This classic Amish apple pie with a double crust is filled with tender apple slices and warm cinnamon, all baked inside a golden, flaky crust for a simple yet irresistible dessert.
It's the kind of traditional, homemade dessert that never goes out of style - warm, sweet, and spiced just right. Serve it plain, or add a scoop of ice cream for the perfect finishing touch.
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Why You'll Love This Traditional American Apple Pie
- Classic flavor: Sweet, tart apples baked with cinnamon in a golden crust - it doesn't get more comforting.
- Double crust goodness: A flaky bottom and top crust make every bite satisfying.
- Quick and easy: No need to pre-cook the filling - just mix, pour, and bake.
- Simple ingredients: Nothing fancy, just pantry staples that come together beautifully.
- Perfect for any occasion: From holidays to Sunday dinners, this pie is always a crowd-pleaser.
- Timeless tradition: An old-fashioned dessert that never goes out of style and brings everyone to the table.
Ingredients
- Pie Crust (for a double crust): Forms the base and top layer of the pie, giving structure and a flaky texture. Both homemade and store-bought crusts work - choose what's easiest for you. (Here is my flaky pie crust recipe.)
- Apples: The star of the filling - bringing sweetness, tartness, and juiciness. Crisp varieties (like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or a mix) hold their shape best. (Use a mix of tart and sweet apples for the best flavor.)
- White Sugar: Sweetens the filling and balances tart apples.
- Brown Sugar: Adds a richer, caramel-like sweetness.
- Cinnamon: Brings warm, cozy spice that pairs perfectly with apples. (Feel free to add a pinch of nutmeg or allspice with the cinnamon for deeper spice.)
- Salt: Sharpens and balances the flavors. (I use sea salt.)
- Cornstarch: Thickens the filling by absorbing extra juice so it's not runny.
- Lemon Juice: Brightens the flavor and prevents the apples from browning.
- Butter: Adds richness and helps create a glossy, flavorful filling. (I use salted butter.)
How to Make an Easy Lancaster County Amish Apple Pie
- You will need two 9" pie crusts, a bigger one for the bottom and slightly smaller one for the top. (Flaky Amish pie crust recipe here)
- Peel, core, and chop five or six apples (depending on their size).
- In a large bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Add chopped apples and stir till they are all coated.
- Pour the apple mixture into the crust (you want to pile it full, as the apples will shrink when baked), and lay thin slices of butter over the top.
- Using cold water, wet the edges of the crust with your fingertips (this helps to seal the edges). Now put the top crust on, and lightly press the edges together. Using a knife, trim off extra crust around the edges. Now you can crimp the edges for a neat finish.
- You will need to make a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Then brush the top of your pie with egg wash (beaten egg with milk) or cream and sprinkle with a bit of sugar for a beautiful color and shine.
- Bake in the middle of the oven, at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for another 50 - 55 minutes or until the apples are tender. Cool on a wire rack.
Amish Canning
Most Amish women do a lot of canning. We used to be busy with canning and preserving food all summer long. By the end of the summer, we had shelves upon shelves full of all kinds of canned goods. It was a beautiful sight, to see all the jars full of food that we labored so long and hard for.
We had rows of canned pickles, pickled beets, chow chow, canned dried beans, green beans, vegetable soup, ketchup, tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, pasta sauce, salsa, jellies, apple sauce, apple butter, apple pie filling, grape juice, peaches, pears, sweet cherries, cherry pie filling, and probably more things that I can't think of right now.
Then we froze lots of fruits and vegetables too. So we spent many hours, all summer long, growing, harvesting, and preserving food.
We canned lots of apple pie filling, so my mom usually made apple pie with homemade canned pie filling. It's very quick to assemble a pie with ready-made filling.
However, this recipe with fresh apples is also very quick and easy to make. Making the crust and cutting the apples is the only time-consuming thing.
More Amish Pie Recipes
- Amish wet-bottom shoofly pie
- Pumpkin Custard Pie Recipe
- Peanut Butter Cream Pie
- Blueberry Pie
- Easy Cherry Pie with Graham Crust
I grew up eating lots of delicious Amish pies. My mom baked pie quite frequently, and we often had pie for Sunday church dinner as well.
Growing up in Lancaster County, Apple Schnitz pies, old-fashioned Amish apple pie, or Dutch apple pie with a crumb topping was typically served with our Sunday church dinner.
More Amish Recipes with Apples
This recipe for traditional double-crusted Amish apple pie is very easy to make, and it won't take very long to put it together. If you try it, I would love it if you left a comment and star rating below. Thank you!
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📖 Recipe Card
Amish Apple Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (9") pie crust pastries for a double crust
- 4 - 6 apples (depending on size) Granny smith, or a variety of crisp apples
- ½ c. white sugar
- ¼ c. brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ Tbs. cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp. lemon juice
- 1 ½ Tbs. butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Peel, core, and chop apples.4 - 6 apples (depending on size)
- Mix sugars, cinnamon, salt, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Add to apples and stir to coat.½ c. white sugar, ¼ c. brown sugar, 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon, ⅛ tsp. salt, 1 ½ Tbs. cornstarch, 1 ½ tsp. lemon juice
- Pour the apple mixture into the crust. Dot with thin slices of butter.1 ½ Tbs. butter, 2 (9") pie crust pastries for a double crust
- Wet the edge of the crust with cold water, and put your second crust on the top. Lightly press the edges to seal. Using a knife, trim off the extra crust (you can use this to make a tiny personal pie crust). Crimp the edges.
- Cut a few slits into the top crust to allow steam to escape.
- Brush cream or egg yolk on the top crust and sprinkle it with sugar for an extra shine and beautiful browning.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes at 400°. reduce the temperature to 350°, and continue baking for another 50 - 55 minutes.
- Loosely cover and refrigerate any leftovers.
Laura R SMITH
The Amish recipe I got in Indiana you cooked the apples and one of the things was Vanilla used to flavor it. It was amazing. Have you heard of this and do you know how much Vanilla to use?
Anna
There are many different Amish apple pie recipes. Typically, most recipes only use a teaspoon or two of vanilla.
Luke Springer
I'm originally from PA and familiar with this style of apple pie, but I've been living overseas for several decades. We do not have pre-made pie crusts available, so please excuse my ignorance, but how do I make the crusts? I know it's an easy recipe, but I need a bit of help. Thanks in advance.
Anna
I have my pie crust linked in the post. And here it is as well...https://amish-heritage.org/flaky-amish-pie-crust/
Amy
Most perfect pie I have ever made!
Anna
Thanks for the feedback. So glad you enjoyed it!
Anna
Yummy!
Donna Leavitt
I made this, did not bake it, then froze it. What temperature should I set the oven at and how long should bake it? After I bake it I will rate it 😊
Anna
I honestly have never baked a frozen pie. So I cannot give you specific instructions. (But I just googled it and from what I have found you can preheat the oven to 425 and place the frozen pie into hot oven. (I would be scared to do that with a glass pie pan, so hopefully you are using metal.) Bake at 425 for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 60 - 70 minutes. But you will also find many different cooking temps and times.)
Judy Cannon
What is the thickener used when canning pie filling?
Also-, my mother always liked French Apple Pie. It had raisins and after it was cooked you iced the top with buttercream icing.
Anna
My mom always used clear jel. It looks nicer than cornstarch. There are so many different kinds of apple pie?.
Chelsey
I canned this today, and it's SO simple and easy! I did cook the apples down a bit before putting in jars, but that's all I changed. Thanks for the recipe!
Anna
I have actually never used the recipe for canning. Glad it worked for you!