. I took the baby and sat across the aisle.
I have to say, my husband was the real MVP for that flight. 3.5 hours of keeping two toddlers entertained on a flight is no joke! They did great overall and everyone was exhausted by the end of it! Traveling is not the easiest thing with 3 little ones, but it was definitely worth it.
We loved being able to spend time with my parents, grandparents, brother and his kids for Christmas. Being a military family, we do not have family nearby, so it is always extra special when we get to spend time with our extended fam.
How I came up with the perfect Apple Pie from scratch with easy dulce de leche
My mom had everything taken care of for our Christmas meal. It was so nice to enjoy so many classics that I grew up with. It was all delicious and I am so grateful for the blessings we have been given.
The only thing she asked me to do was think of a dessert to add. Apple Pie seemed like the perfect Christmas dessert!
For this Apple Pie, I drew inspiration from my Apple Hand Pie recipe, but thought it needed a little something extra! I looked in my mom’s pantry and saw she had some sweetened condensed milk. For an easy dulce de leche, I caramelized it on the stovetop and added it to the apple pie. I also chose to add lemon juice and lemon zest, which is always delicious in fruit pies. It balances the sweetness and gives it a brighter flavor.
I used brown sugar over granulated for a warmer and more “caramel-y” flavor and that was the absolute right decision! Cooking the apples a bit in butter on the stovetop helps cut down on the oven cooking time and results in the perfect golden crust.
FAQ for making the perfect apple pie from scratch
Do you cook apples before putting them in a pie?
Many apple pie recipes instruct to put the apples directly in the unbaked pie crust to cook them all together in the oven. For this apple pie recipe, I like to cook the apples before putting them in the pie. If the apples are not cooked before, the pie tends to be runny and the crust gets soggy.
That is why this is the perfect apple pie recipe. The liquid from the apples get cooked out when they are simmering over the stovetop with the butter and sugar so the pie dough bakes to a buttery flakey dough.
What apples should NOT be used for apple pie?
Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious are all apples that should not be used for apple pie. These apples are really sweet and will not hold up during the baking process. Avoid apples that are very sweet or overly ripe. The sweeter apples will break down in the apple pie and the overly ripe apples will not hold up the texture and will lack flavor.
What apples SHOULD be used for the perfect from scratch apple pie?
My favorite apples to use for apple pie are Pink Lady, Honeycrisp and Granny Smith. Braeburn, Jonigold, Golden Delicious and Jazz are also great options. Feel free to mix several types of apples for a more flavorful and interesting pie!
Do you peel apples for apple pie?
It is best to peel apples for apple pie. The skin on the apples do not cook down enough and have a bit of a leathery texture if you leave the skins on. I prefer to peel them before cutting them up. This ensures that the texture is smooth and even throughout the apple pie.
Do you cook apples before putting them in a pie?
You should cook apples before putting them in a pie to avoid having a runny and soggy apple pie. By cooking them on the stove top with sugar and butter, the juices will mostly evaporate and the cooking time for the apple pie will be reduced.
How do you thicken apple pie filling for the perfect from scratch recipe?
This apple pie recipe did not require any thickener since I cooked the apples down a bit over the stovetop. Recipes that do not pre cook the apples before baking in the oven require a minimum of 4 hours up to 24 hours in the fridge resting time before cutting into the pie to ensure the liquid has firmed up. That is entirely too long for me to wait, though! This method allows you to eat the pie while it is still warm!
Tools you may need:
- Peeler
- Sharp Knife
- Lemon Zester
- Medium-Large Saucepan
- Small Saucepan
- Rolling pin
- Pie Dish
- Pizza Wheel Cutter
- Kitchen Shears
- Basting Brush
Let’s make the Perfect Apple Pie from Scratch!
make the pie crust
Start by making my flaky, buttery pie crust found in THIS POST. You will use all of the pie dough for this recipe since it calls for the lattice crust on the top. Divide the dough into two balls, flatten slightly and wrap in plastic wrap or store in airtight ziplock bag. Chill the dough in the fridge while you prep the apple filling and the easy dulce de leche.
prep the filling
Next, peel and slice your apples. You are going to use lots of apples! 4 lbs. is the perfect amount, in my opinion, to make every bite just the right ratio of apples to crust! Slice the apples about 1/4″ thick so they hold their shape throughout the baking process.
Grab a medium-large saucepan and small saucepan or saute pan. The smaller saucepan is for caramelizing the sweetened condensed milk.
Pour 1 cup of sweetened condensed milk into a small saucepan or saute pan and heat on med-low heat for about 30 minutes. Mix frequently. You are looking for the condensed milk to change colors slightly from a cream color to a more light caramel color and the consistency has thickened and is a bit frothy. This is my easy dulce de leche method.
While the sweetened condensed milk is caramelizing, melt 4 TBS of unsalted butter in a medium-large saucepan. Add apples, brown sugar, zest of one lemon, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice in and stir together over medium heat.
Cook the apples for about 10 minutes till they are tender (not mushy!) and the liquid has cooked out a little and is beginning to thicken some.
roll out the dough for the pie crust and assemble
Just before the apples and sweetened condensed milk are done cooking down, pull your pie crust dough out of the refrigerator and roll both pie crusts out. Place the first crust in a pie baking dish and poke holes with a fork all along the bottom spaced about an inch apart.
Spoon the apples into the pie crust and then drizzle the caramelized easy dulce de leche over the apples.
how to make the lattice pie crust
Using a pizza wheel cutter or very sharp knife, slice the other rolled out pie crust into long strips, each strip about 1/2″ – 3/4″ wide. Begin the lattice pie crust by placing 5-6 strips vertical over the apple filling spaced apart equally – long pieces in the middle, shorter ones on towards the outer sides. There should be a little dough hanging over on either sides of the pie from the strips. You will trim the dough later, so don’t worry about it now.
Fold every other strip back so they are falling of the pie backwards and lay down one strip horizontally/perpendicular to the vertical strips. Fold the strips back on top of this dough strip. Pull back the opposite vertically lined dough strips, still every other, and lay another dough strip on top of the remaining vertical strips. Repeat until you have reached the other end of the pie.
With a sharp knife or kitchen shears, trim the dough that around the edges of the pie dish. Take care not to cut the dough too far in as it will shrink when it bakes.
Using your pointer finger and thumb with one hand and the thumb of your other hand, pinch together the edges of the crust to form a cute little crimped edge.
Whisk one egg in a small bowl and with a basting brush, gently brush the egg over the pie crust. This will give it that gorgeous golden, shiny crust once it is baked.
Bake the perfect from scratch apple pie and enjoy!
In a 400℉ oven, bake the pie for 30-40 minutes until the crust is baked and golden. Let rest for about 20-30 minutes, slice it up and enjoy!
You can eat this pie by itself or add some homemade whipped cream on top. You could also serve with some vanilla ice cream. If you made extra easy dulce de leche, you could reheat that and drizzle some onto the warm apple pie
Pin it for later!
You may also enjoy these other from scratch recipes!
- Pumpkin Spice Granola
- Pumpkin Pasties & Apple Hand Pies
- The Best Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
- Sourdough Orange Cinnamon Rolls
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love to know! Come back and leave a review! Tag me on Instagram @oursimplegraces
The Perfect Apple Pie From Scratch
With just the right balance of sweet and tart along with the buttery, flaky pie dough, this is the perfect apple pie from scratch recipe. The lemon zest and juice combined with the caramelized sweetened condensed milk adds a rich and complex blend of flavors. This apple pie is the best dessert for any occasion.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs. apples (about 10 apples), peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
- 8 oz (1 cup) sweetened condensed milk
- 4 TBS unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 pie crusts - the pie crust from this recipe makes 2 pie crusts
Instructions
make the pie crust
- Start by making my flaky, buttery pie crust found in THIS POST. You will use all of the pie dough for this recipe since it calls for the lattice crust on the top.
- Divide the dough into two balls, flatten slightly and wrap in plastic wrap or store in airtight ziplock bag. Chill the dough in the fridge while you prep the apple filling and the easy dulce de leche.
prep the filling
- Next, peel and slice your apples. Slice the apples about 1/4" thick so they hold their shape throughout the baking process.
- Grab a medium-large saucepan and small saucepan or saute pan. The smaller saucepan is for caramelizing the sweetened condensed milk.
- Pour 1 cup of sweetened condensed milk into a small saucepan or saute pan and heat on med-low heat for about 30 minutes. Mix frequently. You are looking for the condensed milk to change colors slightly from a cream color to a more light caramel color and the consistency has thickened and is a bit frothy. This is my easy dulce de leche method.
- While the sweetened condensed milk is caramelizing, melt 4 TBS of unsalted butter in a medium-large saucepan. Add apples, brown sugar, zest of one lemon, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice in and stir together over medium heat.
- Cook the apples for about 10 minutes till they are tender (not mushy!) and the liquid has cooked out a little and is beginning to thicken some.
roll out the dough for the pie crust and assemble
- Just before the apples and sweetened condensed milk are done cooking down, pull your pie crust dough out of the refrigerator and roll both pie crusts out.
- Place the first crust in a pie baking dish and poke holes with a fork all along the bottom spaced about an inch apart.
- Spoon the apples into the pie crust and then drizzle the caramelized easy dulce de leche over the apples.
how to make the lattice pie crust
- Using a pizza wheel cutter or very sharp knife, slice the other rolled out pie crust into long strips, each strip about 1/2" - 3/4" wide.
- Begin the lattice pie crust by placing 5-6 strips vertical over the apple filling spaced apart equally - long pieces in the middle, shorter ones on towards the outer sides. There should be a little dough hanging over on either sides of the pie from the strips. You will trim the dough later, so don't worry about it now.
- Fold every other strip back so they are falling of the pie backwards and lay down one strip horizontally/perpendicular to the vertical strips. Fold the strips back on top of this dough strip. Pull back the opposite vertically lined dough strips, still every other, and lay another dough strip on top of the remaining vertical strips. Repeat until you have reached the other end of the pie.
- With a sharp knife or kitchen shears, trim the dough that around the edges of the pie dish. Take care not to cut the dough too far in as it will shrink when it bakes.
- Using your pointer finger and thumb with one hand and the thumb of your other hand, pinch together the edges of the crust to form a cute little crimped edge.
- Whisk one egg in a small bowl and with a basting brush, gently brush the egg over the pie crust. This will give it that gorgeous golden, shiny crust once it is baked.
Bake the apple pie and enjoy!
- In a 400℉ oven, bake the pie for 30-40 minutes until the crust is baked and golden.
- Let rest for about 20-30 minutes, slice it up and enjoy!
Notes
You can eat this pie by itself or add some homemade whipped cream on top. You could also serve with some vanilla ice cream. If you made extra easy dulce de leche, you could reheat that and drizzle some onto the warm apple pie. The options are many!
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