14 Best Apple Recipes (Beyond Pie) (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with lots of apples? ›

For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

I do not usually par-bake my fruit pie crusts - this is because with a fresh fruit filling (or even with a cooked fruit filling such as my apple pie or my blueberry crostata), the pie has long enough in the oven that it gives the crust enough time to crisp up properly, removing the need for blind baking.

The best apples for applesauce are whatever apples you have on hand and need to use up. However, if you have a choice, we recommend using a combination of sweet and tangy varieties for the best flavor. Popular sweet varieties include Honeycrisp and Fuji, while popular tangy varieties include Granny Smith and Braeburn.

The Golden Delicious is sweet, with a rich, mellow flavor. It is one of the best all-around cooking apples, as it maintains its shape after baking.

Sweeter apples such as Fujis or Galas are more likely to hold their flavor than tart varieties, but any apple will do fine in the freezer for six to nine months. Perhaps more important to keep in mind, though, is that freezing an apple does alter the texture, leaving the flesh spongier than that of a fresh apple.

Here's a look at one of the most unusual laws on the books in the Badger State. In Wisconsin, it is illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without a slice of cheese on top. Yes, you read that right: cheese is required on top of any apple pie that is served in a public restaurant in Wisconsin.

For more on all these apples, including what they look and taste like, see our baking apple guide below. There are a few apples that don't make the cut. While great for snacking, Gala, Fuji and Red Delicious are the most common apples that won't hold up in the oven and will give you a watery-mushy pie, tart or cake.

A: Dotting the top of a fruit pie filling with butter is an old habit but one that is called for in only about half of the pie recipes out there. Some maintain that the butter is for taste; others claim that it helps the filling set up, particularly when using flour as a thickener.

Should I Prebake my pie crust for apple pie? ›

You don't have to pre-bake the bottom pie crust for this pie. There's simply no need to take this extra step because the apple pie bakes for a really long time in the oven. If your pies have soggy crusts, you may not be baking them long enough.

You do not need to pre-bake a pie crust for an apple pie or any baked fruit pie really, but we do freeze the dough to help it stay put. Pre-baking the pie crust is only required when making a custard pie OR when making a fresh fruit pie. you should probably get: Pie weights are super helpful to have for pre-baking.

Sweeter apples such as Fujis or Galas are more likely to hold their flavor than tart varieties, but any apple will do fine in the freezer for six to nine months. Perhaps more important to keep in mind, though, is that freezing an apple does alter the texture, leaving the flesh spongier than that of a fresh apple.

Any kind of apple can be frozen. You can freeze cooking apples and eating apples using the same method: freeze them sliced or whole on a baking tray, then transfer them to freezer bags for long-term cold storage.

Here's the short version: The best way to prevent browning is to soak the cut fruit in a saltwater solution (half a teaspoon of kosher salt per cup of water) for 10 minutes, then drain and store until ready to use. The mild salt flavor can be rinsed off with tap water before serving.