I’ve finally found the perfect apple pie recipe. It’s perfect because you don’t have to make a crust.
That’s right, all of the glory and none of the pain. In a small kitchen, even a simple pie crust is typically out of the question. Really anything that requires rolling out dough usually gets vetoed. So when my good friend Vanessa shared this recipe with me, I knew I’d found my perfect match. It’s called a “Swedish” Apple Pie. I don’t know if they really make this in Sweden, but if they do, I’d like to visit immediately. Instead of making a pie crust, you just whip together a batter and spread it on top of the sliced apples. As it bakes, the batters seeps down to the pie plate, creating a perfectly simple, totally sliceable, delicious apple pie. It tastes like an apple pie with a big, crumbly sugar cookie on top. Not quite your grandmother’s traditional recipe, but if you are as crust-averse as I am, this is the pie for you.
Many thanks to my friend Vanessa, who is a wonderful Italian cook and master gardener, for sharing this recipe she inherited from her mom, who was also a wonderful Italian cook and master gardener. I made a few small tweaks and it’s my new go-to autumn pie. The prep time takes 10-15 minutes, making it a quick dessert that you could even whip up on a weeknight or for last-minute dinner parties.
No-Crust Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 3 medium apples (or 4 smaller ones)
- 1 tbsp + 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, halfway melted
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose or pastry flour
- 1 egg
Directions
Grease a 9-inch pie plate and set aside. Peel your apples and slice thinly. Don’t even worry about appearances, just slice ‘em up and fill the pie plate until it is 2/3 full. Reserve a few slices for garnish, if desired.
Sprinkle the sliced apples with 1 tablespoon of sugar and the cinnamon and toss a little in the pie plate. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter (which should be part melted, part softened… you know what I mean?), 1 cup sugar, the flours and the egg. Feel free to add in nuts here. Using a plastic spatula, spread the flour mixture over the top of the apples.
Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes and arrange leftover apple slices on top to distract people from how quick and easy this pie is.
As with all apple pies, this goes well with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or even a slice of cheddar cheese. Do you guys ever eat apple pie with cheddar? I love the combination, because I always love having apples and cheddar as a fall snack. I even made an apple pie crust one time that had cheddar baked right into it. I think a slice of this would also go well with one of these seasonal apple cider cocktails, don’t you?
this is great. More options in my pie challenged world. Thanks Christine, I will try this next time I need a dessert.
Duh! How come I never thought of this? I have a recipe just like this – except you use cranberries instead of apples. Brilliant!
Love this because I also am averse to making pie crusts! Weird, I know. Nick and I have been talking about making Apple Cheddar Scones for 2 weeks now and we’re going apple picking tomorrow.
AWESOME! Yes! I love this. Britin – have fun picking! It seriously loses it appeal after living on an apple farm for 3.5 years! Also – cheddar+apple anything=tastiness.
Yum! I have a similar if not identical recipe in one of my recipe journals… not sure where I got it but it is one of our favorites. Jason really likes it when I add a streusel-y topping, like a hybrid apple crisp.
I love the sound of this. Your description of an apple pie with a sugar cookie-esque topping had me. If it wasnt 11:30pm I would try to make this tonight…ok fine, maybe I still will. Looks great Christine!!
Looks good. Makes me think of clafoutis.
There’s also this or a variation of this http://www.food.com/recipe/my-no-roll-pie-crust-51537 No rolling required.
I just made this, it is fabulous. I want to eat the whole thing, but will stop myself. I might make it a tad less sweet next time, but that is just a matter of personal taste. Thanks!
I have made this three times in the last month. It is one of my new favorites.
Thank you, Christine. I am pie-crust challenged (or lazy?) so I was excited to try this approach. I told my husband as we were prepping it, “If this works out, you will have more pie in your life.” Well, now I have to follow through on that promise because this pie is delicious and easy (and adaptable for other fillings). No more excuses!
this reminds me of swedish apple pie….
It is Swedish Apple Pie!
Beauty!
I am always in favor of apple crisps over pies: mix oats, honey and butter in any quantity and place on top of apples. Cook. Done!
my family– we are croatian– makes this dessert, we call it apple pita & cook in a square dish. it never lasts long in our house!
So grateful Marissa at Food In Jars posted the link to this recipe…what a yummy idea. Another reason to love the Swedish (as if Ikea isn’t enough!). Mine will not be as totally delicious as yours because I had to make some dietary changes but it is baking right now and looks very promising. Thank you!
Hi all,
Just let u know my dad is gluten-free (celiac disease). I used a gluten-free flour mix in stead of flour in all my baking,
Now making gluten free pie crust is hard rolling and making a nice looking pie. so I going to try this out and see what happens. plus if u put nuts in the cake add a half tea spoon of cinnamon to it that give it a nice hint.
Tim,
I’ve made this recipe numerous times Gluten-Free. Its terrific!