The difference between a Dutch apple pie and a regular apple pie is a streusel topping of butter, flour, and sugar baked on top in a delicious sweet, crunchy twist. It’s easier, and sweeter, than a pastry top, and makes a nice change of pace. Pastry is still important, though–it’s not pie without it, and it’s arguably the key to great pie.
No store-bought crusts! Make homemade pie crust. It’s not that hard, and it makes the difference between an okay pie and a great pie.
Really!
I made two pies here, one to bake right away and one to freeze and bake later.
I froze the pie unbaked (after adding the filling and topping). To bake a frozen pie, it’s best to not thaw it out before it goes in the oven. Preheat the oven then stick the pie in right from the freezer. If you let the pie thaw out first, the crust can become soggy. If it’s baked right away, it thaws then bakes so quickly, the crust has no time to become a soggy dough mess.
For this recipe, I was using a 9-inch pie pan that was relatively shallow. If you’re using a larger pie pan, you might want to increase the recipe slightly. An average medium-large apple usually comes out to about one cup. I used three large apples per pie, and it came out to about three and a half cups sliced apples. Don’t worry too much about being exact–just use what will fit in your pie pan and adjust accordingly. (I don’t remember what kind of apples these were. Any good baking apple will do.)
Note that this is the recipe for one pie. I doubled it to make two.
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How to make Dutch Apple Pie:
pastry for 1 single-crust pie
3-4 medium-large apples, cored, peeled, sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Prepare the pastry and the apples. Toss apples with the lemon juice then stir in the sugars, flour, and spices. This is easy!
(This is for two pies, so don’t be confused by the amount in this bowl.) Add filling to pastry-lined pie pan.
Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
Place the flour and sugars in a bowl. Or a loaf pan if you don’t have a bowl handy. (Ha. I was baking in the kitchen in the house and most of my bowls are in the studio.)
Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or fork. Sprinkle mixture on top of the pie filling.
Bake at 375-degrees for 50-60 minutes or until browned. Important: I almost always bake pies on the bottom shelf! This eliminates two problems. One, you don’t have to protect the edges of the crust from over-browning, and two, it guarantees your crust is baked through on the bottom. (Crucial!)
Get the vanilla ice cream!
See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.
LisaAJB says:
That looks like a delicious breakfast!
On February 26, 2013 at 8:26 am
daria says:
Why can’t I just reach through the screen and nab a slice of deliciousness? It’s the 21st century, people!
Would it be wrong to do this with last summer’s frozen peaches?
On February 26, 2013 at 8:52 am
beforethedawn says:
I love your pies and crust, they are the only recipes I’ve used. We were given a store bought frozen cherry pie and it was the most awful tasting thing ever! The crust was the worst and the filling wasn’t even worth scooping out of the crust to enjoy. What a waste of food. It really made me appreciate good homemade recipes again!
On February 26, 2013 at 9:43 am
rhubarbrose says:
Dutch Apple Pie is our all-time favourite! It’s an Amish Mennonite traditional and we always serve it with a nice slice of old cheddar cheese! I noticed that you used aluminum pie plates and the trick I’ve learned when using them is to set them into a metal or glass pie plate before baking – seems to bake the bottom crust better that way! I like your hint to keep the edges from browning too much. Get the vanilla ice-cream indeed!
On February 26, 2013 at 9:46 am
OCHousewife says:
My grandpa used to say, “apple pie without some cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!”. Since Pi Day is coming up (March 14th), will have to keep this recipe in mind.
On February 26, 2013 at 12:28 pm
ranchelmarie says:
I’m definitely going to give this pie a shot sometime soon! And thanks so much for the tip about baking it on the bottom rack, I have such a hard time keeping my edges from browning too much.
When you cook your frozen pie, do you need to cook it at a different temp or for longer?
On February 26, 2013 at 4:32 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Cook a frozen pie at the same temp. It may take longer, just watch it.
On February 26, 2013 at 4:50 pm
KLabmom says:
Here’s something to try with this type of pie: add a cup of heavy cream poured over the top for the last 20 minutes or so of baking time. So, so, so good. You should try it 🙂
On February 26, 2013 at 6:27 pm
Granma2girls says:
Just made this pie for guests yesterday.First time for a Dutch Apple. It was delicious,and I had added a big handful of old fashioned oatmeal to the topping. Will definitely make it again!
On February 27, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Joell says:
:happyflower:
Hello Suzanne, I want to ask if I use your pastry to make just one double crust recipe, would I still use an egg and if so how would I adjust the liquid?
Thank you.
On March 1, 2013 at 9:27 am