The Famous Betty Crocker Apple Pie Recipe (Original Style)

The Betty Crocker apple pie is a classic two-crust pie filled with thin slices of tart apples tossed with sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then dotted with butter. The crust is just flour, salt, shortening, and cold water. Bake it at 425°F for 40 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden and the juice bubbles.

Baking for Thanksgiving? Start here. Below you'll find the recipe card, the best apples to use, and the old cookbook tips that still work.

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What Makes This the Original Betty Crocker Apple Pie

The original Betty Crocker apple pie recipe is simple on purpose. Two crusts. Tart apples. Sugar and spice. A little butter on top. No caramel, no fancy lattice, no special tools.

Betty Crocker cookbooks were written for home cooks with a regular kitchen and a busy day. The recipe lets the apples do the work.

The old Betty Crocker apple pie recipe I shared here before is a little different from the card above. It calls for 3/4 to 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or nutmeg, and 6 to 7 cups of apples heaped into the crust and dotted with butter. It bakes in a "moderately hot" 400° oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

That heaped apples, dotted with butter method is older than you might think. It goes back at least to the 1910 Gold Medal Flour Cook Book, page 58. That version bakes 40 to 45 minutes in a "moderate oven," with both nutmeg and cinnamon. Gold Medal flour comes from the same company behind Betty Crocker, General Mills.

The newer apple pie recipe Betty Crocker uses today cuts the sugar, adds flour to thicken the juice, and bakes hotter and faster. If your mom's pie tasted sweeter than yours, that may be why. Same name, different book, different pie.

The Best Apples for Betty Crocker Apple Pie

The apple you pick changes your pie more than anything else. Some hold their shape in the oven. Others break down into something closer to applesauce.

These all work well:

• Granny Smith. Tart and firm. Holds up well. Good if you like a more sour pie.
• Golden Delicious. Sweet but not too sweet, and it keeps its shape. You may get away with a little less sugar.
• Jonathan or Jonagold. A nice balance of sweet and tart. Jonagold is a cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious.
• Braeburn. Tart with a little sweetness, and the flavor deepens as it bakes.
• Honeycrisp. Crisp and juicy with a sweet tart taste.

My best tip: mix tart and sweet apples. You get more flavor and a better bite.

How to Make the Pie Crust From Scratch

The Betty Crocker apple pie crust recipe has four ingredients: flour, salt, shortening, and cold water. The trick is how you handle them.

• Keep it cold. Use ice cold water. Drop an ice cube in the cup to keep it that way.
• Cut, don't stir. A pastry blender works best for cutting the shortening into the flour. A fork works too.
• Stop at peas. When the shortening pieces look like small peas, you're ready for the water.
• Handle it as little as you can. Overworked dough turns tough. Mix just until it holds together.
• Chill before rolling. About 45 minutes in the fridge makes the dough easier to roll.

Short on time? A boxed pie crust mix saves about 10 minutes of prep.

How to Make the Apple Pie Filling With Fresh Apples

The Betty Crocker apple pie filling recipe uses fresh apples, not canned filling.

1. Peel, core, and slice thin. Thin slices bake evenly, and you can pile more of them into the crust.
2. Toss with the dry mix. Sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. The flour thickens the juice so your bottom crust doesn't turn soggy.
3. Taste an apple slice first. If your apples are very sweet, use a little less sugar. If they're very tart, use a little more.
4. Heap it high. The apples cook down as they bake, so a tall mound settles into a full pie.
5. Dot with butter. Small pieces scattered across the top, then add the top crust.

Tips From the Old Cookbook

These small habits come from the Betty Crocker way of baking, and they still hold up.

• Pick the right pan. A heat resistant glass pie plate or a matte aluminum pan works best. Shiny or disposable pans reflect heat, so the crust may not brown. Dark pans can brown it too much.
• Cut vents. A few slits in the top crust let steam out, so the pie doesn't burst or turn soggy.
• Use an egg wash. It gives the top crust a golden finish. A sprinkle of sugar right after adds a sweet crunch.
• Shield the edges. If the edges brown too fast, cover them with a 2 to 3 inch strip of foil or a pie crust shield.
• Test with a fork. The old recipe says to bake until the crust is nicely browned and the apples are cooked through. Poke a vent with a fork to check.
• Cut clean slices. Use a sharp, thin knife and a pie server.

Easy Variations

• Lemon zest. Add a little to the filling for a brighter, tangier pie.
• Vanilla. A splash in the filling gives it a richer flavor.
• Crumb top. Skip the top crust and use a brown sugar crumb topping. That's the idea behind a French apple pie.
• Mini pies. Bake them in a muffin tin. See the FAQ for timing.

Make It for Thanksgiving

Here's how to make it easy on yourself on the big day.

• Make the dough early. Mix the crust a day ahead and keep it wrapped in the fridge. Let it sit out a few minutes before rolling.
• Plan your oven time. The pie needs 425°F for up to 50 minutes. Bake it before the turkey goes in, or the day before.
• Leave time to cool. A warm pie that has had time to set slices much cleaner than one straight from the oven.

Want more holiday recipes to bake this year? Grab my free holiday baking guide.

FAQ

What is the original Betty Crocker apple pie recipe?

It's a two-crust pie made with tart apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and butter. The crust uses flour, salt, shortening, and cold water. You bake it at 425°F for 40 to 50 minutes.

How old is the Betty Crocker apple pie recipe?

The method is old. Heaping sliced apples into a crust and dotting them with butter goes back at least to the 1910 Gold Medal Flour Cook Book, page 58.

Can I make it with fresh apples?

Yes. The Betty Crocker apple pie recipe with fresh apples is the classic way to make it. Use about 8 cups of thinly sliced tart apples, or a mix of tart and sweet.

How do I make the filling?

Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples. Toss them with sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Spoon them into the crust and dot with butter.

What is the crust recipe?

Mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt, then cut in 2/3 cup cold shortening. Add 4 to 6 tablespoons of cold water until the dough holds together. That makes enough for a top and bottom crust.

Is it easy?

Yes. This is an easy apple pie recipe from scratch with plain ingredients and no special tools. The only real skill is keeping the crust cold and not overworking it.

How do I make it deep dish?

Use a deep dish pie plate and add more apples so the filling mounds up high. Plan on a longer bake. It's done when the crust is golden and juice bubbles through the vents, so cover the edges with foil if they brown first.

What is Betty Crocker French apple pie?

French apple pie swaps the top crust for a crumbly streusel topping. Betty Crocker's Impossibly Easy French Apple Pie skips the crust altogether, using a pour-in batter and a streusel made with Bisquick, brown sugar, nuts, and butter.

How long do you cook mini apple pies?

Mini apple pies baked in a muffin tin usually take about 16 to 22 minutes at 425°F. Start checking early. They're done when the crust is golden and the filling bubbles.

Which cookbook has the Betty Crocker apple pie?

Apple pie shows up in Betty Crocker cookbooks across many years, and the recipe changes a little from book to book. The method goes back at least to the 1910 Gold Medal Flour Cook Book, and the newer version lives on the Betty Crocker website.

Find Vintage Cookbooks Like This One

Here's something I've learned from fifteen years of hunting sales. The same recipe can read differently from one cookbook to the next. If you're chasing the apple pie you grew up with, the book it came from matters.

Availability is not the same as the right copy. A newer printing may not have the recipe the way your family made it.

Old cookbooks carry more than recipes, too. One buyer wrote in a review, "It was so fun looking through the saved and handwritten recipes included from the previous owner." Those notes in the margins are part of the story.

If you love baking from the old books, start here:

• Vintage cookbooks, including Betty Crocker titles when I find them
• Church and community cookbooks, full of the recipes people actually made at home
• Vintage cookbooks you can still cook from, my guide to the ones that still earn a spot in the kitchen

Vintage doesn't restock neatly, so if a cookbook catches your eye, take a look. It might be the one you've been looking for.

Author Bio: Pam of Reading Vintage

Pam is a vintage book enthusiast who turned her passion into Reading Vintage, a cozy online bookstore. She finds old classics, fun collectibles, and hidden literary favorites throughout Michigan.

When she's not exploring estate sales for her next find, Pam enjoys walking in the woods with her dog, teaching water aerobics, and curling up with a good read.