My Mom's Apple Pie Recipe

My Mom's Apple Pie Recipe is one of my childhood favorites! Tart and sweet apple, flaky pie crust, buttery, and all the fall pie flavors!

There is nothing more comforting than family recipes over the holidays. The predictability of knowing what dishes will be served year after year is full of comfort and love.

What recipes do you have that you look forward to every Thanksgiving? Is it your grandmother's green beans? Your aunt's broccoli casserole? Your mom's tender homemade rolls?

We all have that 1 dish (oh ok, several dishes) that we all look forward to, and my mom's apple pie recipe is one of mine. Actually, I think my husband is a bigger fan of this than I am now. He can't get enough of that flaky homemade pie crust and tart apples baked with all the fall spices.

Ingredients Needed

• Granny Smith Apples
• Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Corn Starch
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Cloves
• Lots of butter!

Check out the full Web Story on how to make homemade apple pie!

How to Make Homemade Pie Crust

While you most certainly can use a store-bought pie crust for this recipe, I highly recommend you give making your own a try! I have a full in-depth post all about homemade pie crust - full-proof steps, make-ahead tips, and how and when to blind bake HERE that I know will be super helpful not just for this recipe but other pie recipes as well!

• 2 Cups Flour
• 6 Tablespoons Butter
• 6 Tablespoons Lard or Shortening
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 5-10 Tablespoons Ice Water  + more if needed

1. In a large bowl, add flour, salt, cold butter, and cold lard/shortening.
2. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter and lard into the flour until the mixture resembles small pea size shapes. If the butter and lard have gotten too warm in the process, place them into the freezer for 5 minutes to chill before continuing.
3. Fill a large glass with water and ice. Using a tablespoon measure, spoon 5 tablespoons of the ice water into the flour mixture. Using a fork or spatula, mix well. You may need to add in more water if still floury and not coming together. You want the dough to just begin to come together - not sticky and wet but not floury and crumbly as well. It will still be a bit crumbly but when you squeeze it together with your hands it stays together (see the picture below). Do not add too much water (I usually end up adding around 10 tablespoons most of the time).
4. Sprinkle flour lightly out onto the counter and place dough on top. Roll around flour so that all sides are covered and bring it together into a ball shape. Split the dough in half making 2 pie dough balls. This recipe makes 2 pie shells which is needed for the top and bottom.
5. Roll out with a rolling pin in a circle until it is larger than your pie plate.
6. Gently pick up the crust at one end and scoot the pie plate right up next to the dough so that it is easy to flip over/drag over onto the pie plate (this allows you not to have to pick up the entire pie of dough and risk breaking). Make sure the dough lays evenly around all the edges.
7. Roll out the second dough ball and reserve it for the top later on. Once the filling is inside, you will layer the second crust on top, crimp the edges to seal, and cute slits in the top to let the steam escape while baking.

How to You Make Apple Pie from Scratch?

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Peel and thinly slice all of the apples. A mandolin or food processor is the easiest and fastest way to do this. (affiliate links)
3. Add the peeled and sliced apples into a large bowl. Add in the rest of the filling ingredients and stir to coat the apples completely.
4. Carefully layer the apples into the pie shell. Tuck them tightly against the edges and on top of each other. 
5. Take a couple of tablespoons of butter and cut it into dots. Dot the top of the apples with this butter (about 4-5 tablespoons cubed). This is very important! Do not skip this step.
6. Lay the second rolled-out pie crust on top of the apples. Crimp the edges together and decorate the top as you wish. If leaving it undecorated, cut a couple of slits at the top of the crust. 
7. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sugar (coarse or white sugar can be used).
8. Bake for 1 hour and until bubbly. If it is getting too brown on top before finishing, lay a piece of foil loosely on top.
9. Let cool for about 30 minutes before serving.

There are a lot of apples in this recipe. Make sure you layer and tuck the apple slices in tightly (instead of just dumping the bowl into the pie shell). This will help ensure a better bake and easier to cut through when finished.

PRO TIP - dotting the top of the apple pie with lots of butter before putting the top crust on is the SECRET to the best homemade apple pie recipe! It's my mom's tried and true tip and secret. Don't skip it. If you're going to eat this make it right?!

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Disclosure. Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, I may receive compensation. This compensation comes at no additional cost to you, and as always I only recommend products I trust!  Heather Bilyeu is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.