Nothing beats the combination of apple, cinnamon and brown sugar. Apple pie requires only a handful of the simplest ingredients in your kitchen. It doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest ones.

We eat apple pies throughout the year in our house. To me, it’s comfort food. I wish I could say that I have fond memories of eating my grandmother’s pies, but I don’t. I grew up in South Asia, and we didn’t have ovens back then. All the desserts I know from my childhood are either boiled, fried, or steamed (think gulab jamun, ras malai, kheer, etc.). I learned about pies after moving to Canada, and my life has never been the same!

I love all types of pies, both sweet and savoury ones. I still remember when I tried a homemade apple pie at my best friend’s house in high school. It had the perfect balance of tart and sweetness from the apples and just the right hint of cinnamon. It was so good that I can still remember how I felt when I took that first bite, some 20 years ago!

My love for baking pies started while working at my first job after university at a Pillsbury facility. We didn’t make pie shells at that facility, but when you work for Pillsbury, you learn to love baked goods. Once we got to order some frozen pie shells from a sister facility and they only came in case packs of 24! So, that year I experimented with both sweet and savoury pies for a few weeks. I was all pied out for a while after that.

I’ve spent the last few years focusing on cakes, cookies and cake pops. But this year my love for pies is back. I have a newfound desire to experiment with pies. It started after my recent visit to Carl Laidlaw Orchards in Brampton, ON and picking 15 lbs of apples! Now I’m inspired to make all kinds of pies this fall. 

What makes a good apple pie? It starts with a firm-sweet apple such as Ginger Gold combined with some cinnamon and brown sugar. Other firm-sweet apples such as Golden Delicious or Pink Lady would work well too. If none of these are available, just use good ol’ Granny Smith apples. Just make sure to choose a firm-sweet or firm-tart apple (or combine both), so they hold up their shape during baking. Don’t use softer apples like McIntosh because the pie filling will turn into mush and you will get an applesauce pie!  

You can choose to make pie crust from scratch or if you’re in a time crunch like I was this week, just use the good old pie shell from the supermarket. I use the all-vegetable shortening pie shell. If you want to make your own pie shell, check out this recipe.

Sidenote: you know you’re passionate about baking when you can spend hours on the King Arthur’s website reading about different techniques and recipes for pies! 

Peel, core and slice the apples and toss with 4 simple ingredients to make the pie filling. Then make the crumble topping and sprinkle all over the pie filling and bake!

Cool the pie on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving. Apple pie is best enjoyed with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Bon Appétit.

 Prep time: 20 mins | Servings: 8 slices | Bake Time: 55 - 60 mins

Ingredients

Apple Pie Filling:
6 cups of apple slices, peeled
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp brown sugar (use ¼ cup of sugar for a sweeter pie)
2 tbsp flour
1½ tsp cinnamon

Crumble Topping:
¾ cup flour
3 tbsp white sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup cold butter
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Thaw the frozen pie crust (if using) and poke all over with a fork. If you are making the pie crust from scratch, chill it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes first.

2. Peel, core and slice the apples. Try to cut the slices to be all the same size.

3. Toss with the next 4 ingredients (lemon juice, sugar, flour, and cinnamon).

4. Pour apple mixture over the pie crust and spread evenly.

5. Using your hand or a pastry blender, mix the streusel topping ingredients until crumbly.

6. Sprinkle all over the apple filling and gently pat-down.

7. Preheat the oven to 375°F and bake for 55-60 minutes until you can see the apple mixture bubbling and the streusel topping looks nicely browned.

8. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice-cream or the flavour of your choice!

If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to know how it turns out.
Comment below or share a photo on IG and tag @emmaya.us.

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About Me

Hi there! I’m Tahmina - mom of two girls, an engineer, a passionate baker and a creative event planner.

I’ve always enjoyed baking but became passionate about it after I had my first child. Now I combine my knowledge from working in the food industry and increased interest in food and nutrition to experiment with various ingredients and recipes.

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