Favorite Apple Pie Recipes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
Updated August 17, 2020

Apple pie, caramel apple pie, apple-cherry pie — our recipes offer plenty of choices for creating your best apple pie ever.

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Crumb-Topped Apple Pie Trio

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Crisp on top, sweetly tender inside, this quintessential fall dessert blends tart and sweet apples-Granny Smith, Jonagold and Braeburn-with sugar and cinnamon under a brown-sugar and walnut crumb topping.

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Caramel Apple Pie

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Caramel-dipped apples inspired baker Caroline Imig to create this dessert for Wayne's Family Restaurant in Oconto, Wisconsin.

A mantle of flour-sugar-butter crumbs bakes crisp over sliced crisp-tart Cortland apples. Each serving gets a spoonful of caramel topping and a sprinkling of toasted nuts.

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Apple Sage Gouda Pie

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The sage and cheese flavors in this pie are very subtle, savory enough to make the pie stand out without distracting from its sweet apple essence. The recipe comes from the Sister Pie cookbook, by Detroiter Lisa Ludwinski. 

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Apple-Cranberry Walnut Pie

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Sweet apples balance the tang of cranberries in this fall favorite.

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Apple-Pear Praline Pie

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This picture-perfect pie requires more than a flaky crust. "The key to this pie is the apples you use," says Mary Schrier of Cumberland, Iowa, who got this recipe from an old, handwritten family recipe book. She suggests not using Red Delicious apples. Instead, make this with Granny Smith, Jonathan or sweet-tart heirloom apples.

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Cider-Spiked Apple and Pecan Tart

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Apples are gently cooked in butter, then arranged in a prebaked crust and brushed with jelly. The result is an edible work of art.

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Single-Serving Caramel Apples

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Joan Wagner of Overland Park, Kansas, considers these single-serving apple pies her easy-entertaining recipe. "You can make these up to six hours ahead and cover them with plastic wrap, so the puff pastry doesn't dry out," she says. "The desserts can bake while your coffee is brewing."

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Apple Butter-Pumpkin Pie

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The classic pumpkin pie gets even better with the addition of apple butter, which gives extra sweetness and a slightly softer texture to the dessert. A streusel topping adds a bit of crunch.

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Apple Pie

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Lisa Sparks, who owns Lisa's Pie Shop in Atlanta, Indiana (north of Indianapolis), blends tangy Granny Smiths and mellower Jonathans in her double-crust pie seasoned with cinnamon.Tapioca thickens the pale filling, making a lusciously clear sauce that wraps around the tender sliced fruit. Lisa says this apple pie recipe brought top honors at both local and national pie competitions.

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Caramel-Apple Pie

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This recipe took first place two years in a row at Nebraska City, Nebraska's Applejack Festival. It's easier to eat than a caramel apple, but tastes just as good.

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Caramel Apple Crunch Pie

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This blue-ribbon pie has it all: juicy apple filling, a streusel topping, lattice crust and caramel crust. It's a winner from the annual Apple Festival pie-baking contest in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

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Something Special Apple-Cherry Pie

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We combined two favorite pie fillings--apple and cherry--into one treat. Almonds add a nutty boost.

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Upside Down Apple-Pear Pie

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This fruit-pecan pie bakes on top of a gooey brown sugar syrup. When it comes out of the oven, you turn it upside down like a sticky bun. Serve with custard and/or caramel sauces.

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Praline-Taffy Apple Pie

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A Chicago reader took advantage of a bumper crop of apples to create Praline-Taffy Apple Pie. A flaky crust tops gooey hunks of caramel, pecans, brown sugar and apples.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com