No.22 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Apple pie

Made famous by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Photo: Shisma, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From The Pie and Pastry Bible, 1998.

The dessert America names itself after, and the most baked pie at Thanksgiving after pumpkin. Beranbaum's method of concentrating the apple juices keeps the bottom crust crisp.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in The Pie and Pastry Bible.

Ingredients

• For an all-butter double crust: 2 1/2 cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp fine salt and 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks, 226 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 to 8 tbsp ice water
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• For the filling: 3 lb (1.4 kg) tart-sweet baking apples (a mix of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious), peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar plus 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp cream, and coarse sugar, for the top

Steps

1. Make the crust: whisk the flour, salt and sugar. Toss in the butter and press each cube flat between your fingers, until the pieces are the size of peas and flakes. Mix the vinegar into 6 tablespoons ice water and drizzle over, tossing with a fork, until the dough holds together when squeezed; add more water a teaspoon at a time if needed.
2. Divide in two, press into disks, wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
3. Toss the apples with the lemon juice, both sugars, spices and salt. Leave in a colander over a bowl for 1 to 3 hours; up to a cup of juice will drain out.
4. Boil the juice with the 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan until it reduces to about 1/3 cup of sticky syrup, 5 to 7 minutes. Toss the apples with the cornstarch, then with the syrup.
5. Roll one disk on a floured counter to a 12-inch circle and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Add the apples, mounding them in the center.
6. Roll the second disk to 11 inches, lay it over, trim to a 1/2-inch overhang, tuck the edges under and crimp. Cut 5 vents in the top. Chill 30 minutes while the oven heats to 425F (220C) with a sheet pan on the lowest rack.
7. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Set the pie on the hot sheet pan and bake 20 minutes. Lower to 375F (190C) and bake 40 to 50 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden and the juices bubble thickly through the vents. Cover the edges with foil if they brown too fast.
8. Cool at least 3 hours so the filling sets before cutting.

Chef's tips

• Thick bubbling through the vents means the starch has cooked; pale and thin means it needs longer.
• The dough keeps 3 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum: get the book, No. 64 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

← No. 21Meatloaf→ No. 23New York cheesecake