Cheaters Apple Crumble Pie

Today, (May 13th, 2020) is National Apple Pie Day. I don’t bake much, I’m actually not very good at it. So, here’s my Cheaters Apple Crumble Pie. No messing with dough, and you don’t even have to cut up the apples. If, however, you’re looking for a quick apple pie fix, this will do the job! It tastes great and the kids will be impressed, and sometimes that’s all that matters!

My grandma makes an amazing apple pie. She does the dough from scratch, spends days peeling and cutting apples, and then freezes them for special occasions. I haven’t had one of her pies in ages, but if I close my eyes, I know exactly what they taste like.

If I have apples around that have gone just a bit soft, I’ll make this pie or an apple crumble. If I don’t have apples, frozen apple slices seem to work just fine. You want to make sure you add flour to them though, otherwise they get really wet and the pie crust starts to fall apart.

We have a local spice store, Penzey’s, that sells “Pie Spice” which is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla sugar and ginger. I use it a lot. It’s got some great flavor for pancakes, banana bread, french toast and of course, pie! Use any combination of spices you like, you can even find apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice in the grocery store that would be similar, but I recommend this mix from Penzey’s.

I know this is cheating, that’s why I called it Cheaters Apple Crumble Pie. Sometimes that’s just what you have to do. It will satisfy your craving, but it will never be as good as GG’s truly homemade apple pie. Hopefully one day I can give you that recipe too.

Print Recipe Add to Collection Go to Collections

No ratings yet

Cheaters Apple Crumble Pie

Easy apple crumble pie using frozen apple slices and store bought pie crust. It might be cheating, but it tastes great!

Pin Recipe

Servings :8

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 Frozen Deep Dish Pie Crust
• 2½ cups Frozen Apple Slices or 3 Apples peeled and sliced
• ½ Lemon, juice & zest
• 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Pie Seasoning see notes
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/4 tsp Salt

Crumble Topping

• 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter melted
• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Pie Seasoning see notes
• ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
• ½ cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Combine the apples, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, pie seasoning, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Ensure the apples are well coated and then set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl make the crumble topping by combining the sugar, seasoning, flour and walnuts. Then pour the melted butter overtop and mix until crumbly.
• When the oven preheats spoon the apples into the pie shell. Leave any juice that has seeped out in the bottom of the bowl. Top the pie with the crumble.
• Place the pie in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes drop the temperature to 375°F and bake for another 30 minutes.
• Allow the pie to cool before serving so the apples set.

Notes

I love Penzey’s Pie Spice for this.   It would be similar to an Apple Pie or Pumpkin Pie spice mix you might find at your local store.   You can use a combination of Cinnamon (1tsp), Nutmeg (1/2 tsp) and Cloves (1/2 tsp), or any mix of your favorite pie seasoning here.   

When you drop the temperature in the oven, you may need to shield the crust to keep the edges from over browning.   If you don’t have a pie shield you can use tin foil just around the edge of the pie.

Tried this recipe?Mention @MapleBaconSomething or tag #maplebaconsomething!