Blue Ribbon Homemade Apple Pie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should I soak apples before making pie? ›

Some experts will tell you to par-cook apples before filling a pie by pouring boiling water over cut apples and soaking them for 10 minutes. Others say to roast them to reduce water content. Still, others say to let cut apples sit for 30-40 minutes to drain natural juices.

Many pie fillings are made with a processed thickening agent that keeps the filling jelly-like and in place. But McDonald's uses a dehydrated apple powder. The powder not only thickens the filling, but it also adds that extra apple taste that you love.

Costco's apple pie is frequently praised for its pleasing crunchy texture and nice balance between sweetness and tanginess when it comes to the filling. In fact, lots of people claim that this pie tastes like it was made from scratch.

You do not need to pre-bake a pie crust for an apple pie or any baked fruit pie really, but we do freeze the dough to help it stay put. Pre-baking the pie crust is only required when making a custard pie OR when making a fresh fruit pie.

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.

Public opinion started to lean away from fried food and more toward baked, so McDonald's switched to a baked version in 1992. The new version was undoubtedly healthier, though many longtime fans insist that the old flaky, crispy crust was tastier.

And then there's the long forgotten fried apple pie at McDonald's, which made the switch to baked in 1992 due to health reasons and has tasted inferior ever since. Unless you're over 40 and/or live in Hawaii (more on that soon), you've probably never tasted a McDonald's fried apple pie.

Back in the late 70's - before labelling was required on fast food products in Canada, McDonalds did use potatoes in their pies - because it was cheaper. Then, labelling laws changed, requiring them to label all contents, after which, they changed the contents to apples.

One of the chief reasons bakers end up with apple soup under the crust is failure to bake their pie long enough. There's almost no such thing as over-baking an apple pie; I've baked apple pies for 2 hours and longer, and they turn out just fine.

What is the sweetest apple for apple pie? ›

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.

If the recipe calls for 6 cups of sliced apples, you'll likely need about 8 medium-sized apples, or about 2 pounds of medium-sized apples. Now go fill your home with the scents of the season and bake the day away.

We tried several apple pies from grocery store bakery sections, and Sprouts makes the best store bought apple pie by far. The crust is flaky and almost savory. The filling isn't overly sweet, either. It's so deeply flavorful and it seems to absorb some of the salt from the pie crust, which is amazing.

Table Talk Pies is the manufacturer of Walmart's private label, 84-cent Freshness Guaranteed, The Bakery collection pies. Of the 250 million pies per year Table Top Pies manufacturers, 185 million pies goes to Walmart.

The clear winner for the United States as a whole was (not surprisingly) apple pie with more than 27% of sales going to the traditional flavor.

Firm, yet tender apple slices

Afterward, simply pour the hot water over them and let them sit for 10 minutes. The hot water allows the apples' pectin to stabilize and, as a result, stay slightly firm while being baked. The apples will still soften when baked, just at a slower rate.

Create a Baking Soda Soak or Vinegar Spray

Baking soda is great for cleaning virtually anything—including apples. A study3 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that cleaning apples with baking soda reduced fungicide by 80 percent and insecticide by 96 percent.

To use this method to prevent apples from turning brown, create a water bath for your apple slices with a ratio of 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of water. Soak the apple slices for 3 to 5 minutes, then drain and rinse them. This simple step should keep your apples from browning for several hours.

Mix 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt into 1 cup of cool water until dissolved. Add your sliced apples and soak for about 10 minutes. Drain the apples and store in an airtight container for up to a week.