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Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

Rating: 3.44 stars
1492 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 285
  • 4 star values: 456
  • 3 star values: 450
  • 2 star values: 232
  • 1 star values: 69

The words "apple pie" conjure warmth, aroma, taste, and togetherness. This apple pie recipe is filled with Granny Smith apples and is tucked into a buttery pie crust. To make this apple pie recipe even sweeter, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Martha Stewart Living, November December 1991

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Read the full recipe after the video.

Recipe Summary

Servings:
12
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Ingredients

Directions

  • Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pate brisee into two 1/8-inch-thick circles to a diameter slightly larger than that of an 11-inch plate. Press one pastry circle into the pie plate. Place the other circle on waxed paper, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill all pastry until firm, about 30 minutes.

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  • In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice, spices, and flour. Toss well. Spoon apples into pie pan. Dot with butter, and cover with remaining pastry circle. Cut several steam vents across top. Seal by crimping edges as desired. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with additional sugar.

  • Bake until crust is brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool on wire rack before serving.

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Reviews (38)

1492 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 285
  • 4 star values: 456
  • 3 star values: 450
  • 2 star values: 232
  • 1 star values: 69
Anonymous
Rating: 5.0 stars
11/23/2020
This is a great go to recipe, always turns out great and everyone likes it. The lemon juice is very important to the apples, I use it as im prepping apples to keep them from turning. Maybe thats why they went grey with out it. Love this pie!
Anonymous
Rating: 4.0 stars
05/05/2020
The recipe is straight forward and used with Martha’s recipe for pate brisee, the pie comes out flaky and just the right balance of sweet, tart, and spice. It’s almost no fail recipe. The only complaint I have is that the written instructions and the video are completely different. Everything from the amount of apples, flour, baking temperature. I prefer the video. The woman doing the demonstration, who is not Martha by the way, does a very thorough job explaining all the details in the steps and why they are important. I think whoever is managing this site for Marty Stewart has overlooked the consistency between the video and the recipe. When I think of Martha Stewart, especially for a traditional apple pie, I think of a gold standard. I wish they would pay attention this difference and make the corrections to uphold Martha’s reputation.
Anonymous
Rating: 4.0 stars
05/05/2020
The recipe is straight forward and used with Martha’s recipe for pate brisee, the pie comes out flaky and just the right balance of sweet, tart, and spice. It’s almost no fail recipe. The only complaint I have is that the written instructions and the video are completely different. Everything from the amount of apples, flour, baking temperature. I prefer the video. The woman doing the demonstration, who is not Martha by the way, does a very thorough job explaining all the details in the steps and why they are important. I think whoever is managing this site for Marty Stewart has overlooked the consistency between the video and the recipe. When I think of Martha Stewart, especially for a traditional apple pie, I think of a gold standard. I wish they would pay attention this difference and make the corrections to uphold Martha’s reputation.
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Anonymous
Rating: 5 stars
11/02/2019
Made with lemon juice but without the zest. Turned out perfect!
Anonymous
Rating: 5 stars
12/17/2017
This recipe is amazing but the recipe and video are different. I followed the video. Best apple pie ever.
Anonymous
Rating: 4 stars
12/10/2017
husband loved the pie! we actually both loved it turned out very good. I gave it 4 starts because Im glad I read the reviews and reduced the lemon to 1TB and used 8 apples only and it was good enough
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Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/23/2016
I have made this pie many times and it's always good. I am so shocked to see that it didn't work out for some of the reviewers, because for me it has always been a no-fail recipe that everyone enjoys. As far as someone saying the crust is bland . . . the crust tastes like a true butter crust. It's delicious. I've also never had apples that turn gray or overcook.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
10/09/2016
Baked for 20 mins at 425 then 50 mins at 350. Crust was good but filling over cooked and resembled dense grey matter. Used Granny smith apples and added crushed wallnuts. Didnt have the lemon juice but cant see how that would kill it. Wasn't happy with results.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/27/2015
AMAZING!! It was so easy to make and it turned out perfect. The consistency was exactly right and the flavor was to die for! Everyone raved about it!
Anonymous
Rating: 4 stars
05/18/2015
We used 9 Granny Smith apples and 3 Honeycrisps. It was absolutely delicious, including the lemon juice & zest. Probably the most flavorful apple pie I've ever tasted. However, it was EXTREMELY watery, so would recommend using more flour, or another thickener.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
05/09/2014
Well, I like the way the filling tastes but it was way too watery and the crust was fairly bland. It turned out nice and crispy though. I didn't mind the tartness, but it overall was kind of blah.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/15/2013
This recipe is delicious! The only thing I added was a couple tablespoons of brown sugar over the top of the filling which balanced out the lemon, and only because I love brown sugar in an apple pie. This pie would NOT be so unique WITHOUT the spices AND the lemon, so I disagree with the reviews that dissed the lemon. Use a different recipe site if you prefer bland food!
Anonymous
Rating: 2 stars
11/29/2013
Wayyyyy too much lemon! Leave it out!
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/28/2013
Definitely leave the lemon juice and zest out. I'm so glad I read the reviews first or my Thanksgiving pie would have been ruined. I added a lot more sugar and butter then it called for and also used frozen pie crust. Before putting the top layer on I sprinkled the apples with brown sugar. YUM! I had leftover apples so made applesauce as well.
Anonymous
Rating: 5 stars
11/22/2013
This apple pie is so good! I had two different people tell me it was the best they'd ever had. I had to make some slight adjustments to the filling as I forgot to buy a lemon and was out of nutmeg (Clearly this was a last minute idea to use up a bag of apples). I added 1 Tbsp of water in place of the lemon juice and it was amazing. It lasted 1 day in my house! Making another in right now :)
Anonymous
Rating: 5 stars
09/08/2013
Yummy! Best recipe I've ever made. Thanks for all your great recipes and ideas......
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
01/16/2013
It's tasty however the granny smith apples plus the lemon juice made a wee bit too tart! Will definitely modify!
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/02/2012
If you're looking for a great lemon apple pie, this is the recipe for you! Everything about this recipe was great except for the lemon. It ruined the pie. It had to be thrown out. The texture and look was excellent though.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/22/2012
I made two of these pies today. They were very pretty. However, the combination of sour apples and sour lemon juice led to my kids rejecting the pie outright. They love pie, but wouldn't eat more than a couple of bites of this one. I actually twashed the other pie down the disposal. There was one blessing with this pie: My mother-in-law is a lovely woman who currently can't taste anything because of chemo. She was able to taste this pie! (although even she didn't finish her piece).
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
10/25/2012
I made this recipe tonight. I feel it was headed in the right direction, but it would've been much better with half the amount of apples, half the amount of lemon and double the amount of flour. It came out watery and super sour in some areas... With some minor revisions, it has the potential to be very good though.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
07/05/2012
It's a great recipe... but the amout of apples seems a bit much, especially if you're using larger Granny Smith's. What I've found is 4 - 4.5 lbs of apples are more than enough, As far as someone saying that there is usually a large gap between the top of the pie and the apples once they cook down, that's absolutely correct. The only way to correct that is to saute the apples with butter first to get some of the moisture out.. then cool, and then put together with ingredients for the pie..
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
03/13/2012
Just made this recipe and it was awesome. Beautiful crust, plenty of apples. I did of course changed a few things. Smith apples are great but too sour with that much lemon juice and rind. So I halfed the apples and added pears. Pears sweeten it up without addind in more sugar and makes it less tart. I also cut some of the sugar an added some of my homemade caramel sauce...booyaa!! I also added a little flour to the apple mixture which aids in thickening the pie so it stands up better. ****STAR
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/08/2011
WAY WAY WAY TO MUCH LEMON!! Martha you should have put an amount of how much lemon to use and the number of apples made enough for 2 pies SHAME ON YOU MARTHA!
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
10/17/2011
this is the greatest recipe but I used gala apples and substituted sugar with Organic Blue Agave, turned out fabulous! I have orders from my neighbours.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
04/23/2011
Too much lemon! If it weren't for the excess in lemon it would be perfect. I would use a fraction of both the juice and zest of one lemon. But overall, two thumbs up! I will use this recipe again (minus half the lemon) :)
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/28/2010
I love this recipe and have received many compliments; however, I have an issue where a void exists between the apples and the crust. The apples cook down and the crust does not, and I have roughly a 1.5 inch gap between the apple filling and the crust. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
10/22/2010
The best apple pie recipe ever. My husband always requests this instead of cake for his birthday and father's day. It's delish. I like the tartness that the granny smiths and the lemon add, but you can definitely taste the lemon, so if that isn't appealing to you, skip that part. It's a great recipe.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
10/04/2010
What size pie plate are you supposed to use with this recipe? For sizing when rolling, it says to roll it out slightly larger than an 11 inch plate. But, does that mean to use an 11 in pie plate? That seems pretty big and I only have 9 inch pie plates. Thoughts??
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/13/2009
Best apple pie that i have ever baked. The amount of spice was just right and the pastry was tender and very flakey. Thanks Martha for a fabulous recipe.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
02/27/2009
This pie was great! An instant favorite! it was so easy to make, I was shocked! I used less lemon and had it in the oven for an hour.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
02/06/2009
This pie was too lemony for me and not sweet enough. Next time I will add less lemon. Also, leave the apples in big pieces or they will turn to applesauce when baked.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/30/2008
I made a vegan version of this pie (including the crust). I used soy "butter" and ditched the egg for a soy butter/soy milk wash. It came out perfectly and I think I surprised my fiance by how yummy it was. I wish I could post a picture!
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/24/2008
This pie is my husband favorite for this holidays, a little slice of heaven.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
11/02/2008
I made this pie just as the recipe directs and everyone commented how delicious it was. I'm definately going to make this my standard apple pie recipe without changing a thing.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/23/2007
I made this pie both with the lemon zest and without. All three of my family members did NOT like the lemon zest in this pie. Loved it without. I used medium sized apples and it made a very nice sized pie. I used 8-9 apples.
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/16/2007
The smaller Granny Smiths that come in bags are generally not very flavorful. You're better off with the larger size apples. Twelve may seem like a lot, but the apples will mound high in the pan, then soften and flatten during cooking. Expect the finished pie to be much "shorter" than the pre-baked pie. Hope that helps!
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/01/2007
what size granny smith apples? Small like the ones that come in bags at the grocery store or large like the ones sold individually at the grocery store? And, sliced how thick - some of your recipes say 1/4", others say 1."
Anonymous
Rating: Unrated
12/01/2007
Could you please make the print in these boxes-i.e., tags a little larger for the visually impaired. My zoomtext software doesn't work when it comes to reading on the internet
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