This apple crumble pie recipe has the flaky pie crust of a traditional apple pie with the delicious crumb topping you know and love from apple streusel.
Table of Contents
Easy Apple Crumble Pie
There’s nothing more American than apple pie, so it’s only fitting that the tasty dessert has played such a big role in my Army life.
I was fortunate enough to participate in the annual Apple Day festival at Fort Riley. It’s a fabulous open house that showcases the installation to the American public. In addition to a parade, military displays
and obstacle courses, the highlight is a dessert.
The Historical and Archeological Society of Fort Riley (HASFR) bakes more than 1,000 apple pies for the event. You can buy them by the slice or a baked or frozen pie. Many buy frozen pies in bulk and save them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The next Apple Day Festival is Sept. 24.
If you happen to be in Kansas, I highly recommend you attend and grab up a few pies.
A few years later, I moved to Belgium, and we had three apple trees in our backyard. When September came, I had so many apples. Of course, I knew just what to do with them. Although I didn’t have the HASFR assembly line as we had at Fort Riley, I turned my kitchen into an apple pie factory. I baked pies for my Belgian neighbors and froze about a dozen pies for holidays and other events. You never know when you’ll need one.
Now, I’m in Texas. It’s not quite apple season here. Heck, it was 106 degrees on Saturday! I don’t see any sign of fall…but that isn’t going to stop me from baking an apple pie and I wanted to make sure you have this recipe in time for apple picking season.
If you want to make your pie extra special, top it with Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Gelato and Fleur de sel caramel sauce. Bon appétit!
Apple Crumble Pie
Ingredients
- Prepared pâte sucrée, piecrust
- 4-5 Gala apples
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- PREP: Line a pie dish with prepared, unbaked pie dough.
- SLICE: Using a peeler, corer, slicer, slice the apples and cut them in half.
- TOSS: Place sliced apples in a large bowl and toss with sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
- SPICE: Let them set while preparing the topping. The sugar mixture will pull extra moisture from the apples, helping avoid a soggy bottom crust.
- CUT: Place all crumble ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut together with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
- ASSEMBLE: Remove the spiced apples from the bowl (leaving the liquid) and layer them into an unbaked pie shell.
- SPRINKLE: Top the apple filling with crumb topping, making sure to reach the edges. (At this point, you can freeze the pie. Wrap it in two layers of foil or plastic wrap and seal it in a Ziploc bag.)
- BAKE: Loosely cover with foil. Bake in a 375F degree oven for 60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15-20 more minutes. The edges of the pie filling should start to bubble.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for apple crumble pie
PIE:
- Ppâte sucrée, piecrust. I love a homemade pie crust, but your favorite store-bought pie crust works just as well.
- Apples. I like to use Gala apples because of their mildly sweet flavor and crisp texture.
- Sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground cloves
CRUMB:
- Sugar. You can use sugar, Truvia or any other granular sweetener you like.
- Flour. All-purpose or pastry flour, whatever you have on hand.
- Butter
- Ground cinnamon
Substitutions: If you prefer tart apples, I recommend Pink Lady or Granny Smith apples. For a sweeter pie, go with Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp apples. But you can’t really go wrong with any kind of apple; they all work beautifully in baked goods.
See the full recipe card for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to make the perfect apple pie
- Prep: Line a pie dish with prepared, unbaked pie dough.
- Slice: Using a peeler, corer, slicer, slice the apples and cut them in half.
- Toss: Place sliced apples in a large bowl and toss with sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
- Spice: Let them set while preparing the topping. The sugar mixture will pull extra moisture from the apples, helping avoid a soggy bottom crust.
- Cut: Place all crumble ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut together with a pastry cutter until crumbly.
- Assemble: Remove the spiced apples from the bowl (leaving the liquid) and layer them into an unbaked pie shell.
- Sprinkle: Top the apple filling with crumb topping, making sure to reach the edges. (At this point, you can freeze the pie. Wrap it in two layers of foil or plastic wrap and seal it in a Ziploc bag.)
- Bake: Loosely cover with foil. Bake in a 375F degree oven for 60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15-20 more minutes. The edges of the pie filling should start to bubble.
✔️ PRO TIP
Use cold butter, not melted, for streusel toppings. As you mix the dry ingredients, they’ll form pockets of butter that’ll melt and brown as the pie bakes and make sure that the flour doesn’t overcook in the oven. We want a buttery crumble, not a tough one!
How to serve apple crumble pie
The first time you cut into a freshly baked pie is pure magic. Serve individual slices with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and a small bowl of extra toppings. For the kids, pour them a glass of apple cider and for the adults, whip up a batch of my Apple Ginger Martinis for some extra apple goodness.
Storage
If you want to freeze the pies, it’s best to prepare them in disposable aluminum tins because you can squeeze the tin into a large Ziploc bag. You can always transfer them to a beautiful pie plate before baking to add that extra wow.
So, bake one for today and freeze a few for the holidays…or for that just because moment.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best kind is your favorite kind! Just make sure they are fresh and crunchy apples to retain their texture after baking.
Chalk this up to personal preference. For an extra crispy pie crust, you can definitely parbake it before assembly, but my recipe doesn’t call for it.
The sweetly crisp topping is what makes this pie great. Brown sugar, chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts and rolled old-fashioned oats are classic apple crisp ingredients.
What temperature and how long do you bake it?
How do you make the crumble…..????
Sorry Cis. I forgot to include European measurements. Combine the following with a pastry blender or a large fork:
100 grams sugar
100 grams flour
45 grams butter
2-3 grams cinnamon
Looks scrumptious! And I’m with you on the who-cares-how-hot-it-is-outside! When we’re hungry for apple pie, that’s definitely the time to bake one. YUM!!!