Paula Deen's Apple Pie Recipe - Something Swanky Dessert Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the best apple combination for pie? ›

The exact ratio is up to you. If you prioritize a more puckery pie, use mostly Granny Smiths and toss in a Honeycrisp and a Jonagold. If you like your apples to slump and soften, use mostly Golden Delicious with a Braeburn thrown in.

Because apple pie fillings tend to skew sweet already, many bakers prefer to lean on tart or sweet-tart varieties. Tart Granny Smith is a go-to for this reason, and you should consider Goldrush, Paula Red and Northern Spy for the same reasons. Jonagold, Ginger Gold and Empire are sweet-tart apples worthy of pie, too.

Corn starch lends a glossy thickness and adds sheen to the filling while flour adds opacity and some mouthfeel so that it has a sort-of creaminess. With all corn starch the filling reminds me too much of store-bought pies with that gloopy clear gel-like texture and with all flour it can get too lumpy and stodgy.

Cornstarch has thickening power similar to Instant ClearJel. Like flour, it lends a cloudy, semi-transparent look to filling. It can also give filling a starchy taste. For full effectiveness, make sure the pie filling is bubbling up through the crust before removing your pie from the oven.

Sprinkle dried breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal, on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven.

In pie crust, you don't want gluten to form so you don't want to mix too much and overwork the dough. For a flaky crust, cut the butter so that chunks of butter about the size of walnut halves remain.

For more on all these apples, including what they look and taste like, see our baking apple guide below. There are a few apples that don't make the cut. While great for snacking, Gala, Fuji and Red Delicious are the most common apples that won't hold up in the oven and will give you a watery-mushy pie, tart or cake.

The Honeycrisp apple is one of the sweeter varieties, so it definitely is not lacking in the flavor department. They stay relatively firm, although less so than the Granny Smiths, and this makes them a great combination of flavor and texture for your pies.

Honeycrisp apples are known for their intense sweetness and crisp snap. They're a delicious apple to incorporate into either pie or crisp filling because they pack a bold punch in the flavor department and are neither too wet nor too firm when cooked.

If the only baking apple options at your market are Romes and Cortlands, get those. Macintoshes add sweetness, but they turn to mush when baked, so use only a few. Better yet are the older varieties of apples, the Golden Russet, Northern Spy and Winesap. If you can, add a few Macouns to the mix.

What are the three best apples for apple pie? ›

I usually go for a mix of Grammy smith, macintosh and honey crisp! The combination is the key! For OP, I would start with 1:1:1 ratio and adjust to taste. And yet somehow, year after year, my apple pies are mush or there's too much room between the apples and the top crust.

Which apples bake best? For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

Macintosh or Granny Smith apples are the best choices for apple pie because they are the least mushy apples.

Crust dust is a 1:1 mixture of flour and granulated sugar. When baking a pie, especially a fruit pie, a couple of teaspoons of crust dust sprinkled into the bottom of the crust will help prevent the crust from becoming saturated with juicy filling as it bakes.

Later in the season, Paula Red apples develop a mealy, softer consistency suitable for several cooked preparations. The apples can be incorporated into crisps, cobblers, and crumbles, baked into scones, muffins, granola bars, and pancakes, or combined with firmer apple varieties in fillings for pastries.

Crisp apples, rich butter, a blend of sugars, cinnamon and apple juice come together in perfect harmony to create the best apple pie filling of all time! There are so many reasons to make your own apple pie filling from scratch.