When I think of apple pie, I often imagine a recipe that has been carefully preserved throughout the years. I envision a recipe card that is slightly yellowed with age and the recipe lovingly scrawled out in script. One that has been a carefully guarded secret locked away in a pie safe. This apple pie recipe was so treasured that it was only allowed to be shared with family while sitting at the kitchen table over a cup of tea.
So when my daughter asked me if I could bake an apple pie with her, I went in search of my family’s own treasured apple pie recipe. Knowing that I didn’t have one of my own, I called my mom. Little did I know that she was about to crush my apple pie dreams. When I asked her if she would share her apple pie recipe with me, she started laughing. She told me, in between giggles, that she had never baked a pie and it wasn’t a hobby she planned on picking up anytime soon. I patiently waited for her to stop laughing and hung up the phone.
The image of the precious recipe card went up in smoke. My daughter was standing behind me with her big eyes and wide smile and happily told she told me how much she loves apples. She couldn’t wait to bake an apple pie with me and it was such a sweet sentiment, I had to try something.
Luckily for me, I had a store bought pie crust hiding in my freezer. I had been planning to use it for quiche, but now it was going to be turned into an apple pie. Since I wanted to keep it simple, I opted for a crumble topping instead of using a top crust. Plus, when you have little helpers in the kitchen like I do, “crumble making” is the perfect task to give young children.
Apple Crumble Pie
Ingredients for the filling:
6 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
dash salt
1 store-bought pie crust (Ed Note: if you’re feeling ambitious, here’s a recipe we recommend.)
Ingredients for the crisp topping:
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup flour
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup walnuts, optional
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For apple pie filling, mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and dash of salt. Add apples, stir together, and set aside.
Step 2: For crumb topping, place cold butter, flour, both sugars, salt, oatmeal, and walnuts (if using) into a bowl and mix together with your fingers until crumbs form. Set aside.
Step 3: Remove your store-bought pie crust from its container and place in a fancy pie dish. Pour apples into the pie crust and cover with the crumb topping.
Step 4: Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. If your crust starts to brown too soon, simply place some tinfoil around the edges of it to keep it from burning.
