Cast Iron Apple Pie
This Cast Iron Apple Pie uses a mix of Honeycrisps and green apples for the perfect combination of flavors. Grab that cast iron skillet and bake a pie for dessert!
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46 pounds. I picked 46 pounds of apples at one of the nearby orchards last year. On one day. Truthfully, picking 46 pounds of apples wasn’t that hard because Honeycrisp apples are huge. It might have taken me 20 minutes total…and that includes me going back to the car for another empty bag!
I admit that I got a bit carried away with the apples last season. Luckily, apples store surprisingly well, and we ate apples for the next 4 months or so. We were tired of apples after that, but they were indeed delicious! You see, one of our local orchards opens up their U-Pick Honeycrisp a day early to their newsletter subscribers. I got the notice on a Tuesday evening, and I was there first thing Wednesday morning armed with empty shopping bags. I didn’t mean to pick 46 pounds. It kinda just happened. Oops.
Please tell me you know (and love) Honeycrisp apples! This variety is not only sweet and flavorful, but it’s got an amazing crunch, too. Forgot those mealy apples of the old days. Honeycrisps are where it’s at for us! (And as we learned this year, they store quite well in the fridge, too.) I stumbled across a really interesting article about Honeycrisps recently, though. The Honeycrisp variety was cross-bred/discovered in the early 80’s, and it’s seriously taken on a life of its own now. It’s not uncommon for Honeycrisps to be double (or even triple) the price of other varieties. They’re worth it, though!
According to the US Apple Association, Honeycrisps are now the 5th most grown variety of apple in the States. Production has actually doubled in the last five years alone…so they’re trending upwards. Heck, forget trending. Honeycrisps have gone viral! (I even saw one of the big cider companies is making Honeycrisp Cider now.)
Growing Honeycrisps isn’t all that easy, though. First (as we learned from the last house), it takes years and years for an apple tree to grow big enough to produce apples. Second, birds love Honeycrisps. That’s no shocker. I do, too. But that means orchards often have to install netting (or use other fancy methods) to keep birds at bay. Third, Honeycrisps grow quite large. I’ve seen this myself as most of the ones I picked were at least the size of a large fist. That size means that Honeycrisps can damage the tree. For now, though, the demand for Honeycrisps is at an all-time high, so I suspect orchards will figure out how to grow ’em.
Cast Iron Apple Pie
Cast Iron Apple PieWhile I typically save Honeycrisps and just eat ’em plain, I did use a couple to make this Cast Iron Apple Pie. In fact, using a 50-50 combination of Honeycrisps and green apples (Granny Smith) is a great combination of tart and sweet…perfect for baking if you ask me! I pulled out my trusty cast iron skillet last weekend, and the next thing I knew this Cast Iron Apple Pie was happening. (Just kidding. I still had to make the pie. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a magical cast iron skillet that just made pie for you?)
Aside from mixing Honeycrisps and green apples, I kept this Cast Iron Apple Pie pretty traditional. I included a bit of ground ginger because I love the flavor of ginger in an apple pie. Trust me on this one! I also chose a lattice design for the crust. Lattice designs look impressive, but they don’t require much extra effort. After rolling the 2nd piece of dough out, just cut it into 1″ strips and then “weave” those strips together on top of the pie. It’s not complicated at all! Oh, and the vanilla ice cream in this recipe is listed as optional. It really isn’t optional. Enjoy!
Did you make this Cast Iron Apple Pie at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). Cheers!
Looking for more tasty apple recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Apple Cobbler Cheesecake Bars
Caramel Apple Crisp
Slow Cooker Blueberry Apple Cobbler
Candy Apples
Bourbon Apple Cider Cocktail
Cast Iron Apple Pie
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold
- ½-¾ cup cold water
For the Apple Pie
- 7-8 medium apples peeled, cored and sliced (see note)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- coarse sugar for topping
- {optional} vanilla ice cream
Instructions
For the Dough
- Using a food processor, add flour, brown sugar and salt; pulse until well combined.
- Cut butter into small cubes and add to the food processor; pulse until a crumbly mixture forms.
- Add ½ cup of water and pulse until well combined. Continue adding water 1 Tbsp at a time (and pulsing) until dough comes together in a ball.
- Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a disc and wrap individually with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Note: Dough can be made the day before and refrigerated overnight.)
For the Apple Pie
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Using a large bowl, add sliced apples, sugars, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger and cornstarch; stir until well combined.
- Working on a well-floured surface, roll one piece of pie dough into a 12” circle.
- Press dough into bottom and sides of a 10” cast iron skillet. If there is any overhang on the edges, fold excess dough under or just pinch it off.
- Transfer apple mixture into the skillet.
- Roll remaining piece of dough into a 12” circle. Use a pizza wheel or sharp knife to cut dough into 1” strips. Layer strips on top of apple filling in a lattice design.
- Using a small bowl, whisk egg together with 1 Tbsp of water. Brush mixture on top of pie. Sprinkle top of pie generously with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 15-20 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Let pie cool for at least 60 minutes before slicing.
- {Optional} Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Note: I recommend using a combination of types of apples. For this recipe, I used 4 Granny Smith apples and 3-4 Honeycrisp apples.
Apple pie is one of my favorite pies. I love baking with a cast iron skillet but haven’t tried a pie in it. I will have to change that. That is a lot of apples to pick in a day!
Cast iron skillets are so versatile! Definitely try baking a pie in your skillet…I love how the crust gets so crispy. 🙂 And, yes, that’s a lot of apples. Surprisingly, though, it didn’t take that long to pick them all.
I would be right there with you picking more apples than I intended. It’s a good thing they do keep so well. I’m loving this apple pie. I’ve never thought about mixing two different types of apples, and I’ll be the taste is amazing! This is a perfect fall dessert!
Yeah, I’m definitely fortunate that apples last a long time. Otherwise, we would’ve been making a LOT of apple sauce in a quick hurry. 🙂 Definitely try mixing the varieties of apples next time you make a pie, Kathy. I personally like 1/2 sweet and 1/2 tart. It’s a fun little twist for sure!
I love apple picking! It is so satisfying to pick your own fruit and turn it into something delicious, such as this Apple Pie 🙂 What a lovely comforting dessert, my friend!
I’m totally with ya, Alex! I love going apple picking, too. The only problem is that I can’t stop myself, and I end up picking way too many. Haha!
46 pounds? Geez, that’s A LOT!! If you ate all those apples, you’d surely turn into one, lol. I love any type of dessert in cast iron so this is totally calling my name right now! Paired with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and I’m one happy lady! Also, definitely not optional if you ask me too 😉
Yeah, that was a lot of apples indeed, Dawn. But here’s the thing. Those apples kept for such a long time in the refrigerator – perhaps because they were freshly picked. I think we had them for maybe 6 weeks, and they were still fine! Also, I’m with ya on the vanilla ice cream. That’s not optional at all! Hope your week is going well, my friend!
Hi David! We love all kinds of pies, but I think apple is our favorite. I still have apples and haven’t made my pie yet (my cat bit my right wrist and it’s pretty sore). But, as soon as it feels better I will be all over this pie! I don’t have coarse sugar but I do have raw sugar so that’s what I’ll top it with. I don’t drink coffee any more, but I’d sure be happy with a big glass of cold milk!
Oh no! Dorothy! If it’s not one thing down there, it’s another. Your cat took a nibble on your wrist? Bad cat! No apple pie for you! 🙂 Seriously, though, I hope you feel better soon. And raw sugar would be totally fine for this pie. I love how it produces a crispy sugary topping once it’s baked. So good!! I hope Fall is arriving down in your neck of the woods. It certainly is up here!
I do love picking apples, you always are amazed at how many you pick in such a short period of time. That said, this cast iron apple pie looks to be a great use of apples. I mean, who doesn’t love a great apple pie with some ice cream (and I agree, it’s not optional)!
So it might sound like I’m an apple picking machine, but truthfully those apples are just huge. It’s surprising how quickly you can fill a bag when they’re that big! Also, apple pie with ice cream is pretty much a requirement for Fall. I checked that one off the list…and I’m thinking I need to recheck it off again this weekend. 🙂 Thanks, Matt!
this looks really delicious david. phew! 46 pounds of apples sounds a lot. i’m trying to convert to kilos – so about 21 kilos. yep a lot! cheers sherry
Haha! I always forget about the kilo-pound conversion. What’s funny is that Laura can do it super quickly because she uses kilos at work. I always have to google a kilo calculator. 🙂 But, yes, back to your point…it’s a lot of apples!
How interesting that Honeycrisps have been around since the 80s; I remember first hearing about them a few years ago. You’re right that they’ve gone viral! This looks awesome and I think I need to break out my cast iron skillet tonight. I still have a bunch of apples in the fridge left from recipe testing. Happy Friday eve!
You’re right! Honeycrisps really seem to have been ‘discovered’ in recent years, but they actually started way back in the 80’s. Let’s be real, though, Kelsie. Everything cool started in the 80’s! 🙂 Hope you had a great weekend, my friend!
What a marvelous looking apple pie. My grandmother used to make her fruit pies in a big cast-iron skillet. She used bacon grease in the crust and to oil her skillet. I haven’t thought about that in years. Now, I’m thinking I need to make a cast-iron apple pie.
I’ll never forget the first and only time we took my dad to the you-pick apple orchard. He too went overboard and picked over 50 pounds that he then had to take back from Washington state to Texas via car. I think they were quite ripe by the time he returned home.
Hah! I bet that was a fun car trip home to Texas with all of those apples. But on the flip side, I bet his car smelled amazing! I love the idea of using bacon grease to oil the skillet. My grandma used to keep a container of bacon grease in the kitchen for the exact same thing. I had totally forgotten about that until you mentioned it – in fact, I think she kept hers in an old coffee can. Good memories right there!
I’m afraid I’ve never heard of Honeycrisp apples before. I googled to see if they were available here in the UK and they’re not. Apparantly the nearest variety we have to them is “scrumptious”. I’ve not made an apple pie in my skillet yet, but I can see that going on the list. And as you’ve added ginger, I need to try that top tip too. Great recipe David and I’m so glad you’ve popped a scoop of vanilla ice cream on for serving at the end. Classic!
Oh no! No Honeycrisps in the UK? That’s it. I need to send you some. These apples are insanely delicious, Neil! No more of that ubiquitous Red Delicious that just isn’t that delicious. These are juicy, crispy and full of flavor. Paired with a green apple, they make for an excellent pie, too! Ginger in apple pies is one of my favorite little twists…definitely try that out next time!
I do know Honey Crispy apples and they are one of my favorites! I love them for baking and eating. 🙂 The generous amount of apples in this pie is over-the-top, and perfect! ~Valentina
Yes! You can never have enough apples in an apple pie. 🙂 Thanks, Valentina!!
Honeycrisps are my favorite, David! And it was cool reading about them. Wowww 46 pounds! That’s a lot of apples! My grandmother used to make tons of pies every fall with the apples from her trees and put them in the deep freezer. She would warm one up when we came to visit. I could definitely eat a years worth of your beautiful apple pie!
Now that’s a great idea to make the pie and just keep it in the freezer! We do that with slices of cake…but that’s mainly to keep us from eating the entire cake when I bake it. 🙂 I love that baking season has ‘officially’ returned…although let’s be real, baking season never really stops in our houses, does it? Thanks, Kelly!
Cast Iron Apple Pie is a fun variation on a classic. A delicious holiday tradition for anyday! Thanks for this recipe. 🙂
I love using my cast iron skillet for baking! And we’re heading into pie season…so I’m super excited about that. Thanks, Marie!! 🙂