Recipe: Apple Crumb Pie

Cary, NC — Yes, I’ve caught the baking bug, just like many of you during this time at home.

I typically like to make things using ingredients that are readily at hand and I especially hate recipes that demand I purchase some oddball ingredient that hangs around in my cupboard never to be used again. The good news is, this Apple Crumb Pie did not require anything that I didn’t already have in my refrigerator or pantry.

When I was thinking about baking this week, I recalled how my husband always asks me to make more pies. It seems he could eat pie every day, not just for dessert, but also as a decadent pastry for breakfast. I have to admit, I can eat a slice of pie at 8 AM myself.

One of my favorite and easiest recipes for pie is the recipe I regularly make for Thanksgiving. It’s an apple- cranberry pie with a crumb topping. Because it only requires one pie crust and a streusel topping you can adjust this recipe for various other fruit fillings. I had just bought a bag of Granny Smiths at Lidl this week, and they make excellent tart pies, so Apple Crumb Pie it was!

I cheated this time and used a purchased frozen pie shell. They come in a 2 pack, so I only thawed one and used the other for a shepherd’s pie, but that’s a post for another time.

Allow the pie crust to defrost overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for the morning until you are ready to bake.

To Make the Pie

(allow about 1-1/2 hours total)

Ingredients

Filling:

• 6 cups of tart apples, like Granny Smith or Rome, peeled, cored and quartered (6 apples)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (we squeezed fresh)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons flour
• sprinkle of cinnamon

Crumb Topping

• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/4″ piece

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a 9″ pie pan with the thawed pie pastry. I usually roll this out on a floured surface using a floured rolling pin first to get everything even. Trim around the edge so no crust dangles off the edge.
3. Slice the apples crosswise and combine in a large bowl with the lemon juice, sugar, flour and dash of cinnamon. Mix well together to distribute the dry ingredients throughout the apples.
4. Fill the pie shell.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, checking the crust for doneness. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover the edges with foil.
6. Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine the crumb topping dry ingredients. Mix well.
7. Add butter, rubbing it into the dry ingredients using your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
8. After the first 30 minutes, remove the pie from the oven.
9. Reduce heat to 350 degrees.
10. Spread the crumb topping evenly over the fruit.
11. Bake an additional 25-30 minutes, or until crumb topping begins to brown and fruit thickens and bubbles around the edges.
12. Allow the pie to cool at least 2 hours to solidify and absorb the juice.

These pies don’t last long in my house. I hope you enjoy it as well. With berry season upon us, this can be adjusted for blueberries and blackberries. You can also use a bag of frozen mixed berries in a pinch too.

Happy baking!

---

Recipe and photos by Lindsey Chester. Story originally published on FoodCary.