Dutch Apple Pie

September/October/November: National Apple Months

Washington State is famous for its apples. We pass by several apple orchards while visiting Highlander’s relatives who live there. His niece and Islander’s brother are alumni of Washington State University, and our goddaughter Mia A. currently resides in Seattle. We never got a chance to pick apples at the orchards there, though.

When we make our apple pies at home, we just pick our apples from the grocery store bins. Most are imported from Washington anyway. It is more labor intensive to cut up the apples, but we prefer it over the canned fruit for our pies (however, we sometimes cheat on the recipe by using frozen, store-bought crust, too). 

As apples are celebrated for three months in the fall, this was a great excuse to make Dutch apple pie (also known as apple crumb pie) often—besides, apple and cherry pies are Highlander’s favorites. 

This is not a pie recipe from the Netherlands, but the word Dutch is derived from Deutsch, which is German. It is the streusel (crumb) topping that was inspired by German desserts that make this pie uniquely delicious. Make the most of National Apple Months and try Dutch apple pie!

Recipe

(Adapted from Pillsbury and Southern Living)

For the streusel topping

• 1 cup flour, all purpose
• 2/3 cup pecans, chopped
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons sugar, granulated white
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (½ cup / 8 tablespoons) butter, unsalted and melted

For the apple pie

• 5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced/chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar, granulated white
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 deep dish frozen pie crust

Directions

Prepare the streusel/crumb topping first by mixing in a large bowl the flour, pecans, brown and white sugars and cinnamon.

Stir in the salt and melted butter. Mix until the topping resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside to make the pie filling.

Core, peel and slice/chop the apples. Place in a large bowl and toss in the lemon juice to prevent the apples from browning. Add the sugar and cornstarch.

Sprinkle in the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Mix well and mound the filling and juices into the frozen pie crust.

Press the streusel/crumb topping over the apples. The filling will sink in the center when baking so it will be flattened out. Place the pie crust on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Loosely place a piece of foil over the topping to prevent from burning and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set the pie over a wire rack to cool completely and allow the flavors to gel. Slice into wedges and serve.

Notes

• Make sure the filling has set before slicing or it will be too runny.
• Place a pie crust shield or foil pieces on the rim of the pie to prevent overbrowning of the crust (optional).
• Search our blog for other apple recipes.