Q&A for How to Bake an Apple Pie from Scratch

Not all recipes advise cooking the apples first, but doing so has certain advantages. Cooking the apples ahead of time will not only affect the taste of the pie and give it a more caramelized flavor, but it will also help prevent a gap from forming between the crust and the apples as they cook down in the oven.

That depends on your preferences and what kind of flavor you’re going for. If you want your pie to be tart, try sour varieties like Granny Smith, Northern Spy, or Jonathan. For a sweeter pie, use Fuji, Golden Delicious, or Jonagold. There are also a variety of intermediate options, like Braeburn, Pink Lady, and Honeycrisp.

There are several ways to do this. First, try pre-cooking the apples along with your other filling ingredients for 5-10 minutes to help the juices cook down and thicken up. You can also reduce the juice by simmering it with sugar for several minutes until it becomes thick and syrupy. Thickeners such as corn starch or tapioca can also make your filler less runny. When you bake the pie, vent the crust or use a lattice to help let out steam, and cook the pie thoroughly before taking it out of the oven.

Brown sugar is preferred. White sugar is an option, but will alter the taste/texture.

No, but it does help with the taste.

You don't have to, but doing so gives the pie a more golden brown color. You can also use just milk instead, or skip the brushing entirely.

Try increasing your baking time. You can also try baking the crust first, filling it with the apple pie filling, and then baking it again.

There will not be any drastic effect, but there also will not be the added texture and flavor from the baked cinnamon and sugar.

Use unsalted butter.

Apple pie never swells up. It always cooks down. If you want to have a pie that swells up, you need to add a lot more filling at the beginning. Piling it up an extra inch, maybe inch and a half, is a good start.

I don't know for sure, but I think maybe 8-10 inches. It doesn't really matter, though, because you still cut off excess crust in the end.

Leave it until you are done with everything else that is needed for the pie, just long enough for it to set.

A cube of butter depends on the stick you are using but usually it is around 1 to 1.5 tablespoons.

Yes, you can add a complementary flavor to the filling.

You can if you want to, but it is recommended not to because it will change the color of the dough and you will have enough flavor of the cinnamon with the apples at the end.

No, you may omit nutmeg from the recipe.

Yes.

Although it's not a requirement, lemon juice will prevent the apples from browning and helps the liquid filling to thicken. If you don't have any, use the same amount of any other kind of citrus juice.

Sources say 3 hours and 30 minutes, but I usually make one in under 2 hours.

Sugar is not typically used in the crust, as the filling is sweet enough. But it's up to you.

If you let the apples drain, the liquid (juice) that comes from them is what you should heat.

1 teaspoon. The amounts are all listed under Ingredients in the beginning.

It should be a 9", deep-dish pie pan. Always use a deep pan. If you do not have one available, use an 8 inch regular pan as a last resort.

It means to get rid of the excess liquid.

Use 1 teaspoon.

No, but your apple pie will not have the same taste as is traditional.

No. Consider finding recipes for mug pies instead of microwaving a whole apple pie.

Yes, you can use any kind of apples. Granny Smith's are firm and tart, so they make good pies, but any kind of apple will work, too.

If you want long slices in your pie, sure. But it's easier to eat if the apples are in small pieces.

For 1 cup of light brown sugar use, 1 Cup white sugar + 1 Tablespoon Molasses. For 1 cup of dark brown sugar use, 1 Cup Granulated Sugar + 1/4 Cup of Molasses.