Grandma’s Dutch Apple Pie

5 from 8 votes

This classic dutch apple pie has a flaky crust, thick apple filling and a crumbling topping that's perfect for your holiday table.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Chill Time:5

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Keyword: apple, apple pie, baked, crumble, dessert, easy, fall recipe, holidays, kid-friendly, pie, thanksgiving

Servings: servings

Calories: 492kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

CRUST:

1 ½ cups organic all-purpose flour (See Notes!)
2 Tbsps organic cane sugar
Pinch of ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup unsalted butter, VERY COLD + cubed or grated (See Notes!)
⅓ cup VERY COLD Almond milk, unsweetened (You can use dairy milk, if preferred)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

FILLING:

8-10 organic apples, peeled + sliced (I like to mix Granny Smith + Gala apples together; That's about 10 cups; See Notes!)
1 cup organic cane sugar
¼ cup Arrowroot starch (See Notes!)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tbsps unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

CRUMBLE TOPPING:

1 cup organic all-purpose flour
½ cup organic brown sugar
¼ cup organic rolled oats (Optional; if not using, sub with flour)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 Tbsps unsalted butter, partially melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

TO MAKE THE CRUST:

In a measuring cup, add the milk and apple cider vinegar, stir and set aside.
In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, sea salt, cinnamon, and cane sugar, whisking them all together.
Add the cubed or grated butter and using a pastry blender, blend butter into dry ingredients until the mixture becomes “peas-like” and crumbly.
Pour the cold apple cider vinegar-milk mixture (slowly) and stir (working it together with one hand) until the dry ingredients are moistened. NOTE: If the ingredients feels a little too dry, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, until it’s moistened BUT not too wet!
Once you’re able to form it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (minimum), up to 1 and a half hours or of course overnight.
In the meantime, make the Pie Filling.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

In a bowl, add the sliced apples, cane sugar, arrowroot, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, vanilla, and salt, stirring everything together until combined and the apples are completely coated.

TO MAKE THE CRUMBLE:

In a bowl, add the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon, stirring until combined. Add the partially melted butter and using a spatula, mix until combined and 'crumbly-like'.

ASSEMBLY:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a standard (9") pie dish with butter.
Remove dough ball from the refrigerator and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough ball using a rolling pin (not making it too thin), about ½-inch thick and gently placing it in your pie dish; working it around evenly. Be sure to do any folding or tucking of any excess pie crust.
Once complete, poke tiny holes around the bottom of the crust using a fork, add parchment paper to the center of the crust and add "pie weights" atop it and pre-bake the crust for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven.
Spoon the coated apples into the center of the crust and re-arrange slices to fit until completely filled to the top of the crust. Tuck the pieces of cut butter in between the apples. Finally, top with crumble topping mixture until completely covered. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until apple filling begins to bubble "out", and the crust + topping are golden brown.
Once done, remove from the the oven and let cool completely, about 1-2 hours. When cooled, place the pie in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving and slicing. NOTE: Overnight is best.
To serve, add whipped cream or your favorite ice cream and enjoy!
Bon Appetit!

Notes

STORAGE: Keep leftover pie tightly wrapped with heavy duty plastic wrap or foil and refrigerated for 3-4 days. Re-heat each slice when serving.
FLOUR: If you don’t have Pastry Flour available, simply substitute for All-Purpose Flour.
FOOD PROCESSOR FOR CRUST:If using a food processor to incorporate water to flour/butter mixture, ONLY ADD ¼ cup of water (or milk) AT A TIME to your dough, keeping it on “pulse” to avoid the dough from breaking down too much and it becoming “watery”. With this method, you may not need the entire ½ cup of water (or milk).
VEGAN OPTION: To make this pie vegan, simply substitute the butter with vegan butter and ensure that you use a dairy-free milk. See my Sweet Potato Pie recipe for the vegan crust ingredients.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: To make the crust entirely gluten-free, simply substitute the flour with a great Gluten-Free flour option like Bob's Red Mill's GF 1-to-1 baking flour or All-purpose flour. If using any other flour, ensure that it has Xanthan Gum included or add 1 teaspoon in with any flour that doesn't. For the remaining ingredients, just make sure that you use arrowroot starch which is very GF-friendly.
ARROWROOT: If you don’t have arrowroot starch, feel free to substitute with regular starch, tapioca flour, or all-purpose flour, which all act as a thickening agent.
EQUIPMENT: Here, I’ve curated a list of cooking + baking essentials that I use to achieve my favorite baked goods or cooked meals, especially with this Grandma’s Dutch Apple Pie. Everything from my fave baking sheet, liners, pie weights, hand-mixers, mixing bowls, and more. SEE THEM HERE!

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