Classic Dutch Apple Pie like grandma made! Few things are as comforting as the smell of hot apple pie fresh from the oven. Make this Classic Dutch Apple Pie and enjoy the flavors of sweet and tart apples with cinnamon and sugar in a flaky crust and topped with sweet crumbs.
Apple Picking Day at the Orchard
Picking apples in a local orchard in the fall seems to be the rage these days. I love it! I’m here for it! But my family has been picking our own apples every fall since way before it was cool. We’d drive from orchard to orchard in the back of an old and very large car driven by our sweet elderly friends, looking for the very best apple varieties as the best prices.
These days, apple picking is a little more glamorous, but still all the fall fun. I’m a 36 year old millennial mom determined to disconnect from the crazy, fast-paced, digital life as often as possible to let my kiddo enjoy real life activities… like running between apple trees and sampling more apples than is reasonable, cheeks flush from the prickly cold fresh country air. This is life.
I was looking at these sweet apple picking pictures from a few years ago. Just, wow… they do grow up too quickly.
Classic Dutch Apple Pie
While apple picking is fun, the real joy for me is making fresh apples into all sorts of delicious treats. Every fall, we just expect to be inundated with all things pumpkin, and I’m not mad at it. But so many of us love and even prefer apple flavors in the fall. My daughter is one of those people and after apple picking she expects to help make Classic Dutch Apple Pie. And by “help” I mostly mean eat as many cinnamon sugared apple slices as possible before they go into the pie.
NOTE: as a reader pointed out in the comments section below, “Dutch Apple Pie” is not actually Dutch! The name actually should be “Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie,” but I suppose that is too much of a mouth full.
I recommend you serve this pie fresh, on the day you make it. With no preservatives, the crumb topping is most crumbly and crisp on the day you make the pie. When you cover the pie and keep it for the next day, it still tastes absolutely wonderful, but the crumb topping loses it’s crispness and becomes quite soft and moist. Just a little extra tip for ya!
A Word About the Crust
Before you start to make your pie, determine what kind of crust you will use. I recommend my Homemade Shortening Pie Crust which is perfectly flaky and has the right mild flavor for an apple pie.
You may also wish you use a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust. I love them!
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Classic Dutch Apple Pie
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Classic Dutch Apple Pie like grandma made! Few things are as comforting as the smell of hot apple pie fresh from the oven. Make this Classic Dutch Apple Pie and enjoy the flavors of sweet and tart apples with cinnamon and sugar in a flaky crust and topped with sweet crumbs.
Ingredients
- 8 cups cored, peeled, and thinly sliced Granny Smith apples (or any variety of apples that you prefer for baking)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 pie crust
TOPPING:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
Click here for the homemade shortening pie crust recipe I use for this pie.
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In large bowl, toss together the sliced apples, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Pour into a 9-inch pie crust.
3. In medium bowl, use a pastry blender or your fingers to mix together the topping ingredients until it forms a crumbly consistency. Sprinkle evenly over top of pie.
4. Bake at 400 for 45-55 minutes until the pie crust and crumb topping are deep golden brown and filling begins to bubble.
Notes
Watch the pie toward the end of the baking time to ensure the filling doesn’t bubble over into your oven. You may wish to place a cookie sheet under the pie to prevent spills in your oven.
Share the Pie Love
Did you make Classic Dutch Apple Pie? Tell me about it in the comments below! You can also click here to see this pin on Pinterest to save it for later or to add your own picture of your pie so we can see how it turned out for you.
This pie looks incredible! I have to try it!!
★★★★★
It’s true – there are few things as comforting as the smell of hot apple pie fresh from the oven… I can already smell it, yummy! I’m sure this apple pie won’t survive the next day to lose it’s crispness and become soft and moist.
★★★★★
It does go so fast! My daughter wants to eat it for every meal. Haha!
Apple picking looks like a lot of fun! I agree that it’s so important to disconnect from digital life once in a while. Anyway, this apple pie looks fantastic! I love the sweet topping!
This has me nostalgic for childhood desserts. Looks so simple too!
★★★★★
It definitely reminds me so much of my grandma’s apple pie!
What beautiful apples! It’s always fun to go pick your own. Your pie looks delicious. Such a classic.
Seems like a delicious pie. It makers me curious though. I’m Dutch, and we don’t have pies like that over here. What makes it a classic Dutch pie to you? I don’t mean to be rude in any way, i’m just interested.
Just in case you were wondering what the Dutch consider classic Dutch Apple pie, search for “appeltaart”.
Thanks!
I wonder the same thing! I’ve always known we call it “Dutch Apple Pie” in the U.S. but it’s not actually Dutch. It’s just our way, I guess! Haha!
Actually, I normally call it “Apple Crumb Pie” but I learned that “Dutch Apple Pie” is more common where I live, so I went with that title for this recipe to make it more searchable and such.
But yes, everyone reading this, it’s true… our American “Dutch Apple Pie” is super not Dutch. I would love to try appeltaart though!
You know… the second I sent my reply I realized I was forgetting a major fact involved in this weird little pie name situation… it’s PENNSYLVANIA Dutch! Ah ha! You would think I would have come up with that answer right away since I’m from PA.
lol … I was looking at the picture and found myself wondering exactly the same thing as Dutch (as I’m also Dutch heheh) … so I read the edit and this conversation here and yes … Pennsylvania Dutch makes perfect sense … no matter though … I will try this cousin of the Dutch “appeltaart” soon, it looks delish! 😀
★★★★★