Apple pie is such a staple around the holidays! I love it with a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top!

With every recipe I put on here, I test and develop it. They aren’t always the best at first but that’s how I find what works the best and what could use improvement, it’s a process.I love the process because I end up with a great recipe and learn something new every day!

So this year I wanted to create my own recipe for apple pie. I played around with a few different ways to make it. I wanted to see how I liked baking the raw apples in the pie shell with the spices and cornstarch vs. making the apple pie filling before hand on the stove top and pouring it into the pie shell then baking.

In past years, I have always made the pie filling on the stove before pouring into the pie crust then baking, I have always liked how that turns out but just wanted to try the other way of baking the filling in the shell.

Here’s what I found, when raw apples are placed into the pie shell and then baked the pie ends up a little on the dryer side. Also the pie shell gets a little too cooked when it has to wait for the apples to bake.

So I would definitely recommend making the apple pie filling on the stove top before pouring it into the pie dough and then baking. My family concurs with this verdict. 

So I have included my stove top apple pie recipe here so you can have a juicy, flavorful and perfectly baked crust pie!

What you need to make apple pie:

Makes 1 standard 9 inch pie

• 1 and 1/2 pie crusts – for a traditional latticed pie – for my homemade pie crust recipe click here.
• 7 apples – Peeled cored and thinly sliced. (Granny smith apples hold up nicely and the tartness from them balances out the sweetness but you can use different varieties or a mix of sweet and tart apples.)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a sauce pan add peeled and cored apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice and 1/4 cup water.
3. Stir over medium heat until apples begin to soften, about 8 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water and whisk into the mixture.
5. When apples have thickened slightly move to a raw pie dough that has been rolled out and placed into a pie dish.
6. Cover with top with pie dough however desired then bake for about 30 minutes or until pie crust is golden.
7. Apple pie does need to set for at least a few hours, ideally a full day before cutting into it so it can set up and won’t fall out of the crust when cut.