Deliciously sweet apples are mounded in a flaky crust and topped with an irresistible nutty streusel. It’s homemade goodness at its very best in Mom’s Special Apple Pie!
Celebrating Apple Season!
Apple season is apparently off to an early start and I couldn’t be more excited to crunch on into one of the tastiest times of the year! Crates of apples in bright reds and greens were calling my name from the bins at our local market this week and I couldn’t resist.
Every year, I kick the apple season off by baking my Mom’s Special Apple Pie. And special it is! Deliciously sweet apples are mounded in a flaky crust and topped with an irresistible nutty topping. It is homemade goodness at its very best!
This pie is so easy to make. The hardest part is peeling the apples.
How to Make Mom’s Special Apple Pie
Crust: Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two forks. Add water and toss with fork until evenly moistened. Form into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to about a 1/4-inch thickness and place in a 10-inch pie plate. Cut off any excess dough and pinch around the edges. Set aside.
Filling: Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, combine apples, sour cream, sugar, flour, egg, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Spoon into piecrust. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°F and continue to bake for 40 minutes or until filling is golden and slightly puffed.
Streusel: Meanwhile, combine nuts, flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix very well. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Spoon over top of pie and bake 15 minutes longer at 350°F.
Serve warm by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Happy Apple Season!
If you make this Mom’s Special Apple Pie, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me or tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. 
I love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the recipes I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Mom’s Special Apple Pie
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 65 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
Description
Deliciously sweet apples are mounded in a flaky crust and topped with an irresistible nutty streusel. It is homemade goodness at its very best in Mom’s Special Apple Pie!
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1–3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup water
Filling:
- 8 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1–2/3 cups sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 egg
Streusel:
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Crust: Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two forks. Add water and toss with fork until evenly moistened. Form into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough to about a 1/4-inch thickness and place in a 10-inch pie plate. Cut off any excess dough and pinch around the edges. Set aside.
- Filling: Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, combine apples, sour cream, sugar, flour, egg, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Spoon into piecrust. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°F and continue to bake for 40 minutes or until filling is golden and slightly puffed.
- Streusel: Meanwhile, combine nuts, flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix very well. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Spoon over top of pie and bake 15 minutes longer at 350°F.
My family has been this recipe for decades, but my mom and I always find it takes way longer to bake (enough to get a clean knife, as our copy says to) than the recipe says. Like over 2.5 hours instead of 40 minutes. We end up having to tent it early on to prevent the top from burning. Any thoughts of what we are doing wrong?!?
Hi Kimberley! Oh goodness, 2.5 hours is a long time for this pie to bake. Have you tried it in a different oven? Do you bake it on the upper racks? You won’t necessarily get a clean knife because of the ingredients in the filling, but the apples should be tender and the filling should look set. This pie bakes a total of 1 hour and 5 minutes with the 10 minutes at 450, 40 minutes at 350 and then 15 more minutes for the streusel. You could try covering your pie tightly with foil during the 40 minute session if you think the apples aren’t tender enough. Hope this helps!
Hi, I am unable to find McIntosh apples anywhere near me, is there a close substitute I can use?
Hi Michelle! Granny Smith, Honeycrisp and Golden Delicious are all great apples to use for this recipe too. Enjoy!
So funny! My mum has been making this for years and we call it Mum’s Special Apple Pie!! Truly the best pie recipe ever. The only difference is we use 1/4 cup sugar for the crust.
★★★★★