Make Ahead Apple Pie
Assemble and freeze this apple pie to bake at a later date.
Equipment
- 9 inch pie pan
Ingredients
- 4 cups honeycrisp apples cored and sliced
- 4 cups granny smith apples cored and sliced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice fresh or bottled
- ¾ cup sugar
- 4 tbsp all purpose flour (Reduce to 2 tbsp if not freezing pie before baking.)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh or dried cranberries (optional)
- ¼ cup apple juice concentrate undiluted
- 2 tbsp butter plus more to grease the pie pan
- 2 pie crusts
Crust Seasoning
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1-2 tbsp coarse sparkling sugar
Instructions
Assembling the Pie (2 days to 3 months ahead of baking)
- Peel, core, and slice the apples into consistent sized pieces. (If you have a stand mixer, the spiralizer attachment is perfect for this.) Toss them in a large bowl with the lemon juice to prevent browning.4 cups honeycrisp apples, 4 cups granny smith apples, 2 tbsp lemon juice
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add the dry ingredients to the apple mixture and stir to coat the apples evenly.¾ cup sugar, 4 tbsp all purpose flour, 2 tbsp cornstarch, ¼ tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ¼ tsp allspice
- Add the vanilla extract and the fresh or dried cranberries to the apple mixture, and stir to combine.2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup fresh or dried cranberries
- Stir the apple juice concentrate (thawed) into the apple mixture.¼ cup apple juice concentrate
- Butter a 9 inch pie pan that is at least 2 inches deep.
- Lay one crust into the bottom of the pie pan. Gently press it into the bottom edges and up the sides of the pan so that it extends slightly onto the rim.2 pie crusts
- Spoon the apple mixture into the pan.
- Dice 2 tablespoons of butter into small pieces. Scatter the pieces over the top of the apples.2 tbsp butter
- Place the second crust on top. Crimp the edges of the top and bottom crusts together. Cut 3-5 vent holes around the center of the top crust.
- Slide the pie pan into a 2.5 gallon plastic bag and seal it shut. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thawing the Frozen Pie (1 day before baking)
- 24 hours before you want to bake the pie, take it out of the freezer. Remove it from the bag. Place 3 toothpicks straight down into the top crust. These will help prevent the bag from sticking to the crust as it thaws. Then return the pie to the plastic bag. Put the pie in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
Baking the Pie
- Preheat the oven to 425℉.
- While the oven is preheating, combine 1 tablespoon of sugar, ½ tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of ground nutmeg in a small bowl.1 tbsp granulated sugar, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- Remove the pie from the plastic bag. Lightly spray or brush the top crust with water. Sprinkle the crust with the sugar mixture.
- Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of coarse sparkling sugar on top of the crust.1-2 tbsp coarse sparkling sugar
- Put the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet to catch any drips.
- Bake the pie for 20 minutes at 425℉.
- Reduce the oven to 375℉. Continue to bake for an additional 40 minutes.
- When there are 30 minutes left on the timer, cover the edges with either strips of foil or a pie shield to prevent over-browning.
- The pie is done when the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and let it cool on a cooling rack completely.
Notes
- If you are baking the pie right away instead of freezing it, only use 2 tablespoons of flour in the apple mixture.
- The fresh or dried cranberries are optional, but highly recommended. Ocean Spray makes a variety of flavors of craisins that can be used with this recipe.
- If you can't find coarse sparkling sugar, you can omit it.
- Apple pies need to cool completely before slicing. Otherwise, the filling might be runny since it needs to cool in order to set.
- The baked pie can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
- You can use homemade pie crust with this technique.
- Apple juice concentrate can be found in the frozen fruit section of the grocery store, in a can.
- When I make this for Thanksgiving, I take it out of the freezer on Tuesday evening and bake it on Wednesday evening. If you have time to bake it on Thanksgiving morning, then you can take it out of the freezer on Wednesday morning.