So many of us have fond apple pie memories, gathering together with family or friends at holiday dinners to enjoy a warm homemade treat. Flaky crust, gooey apples, and sweet-smelling spice combine for the perfect fall dessert.
You can enjoy one whenever you like with any number of classic, reliable apple pie recipes. Heck, if you’re too busy to bake, Carter Mountain Orchard’s Country Store and Chiles Peach Orchard’s Farm Market have pies ready for pickup! Baked fresh with seasonal apples and available whole, halved, or by the slice, our scrumptious pies are traditional, just like you’d expect.
Some exploratory bakers are taking apple pie recipes further. From patently absurd to potentially genius, some of these pies made us laugh out loud, and others made us think. After all, with the right apples and the right crust, can you really go wrong with an apple pie? We’ll let you be the judge!
Mile-High Apple Pie
Look at this absolute giant! The mile-high apple pie, besides being fun to say, is as much a feat of engineering as baking. The trick is to somehow fit all those liquid-heavy apple pieces under a crust without bursting, leaking, or making an air pocket. There are a number of different origin stories and variants on this eye-popping pastry recipe from Sugar Hero, and just as many techniques for managing it without making a mess.
With smart tricks like the “bowl method,” the mile-high apple pie is more achievable than it looks and brings the “wow” factor to family gatherings. Let’s just hope folks are hungry enough to eat all that pie!
One thing’s for sure: you’ll need a lot of apples.
According to her recipe, Elizabeth Labau took her family apple-picking out west and used an entire five-pound bag of Winesap apples in just one 9-inch pie!
So if you’re planning to pick your own apples at Carter Mountain Orchard and worry you’d end up with more fruit than you know what to do with, this might be the apple pie recipe for you.
There are plenty of tasty ways to use lots of apples, though!
Double Apple Pie
If you just can’t get enough of apple flavor, this pie doubles down on it with a sweet, creamy filling. The recipe isn’t for a pie within a pie (as cute as that would be)—it’s actually referring to two apple ingredients in one pie. In this case, Melissa Clark’s New York Times recipe recommends using apple butter to sweeten the apples in your pie.
To really push the envelope, take this recipe even further by making a triple or quadruple apple pie with apple cider vinegar, apple cider jelly, or even apple sauce.
There are lots of delicious apple ingredients out there: the sky is the limit on how many we can fit in one pie! Click on these images to explore the fun apple goods available at our online store.
Apple Butter Pie
If you’re a fan of both apple and pumpkin pie, why not enjoy the best of both worlds? This Tastes of Lizzy T recipe from Julie Clark replaces pumpkin puree with apple butter to make a soft, golden-brown pumpkin pie lookalike with a rich apple taste. Simple and clever, this pie is sure to surprise and delight Thanksgiving guests who take a bite, especially if they haven’t been told what to expect!
The filling is a little finicky and needs high fat milk or cream to really get the texture right. Otherwise, this is a straightforward apple pie recipe worth trying for the novelty of it. Carter Mountain’s apple butter fits perfectly in this recipe, leaving plenty to enjoy as a spread on toast or crackers!
Apple Hand Pies
From mile-high heights to adorable handheld bites, apple pies come in all shapes and sizes! This eye-catching apple hand pie recipe comes from Heather Baird at Sprinkle Bakes, who’s managed to shrink pies down from centerpiece deserts to snack-sized morsels. She even paired them with homemade caramel dipping sauce. Make no mistake, these things are dangerous—how could you have just one?
Smaller pies require smaller chunks of apple, diced tiny to bake faster. Her lovely latticework is achieved through a unique mold or could be done the old-fashioned way.
Shredded Apple Pie
Life in the Lofthouse’s recipe brings us this fascinatingly simple twist on an apple pie, opting to shred the apples through a cheese grater rather than dice them. The result? An easy, quick recipe with a melt-in-your-mouth softness and that beloved apple pie flavor. With its quirky look, the shredded apple pie is a contender for a new holiday tradition.
Still, for many purists, an apple pie needs an outer crust, which this recipe doesn’t call for. Crust debates are as old as pie itself: one compromise to avoid tweaking the recipe too much is a crumbly topping baked onto the pie.
Sometimes, all you need to round out a good dessert is a tasty crumble to top it off. Shredded apple pie bakers can simplify this recipe even further by adding our apple crisp mix on top. It’s just the thing to add a crunchy top layer to a pie that’s missing it!
Deconstructed Apple Pie
Okay, this is getting a bit silly. This Lakeside Table recipe produces an elegant, beautiful, delicious-looking dessert. Is it still a pie, though? Well, whether it is or not, this “deconstructed” apple pie recipe certainly caught our eye!
Baked apples are a quick and easy treat that’s lighter and healthier than a whole pie. Each type of apple has a different flavor that comes out when baked, both in and out of a pie.
We have a chart all about apple varieties, their flavor profiles, and which are best for baking. If you’re looking to test new kinds of apples or mix and match, check out Carter Mountain’s fruit availability page to see which varieties are available!
So Many Apple Pie Recipes!
There are lots of ways to enjoy apples in desserts: cobblers, crumbles, crisps, tarts, cakes, donuts, sauces, and so on. Still, it’s hard to resist a good apple pie—even if it isn’t mile-high, miniature, or transformed in some way. If these apple pie recipes have you hankering for a slice, c’mon out to Carter Mountain and try one of our classic-style fresh-baked apple pies!
Holiday Pie Orders
The holidays are a busy time for everyone. Let us check one thing off your to-do list by making your dessert for you!
During select weeks leading up to the big holidays, stock up on apple pies, apple cider donuts, cider donut bread pudding, apple cider, apple caramel crisp cookies, and more seasonal treats.
We accept holiday pre-orders every November and December at Carter Mountain and Chiles Peach Orchard, or you can pre-order baked goods online for local pickup.
Stay in the know for our next round of dessert orders by subscribing to our email newsletter!
