Mile High Apple Pie

This mile high apple pie has 5 pounds of apples baked inside a buttery, flaky pie crust. Pre-cooked filling eliminates the dreaded gap between the crust and the apples and adds layers of caramelized flavor you can’t get any other way.

Making the best mile high apple pie requires a few extra steps, but they’re worth it!

Pre-cooking the apple pie filling means both the filling and crust bake to perfection at the same time! No raw apples, no soggy bottom, no weird gap where the filling shrinks away from the top crust.

If you want a faster apple dessert that doesn’t require precooking, try this easy apple crisp recipe or this easy apple pie. You could also get the same flavor in a hand-held package with these apple hand pies!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Apples: When baking, I use a large variety of apples. This creates a more complex flavor even in simple dishes. Choose apples that retain their flavor and texture when cooked, like Gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Braeburn. 5 pounds of apples is a lot, so why not have a variety?
• Lemon Juice
• Lemon Zest
• Cinnamon: I use Saigon cinnamon, but any cinnamon works. You could also use a few pinches of apple pie spice or add up to 3/4 cup salted caramel sauce!
• Light Brown Sugar: Using light brown sugar adds sweetness, moisture, and a rich molasses flavor.
• Granulated Sugar: White sugar balances the lemon and brown sugar, while helping retain moisture and improving texture.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch thickens the filling and helps bind all the ingredients together. It also acts as a stabilizer before baking. You can also use tapioca starch.
• Butter:
• All Butter Pie Crust: I used my all-butter pie crust made with the stand mixer method, but you could also use this vodka all-butter pie crust or use store-bought.

Variations for Mile High Apple Pie

• Add more fruit. You can make this a cranberry apple pie and use orange juice in place of the lemon for a delightful Christmas pie. You can also add mixed berries for a summer mixed berry apple pie!
• Change the crust. You can swap out the traditional all-butter pie crust for this Crisco pie crust recipe, almond flour pie crust, or this easy pie crust recipe.
• Mini pies! I have made MANY mini pies. You can buy mini pie tins and bake individual apple pies. It’s so cute! You can also make these mini apple pies with brown sugar pecan crumble topping in mini muffin pans.
• Decorative top. Follow my how to lattice pie crust and create a beautiful top for your pie! You could also use little leaf cookie cutters or other small cookie cutters to cut cute vent holes in your top crust.

Professional Tips

• Cook the apples until crisp-tender. Think of it as the sweet version of al dente pasta. You want the apples tender and fully cooked, but with some still crunchy. Some will look translucent and others not. You don’t want to overcook your filling at this stage. It still has to cook again!
• Cool your filling! Just like my blueberry pie recipe and mixed berry pie, you must cool the filling before assembling the pie. Hot filling will melt the butter in your crust, and you won’t get those beautiful flaky layers!
• Don’t chill the crust in your ceramic or glass pie dish. Ceramic or glass take longer to heat up in the oven than metal. Chilling the dish will cause the bottom crust of your pie to cook slowly, which can lead to a soggy bottom.

How to Make Mile High Apple Pie

Use these instructions to make the perfect apple pie every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Prepare the Pie Crusts:

Step 1: Combine the pastry flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer.

Step 2: Cut in cold butter. Using your stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cut in the butter until you have slightly larger than pea-sized pieces.

Step 3: Slowly add your ice water, a tablespoon at a time.

Be very careful with the amount of water you add, as the dough may only need a bit more. The amount of water you need will depend on how much you cut in the butter.

Step 4: Bring dough together. When a shaggy dough has formed and there is still some loose flour, turn it out onto your work surface and work it together. Do this by gathering it and pressing away from you with the heel of your hand.

Do this JUST until it comes together. If it is crumbling, then dip your hand in a bit of ice water and pat it on the pastry dough.

Step 5: Divide the dough in half and press each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or overnight. If you chill your dough overnight, let it rest a bit before rolling; otherwise, it will be too cold and crack.

Prepare the Filling:

Step 6: Freeze two rimmed baking sheets.

Step 7: Slice apples evenly. Peel, core, and quarter the apples. Slice about ¼ inch thick either by hand or with a mandolin. The mandolin will speed up the process and also make more consistent slices.

Step 8: Combine apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, sugars, cornstarch, and butter in a large pot.

Taste the filling before you add the cornstarch. You might want more lemon or more sugar, depending on your apples.

Step 9: Cook until crisp-tender. Simmer over low heat until the apples begin to release their juices. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the filling has thickened and the apples are crisp-tender.

Step 10: Cool filling fast. Pour the filling between two frozen baking sheets lined with parchment paper. The filling should be in a single layer. Cover with plastic wrap and poke a few ventilation holes. Refrigerate until cold. This rapidly cools the filling and stops the cooking process.

Assemble the Pie:

Step 11: Preheat the oven to 375°F convection (400°F conventional).

Step 12: Roll out your pie crusts on a lightly floured surface into two circles that are roughly 2 inches larger in diameter than your dish, to a little more than ⅛th of an inch thick.

Step 13: Line an ungreased pie dish with one of the crusts, allowing the excess to hang over the edges. Place on a sheet pan, cover, and chill.

If using a ceramic dish, roll and chill both the bottom and top crust on a parchment-lined sheet tray until ready to assemble the pie.

Step 14: Place the top crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic, and chill until ready to use.

Step 15: Mound and seal. Pour cooled apple filling into the pastry-lined pie plate, mounding the apples in the center. Place the top crust over the filling; trim all but ½ inch excess dough from around the edges; press the top and bottom crust together, fold under, and create a decorative edge.

Step 16: Cut vent holes on top. (You can also make cute cutouts before placing the top crust over the filling.)

Step 17: Brush the top crust with heavy cream, then generously sprinkle with granulated or turbinado sugar.

Step 18: Bake until bubbling. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350℉ and bake until the filling is bubbling and the crust is brown, which will be about 45–60 minutes longer.

Step 19: Allow the pie to chill for at least 2 hours before slicing. Serve at room temperature or warmed.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoy this mile high apple pie as much as I do. If you love classic desserts, check out my other pie recipes or browse all of my dessert recipes!