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Easy Apple Butter Pie Recipe for Cozy Fall Baking and Holiday Desserts

Apple Butter Pie served on a plate with a creamy slice, perfect for lovers of Delicious Pies.
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This Apple Butter Pie delivers a smooth, warmly spiced apple filling baked in a crisp whole-grain crust. It tastes elegant, comforting, and deeply seasonal, especially when topped with maple whipped cream.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (9-inch) spelt pie crust
  • 1 ¾ cups prepared apple butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • Pinch ground cloves

Instructions

  1. Shape the crust.
    Roll the pie dough into an 11-inch round. Lift it into a 9-inch pie plate and ease it into the corners and up the sides without stretching it. Trim or fold the excess as needed, then crimp the edge in any style you like. Use a fork to prick the bottom all over so trapped steam can escape during baking. Place the prepared shell in the freezer for 15 minutes so the dough firms up before baking.
  2. Heat the oven and prepare the racks.
    Preheat the oven to 375°F. Position one rack in the middle of the oven and another in the lower section. This setup helps the pie shell bake evenly and gives you better control during the blind bake.
  3. Blind bake the crust.
    Remove the pie shell from the freezer. Line it with a round of parchment paper, making sure the paper covers the bottom and reaches up the sides. Add pie weights, dry beans, rice, or lentils, and press them all the way toward the outer edges so the crust stays supported as it bakes.
  4. Bake the shell in two stages.
    Set the pie shell on the lower rack and bake for 20 minutes. Then carefully remove it from the oven, lift out the parchment and weights, and return the crust to the oven for 5 more minutes so the bottom can finish drying. Set the crust aside once it looks lightly baked and no longer raw. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
  5. Mix the filling.
    Place the apple butter, heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves in a large mixing bowl. Whisk thoroughly until the mixture looks smooth and uniform with no streaks of egg or sugar remaining. The filling should feel loose but well emulsified.
  6. Fill the baked shell.
    Pour the apple butter mixture into the warm blind-baked crust. Use a spatula if needed to level the surface so the filling bakes evenly from edge to center.
  7. Bake the pie gently.
    Move the pie to the middle rack and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. The outer ring should puff slightly and look set, while the center still keeps a faint wobble. The pie is ready when it reaches a temperature above 180°F and no longer looks liquid in the middle. Do not wait for it to become completely firm in the oven.
  8. Cool, then chill.
    Set the pie on a wire rack and let it cool completely at room temperature. Once it is no longer warm, move it to the refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours so the custard fully firms up before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • This recipe was tested with Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton’s kosher salt or another fine salt, reduce the amount by about half.
  • My favorite crust for this Apple Butter Pie is a Spelt Pie Crust because it handles well, has a mild sweetness, and gives the pie a wholesome, slightly rustic character.
  • If you want a less whole-grain flavor, a Pâte Sablée, Pâte Sucrée, Biscoff Crumb Crust, or Graham Cracker Crust also works well.
  • The spelt crust recipe makes a little extra dough, which is perfect for decorative cutouts. Roll the leftover dough, stamp or cut out your shapes, and transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill them before baking so they keep their shape.
  • For a little shine and extra crunch, brush the cutouts with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.
  • You can also bake the decorative cutouts during the blind bake, but shorten the baking time to about 15 minutes at 375°F.
  • Once the Apple Butter Pie has finished chilling, arrange the baked cutouts on top for a festive finish.

Find it online: https://irmacooks.com/easy-apple-butter-pie/