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Dutch Apple Crumble Pie Recipe

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★★★★★

4.4 from 62 reviews

Dutch Apple Crumble Pie is a delectable dessert combining a tender homemade pie crust filled with a tender spiced apple filling and topped with a crunchy, buttery sugar crumble. Using a mix of apple varieties and warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, this pie offers a perfect balance of tart and sweet flavors. The pie is baked until the crust turns golden and the crumble topping is lightly browned, then cooled to achieve the ideal texture before serving, often paired with vanilla ice cream or salted caramel sauce.

Ingredients

Scale

Pie Crust

  • 1 homemade single pie crust (1 sheet of pie dough)

Apple Filling

  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
  • Juice from half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
  • 5 pounds apples (approximately 11 large, mixture of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Golden Delicious)

Filling Spices and Sugars

  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumble Topping

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (use less if using table salt)
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter (melted, about 1 1/2 sticks)

Instructions

  1. Choose your apples: Select approximately 5 pounds of apples, mixing varieties like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Golden Delicious for the best flavor.
  2. Prepare the filling base: Use a microplane grater to zest 1/4 teaspoon of lemon peel into a large 12-inch high-sided skillet with heat off. Add the juice from half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons) to the skillet to help preserve apple color and brightness.
  3. Peel and slice apples: Peel apples with a potato peeler and slice into 1/8 inch pieces. Add sliced apples immediately to the skillet to coat with lemon juice, stirring occasionally to prevent browning.
  4. Cook the apple filling: Place skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom if using. Gently combine without breaking apples. Cover with lid and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes, until apples are fork tender but still hold shape. Add water if needed to prevent sticking.
  5. Finish the filling: Remove skillet from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Transfer filling with all juices to a half sheet pan and spread evenly. Cool completely in fridge or freezer for about 30 minutes until chilled.
  6. Prepare the pie crust: Roll out the pie dough and fit into a 9-inch pie dish. Fold edges under and crimp. Chill the crust in fridge or freezer for about 30 minutes to ensure flakiness.
  7. Preheat the oven: Place a baking sheet or pizza stone on the center rack and preheat oven to 425°F (220°C), heating for 20–30 minutes to get it thoroughly hot.
  8. Make the crumble topping: Whisk together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour melted butter over dry ingredients and mix gently to form a wet sandy mixture with some clumps. Chill in fridge until ready to assemble.
  9. Assemble the pie: Remove chilled apple filling and pie crust from freezer. Transfer filling into the pie crust, scraping in all the sticky juices. Break crumble topping into bite-sized pieces with hands or fork and sprinkle about 1 to 2 cups evenly over the apples, reserving the rest.
  10. Bake the pie – first stage: Place the assembled pie on the hot baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes until crust edges begin to brown lightly.
  11. Create a foil shield: Fold foil square and cut out a center circle, creating a ring to shield pie edges from burning.
  12. Bake the pie – second stage: Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) without removing pie and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
  13. Add remaining crumble and continue baking: Remove pie from oven, sprinkle remaining crumble over top, and loosely cover crust edges with foil shield. Return pie to oven at 350°F to bake for 25–35 more minutes until crust edges are golden brown and crumble is light golden.
  14. Optional browning: For a darker crust and crumble, remove foil shield and bake another 5–10 minutes as desired.
  15. Cool the pie: Transfer pie to a wire rack and cool for about 4 hours to allow filling to set and crumble to stay crisp.
  16. Serve and store: Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream or salted caramel sauce if desired. Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days, then refrigerate. Refer to notes for freezing instructions.

Notes

  • The lemon juice and zest brightens the flavor and prevents the apples from browning.
  • Cooking apples partially on the stove allows you to control the texture to keep the apple slices tender but firm, preventing soggy pie.
  • Chilling both filling and pie crust before baking promotes a flaky crust and helps maintain the apple texture.
  • Using a foil shield or pie crust protector prevents the crust edges from overbrowning or burning during the longer bake.
  • Allow pie to cool completely before slicing to prevent runny filling and soggy topping.
  • Store pie covered at room temperature for 2 days; afterwards refrigerate to maintain freshness.
  • To freeze, bake pie completely, cool, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil. Thaw in fridge before serving.
  • For best flavor, use a mix of tart and sweet apples to balance flavor and texture.

Keywords: Dutch apple crumble pie, apple pie recipe, crumble topping, homemade pie crust, spiced apple pie

Find it online: https://chefmilacook.com/dutch-apple-crumble-pie-recipe/