Dutch Apple Pie is my husband’s favorite pie. And probably his favorite dessert when served with a side of vanilla ice cream. There is something about the taste and texture of a Dutch Apple pie that transports you to a crisp autumn day and makes you want to pause and take life slowly. In truth, my grandmother was always more famous for her Chocolate pie than her Dutch apple, and in recent years it has become my youngest sister, Nora, who has taken the family recipe and become most known in our family for her delicious Dutch apple pie. This recipe is one that embodies the way our grandmothers approached baking: full of warmth, love and plenty of butter:)
Homemaking Note
As a young wife this was one of the first bakes I remember making for my new husband. We lived in a tiny college apartment and our kitchen was the size of a small closet. We had gone apple picking on a beautiful fall day and I had the perfect way to use our bounty. I actually bought a store-bought Pillsbury crust for the bottom crust. (I was 19, cut me some slack…) Once the pie came out of the oven, we could hardly wait for it to cool. We ate it right out of the aluminum pie plate the crust came in. It was delicious, and every time I eat a slice I am taken back to that blissful time. It also reminds me how thankful I am to be out of that apartment…
What is a Dutch Apple Pie?
Like a classic apple pie, this pie has a sweet and traditional apple pie filling. The difference between a Dutch apple pie and other apple pie recipes is the top crust. Instead of a double crust, the top crust is a delicious crumbly streusel. This recipe uses our favorite Flaky Pie Crust for the bottom crust and a homemade Dutch apple pie streusel for the top layer of the pie. In many ways this is a great pie for beginner pie bakers because it requires you to make only one delicate pie crust for the bottom and simple streusel for the top.
Best Apples to Use for Your Dutch Apple Pie
For the best outcome of flavor, we recommend using three different varieties per pie. Our top recommendations would be Granny Smith, Macintosh and Jonathan varieties. The melding between the three varieties results in a complex flavor and texture combination. Granny Smith apples are not only tart apples, but they are also a firmer apple. They generally remain firm through the baking process. Macs, on the other hand, become very saucy as they cook which works so well with the firmer pieces of Granny Smith apples. Jonathan apples contribute flavor–both sweet and tart–and have a wonderful texture as well. Together, they create the perfect flavor and texture combo.
However, my cousin has a small orchard and often-times we just use whatever they have an abundance of! When you’re unsure of the varieties you’re getting, just be sure to have at least two different types for your pie. With a buttery streusel topping, a sweet apple filling, and a flaky pie shell, this recipe has never failed to make an amazing pie.
Prepping your Crust for Dutch Apple Pie
Check out our Flaky Pie Crust Recipe for more info on how to create the perfect flaky crust. Roll out your pie crust and then place into your baking dish.
Watch video here:
Prepping your Apples
Start by peeling and slicing your apples for your pie. I like to slice mine fairly thin, probably about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick so you do not have any large chunks in your pie. However, it’s your pie so if you want bigger chunks, go for it! Add your 6 cups of sliced apples to a large bowl and toss with your brown sugar, all-purpose flour, lemon juice and salt. Toss your apple slices until evenly coated in the sugar and flour. I usually let mine sit so that some of the juices from the apples begin to release and I start to see a “syrup.” This might take about 15 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, you can go right to the next step, and it will be fine. Also, if you’re not quite ready for it, you can keep this mixture in the fridge for up to 3 days, until you are ready to use it. When ready to bake, add your filling to the pie shell and spread out evenly.
You are also able to freeze this apple filling mixture in a freezer bag and store for up to 6 months. Then when ready to use, place the frozen bag of apple filling the fridge until the filling has defrosted completely, or you can speed the process along by placing the freezer bag in warm water until thawed. After the pie filling has defrosted, you can just add it to your pie crust, top with streusel and bake!
Your Streusel Topping
There are several ways to make a crumbly streusel!
Pastry Cutter
Start by mixing your dry ingredients together. Then cut your butter into small cubes, add it to the dry ingredients. Using your pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the butter pieces are about the size of peas or smaller. Top your pie, and you’re ready to bake.
By Hand
If you don’t have a pastry cutter, or you just like to be very “in touch” with your crumb topping because it’s fun, then just use your fingers to squeeze the butter into the sugar and flour mixture. Continue until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.
using melted, but cooled, butter
This is actually the method we use for our coffee cake muffins at the bakery, and the crumb is a little crunchier when you melt the butter first, but it’s a variation you might love! First, melt the butter; but before proceeding, make sure it cools to just slightly warm. If you combine it with the flour and sugar mixture while it’s still hot, it will melt the sugars and cause the crumb topping to be a bit greasy. To prevent that, just wait until it cools a bit before adding it to the mixture. Once it’s cooled, just pour it into the dry mixture and toss with a fork. There’s no need to stir it vigorously; just tossing it lightly with the fork until it looks like a beautiful crumb will be sufficient.
Final Assembly and Baking
Optimally, having the pie shell cold when you assemble your pie will lead to the best finish for the pie crust. So, I recommend putting the pie shell in the fridge while you are making the filling and the crumb topping. When you’re ready to assemble, take the pie shell out of the fridge, pour your filling into the shell, and top with crumb topping. Bake on the lowest rack of your oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 and continue to bake for at least 30 minutes, and probably closer to 40 minutes. The initial high temperature will help to create a flaky crust as well as give the apples a kick-start to baking. You’ll know your pie is done when it is nice and golden brown, and the center is bubbly.
If your pie is overbrowning, and it’s not bubbling yet, you can place a pie shield like this on it to prevent the edges from burning. Don’t take your pie out too early! One challenge with fruit pies is making sure you don’t end up with an underbaked pie that has a soggy bottom. If you put a pie shield on it, you almost can’t overbake a fruit pie. If in doubt as to whether it’s done, error on the side of leaving it in longer rather than removing it from the oven too soon. Remember, that beautiful brown finish to the crumb topping has a lot of flavor in it, so don’t be afraid to let it get good and done!
Watch full assembly video here:
“Just like Grandma’s” Dutch Apple Pie from our Bakery
At our bakery we try to perfect recipes not only so that they taste delicious, but so that they taste delicious every time. We have enjoyed this recipe for many years and hope you and your family get as much joy out of it as we have. Let us know how it goes and happy baking!
Hello! I’m Lily, co-owner of the Flour Barn Bakery and writer for The Flour Barn Homestead Blog. I love art, baking and drinking coffee with my sisters. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
“Just like Grandma’s” Dutch Apple Pie from our Bakery
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- 1 stick (113 grams) butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- cinnamon to taste
Apple Pie Filling
- 6 cups Apples 3 varieties preferred
- 1 cup (100 grams) sugar
- 1/3 cup (45 grams) flour
- ¼ tsp salt
Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups 363 grams of all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 4 Tablespoons (57 grams) cold butter cut into small cubes
- 12 Tablespoons (169 grams) vegetable shortening
- 8 to 10 Tablespoons chilled water
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- In large bowl, mix your flour, sugar and salt together.
- Cut in cold butter in cubes.
- Use pastry cutter to cut butter into the other ingredients until you have a mix of pea sized or smaller pieces of butter.
Apple Pie Filling
- Peel, core, and slice apples, until you have six cups of prepared apples.
- To your apples, add flour, brown sugar, and salt. Stir until apples are fully covered with sugar mixture.
Pie Crust
- To a large bowl, add flour and salt. Sift together with fork.
- To flour mixture, add shortening and butter. Using fingertips, mash fats into the flour until mixture looks like coarse meal and pieces of fat are the size of peas or slightly larger.
- Drizzle chilled water over mixture one tablespoon at a time, stirring with fork with each addition until dough begins to come together, and very little free flour is visible.
- Dump dough out onto work surface and knead one or two times just to form into ball. Divide in half and form two discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- When you’re ready to roll it out, take out of refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling. Place on well-floured pastry cloth, roll out until dough is approximately 1/8 in thick and approximately 2 inches bigger than pie plate. Transfer to pie plate and you’re ready to go!
Final Assembly and Baking
- Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
- Add pie filling to pie crust and distribute evenly.
- Add crumbly streusel to the top of the pie, covering all of the apple filling.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the center of the pie is nice and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let cool for an hour for best results. Enjoy!
