About as comforting as a classic farmhouse slice.
Happy Thursday, peeps! I am SO excited about this pie, and have been since I perfected the recipe back in what, July? Now that we’re edging toward Septembers, strolling through the FMG apple orchard feels like a transitional activity to enjoy.
Pick your favorite red gems and bake up a Country Apple Pie this weekend. This is downright homestyle comfort. Spiced apple filling, and lots of it, embraced by a golden pie crust decorated with a classic lattice top. A heap of vanilla ice cream polishes off your slice.
I did not grow up with apple pie, really. I don’t even think I ever tried Bob Evans’ famous recipe. But when I was brainstorming concepts for my 2026 Thanksgiving menu, J indicated how much he adores apple pie, a fact of which I was not aware.
His feedback and excitement really drove my motivation to work on this dish, and I hope you love it as much as he ended up doing so himself.
She’s My…Apple Pie…
Apple pie really isn’t as intimidating as it seems. I’ll try my best to simplify the process as much as I can for you. Just pretend I’m standing on your side, whispering sweet nothings straight into your ear.
Okay, no, that’d be creepy and distracting. Unless you’re into that.
The crust… You will need two 9-inch pie crusts. One will serve as the base crust, the second will be sacrificed to make strips for the lattice. Trader Joes’ is by far the best store bought variety I’ve tried, but if you have a good homemade version, use it!
Thaw your crusts according to package or recipe directions. Then, lay the first crust into your pie plate, gently pressing and folding it to the shape of said plate. Do not overwork your crust: it will then suffer from burnout and won’t perform as well during baking. AKA, it will crack and shrink.
Place your second crust on a flat surface and slice out 8 strips long enough to expand the length of your pie dish. You can also do this step when you’re ready to assemble your pie, but I like to get all of the prep out of the way. Place the pie plate and your strips in the fridge while you make the filling.
The filling…The time consuming part of this process is peeling your apples. I use a simple swivel peeler, but if you have an apple slicer thing, go for it. Remove the skins, core, and seeds, completely from your apples, and thinly slice into half moons. You will need 8 cups total, which will be about 6-10 apples depending on how large your fruits are.
Throw the peeled apples into a huge bowl and combine with sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, allspice, flour, and lemon juice. I initially used a wooden spoon to mix, and then gave up and used my clean hands. Whatever gets the job done, yo.
Assembly…Pull your pie crusts from the fridge. Stack the apple slices as tightly as you can into the pie crust. See photo for reference. Pour any juices from the bowl overtop the apples.
The lattice crust…The fun part! Grab four strips and lay vertically on top of your filled pie. Pull up the second and fourth strips, then lay a fifth strip beneath, horizontally. Fold the second and fourth strips overtop. Then, lift the first and third trips, and lay a sixth strip beneath. Repeat this pattern once more. Easy, right?
When you’re done arranging your strips, trim any overhanging crust with a sharp knife, then crimp the edges of the pie crust however you’d like. I use the tines of a fork to keep it simple.
Brush the crust with a beaten egg.
The baking…I made a homemade crust shield with a strip of folded aluminum foil. This you’ll arrange loosely over the edges of the crust to prevent them from burning. If you own a pie shield, use that! With your shield in place, bake the pie at 425 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Start checking at 35 minutes. Your pie is getting close when the crust is deeply golden and the filling begins to bubble over the middle and the outer edges. In the final 5 minutes of baking, remove your pie shield to allow the covered areas gain some color.
When your pie is done baking, revel in the luscious, spicy scents flowing through your kitchen, but don’t slice into it yet! Fruit pies need about 2-3 hours at room temperature to cool or else they’ll dissolve into slop on your plate. If you have a breezy windowsill and are feeling like a farmer’s wife (or hey, the farmer him/herself), place the pie on the ledge.
Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, and maybe some salted caramel sauce if you’re feeling frisky. What a treat!
Make ahead? You can prep the pie up to forming the lattice crust, but before the egg wash, up to 2 days ahead of time. Any longer and the crust might get soggy. When ready to bake, brush with the egg as directed and pop in the oven. The pie may need an additional 8-10 minutes of warming straight from the fridge.
Leftovers? Store the pie in the fridge for sweet tooth emergencies for up to 5 days, or the freezer up to 3 months.
ENJOY!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Apple to apples:
Gooey Fluffy Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
Maple Glazed Cinnamon Apple Scones
country apple pie
Ingredients
- 2 9-inch pie crusts, homemade or store bought
- 8 cups red apples (e.g. Granny Smith or honeycrisp), peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 large egg, beaten
- vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Form one of the thawed pie crusts in your pie plate. Gently roll out the second crust and slice 8 1-inch strips long enough to fit the length of the plate. Place the pie plate and the strips in the fridge while you make the filling.
- In a very large bowl, toss the apple slices with the sugar and brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, clove, and allspice until thoroughly coated. There will be some juicing from the sugar mixture but it should not create huge puddles.
- Pull the pie crust from the fridge. Arrange the apple slices as tightly as you can into the crust. Pour any remaining liquid over the apples.
- Lattice crust: Place four strips vertically over the pie filling. Lift the second and fourth strip and place a strip of crust horizontally beneath the lifting strips. Lay the second and fourth strip overtop. Lift the first and third strip. Lay a strip of crust horizontally beneath those lifted strips. Repeat this pattern with the remaining two strips. When finished, crimp the edges of the pie crust as desired to seal. I used a tines of a fork to press the pieces together.
- Brush the strips and edges with the beaten egg. Form a "shield" with a piece of aluminum foil (or use a pie shield if you have one) and lay over the outside of the crust.
- Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes. Remove the crust shield in the final 5 minutes to brown the edges. The pie is ready when the crust is deeply golden and the filling bubbles both in the center and around the edges.
- Cool the pie at least 2 hours on the counter – or in a windowsill, if you're whimsical like that! – before slicing and serving with a big heap of vanilla ice cream!
