Crabapple maple syrup pie

Last Updated on September 22, 2023 by Aaron von Frank

Our crabapple pie recipe offers the perfect balance of tang and sweet. It’s sweetened with maple syrup instead of cane sugar and also uses organic whole wheat pastry flour instead of refined white flour.

That winning combination means this seasonal recipe is also quite a bit healthier than standard apple pie! 

Crabapple pie with whole wheat crust, one of our very favorite fall dessert recipes. Yes, this pie recipe is relatively healthy, although you can undo that by serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Ha.

Ingredients you’ll need to make crabapple pie: 

A. Crabapple pie filling: 

• 6 cups de-seeded, quartered crabapples / weight: 1 lb 13 ounces (see crabapple notes below for substitutions and de-seeding instructions) 
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup organic grass-fed butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp organic whole wheat pastry flour added AFTER crabapple filling is made

Crabapple notes:

There is a lot of size and flavor variability between crabapples. For this recipe, use the largest fruit you can find that is fresh, crisp, and juicy.

Don’t have crabapples? A good crabapple substitution is to use a tart apple variety like ‘Granny Smith’.

Once you’ve rinsed your crabapples to get rid of any dirt and insects, process each fruit as follows: 

1. cut off the calyx (brown part on bottom of fruit)
2. quarter the crabapple,
3. remove middle seed sections. 

Here’s what a finished crabapple should look like once it’s quartered and the seeds and calyx are removed. You do NOT need to remove the crabapple skins.

The more hands you have helping to process your crabapples the better, because it’s a lot of work. But the effort is so worth it given the incredible flavor and nutrition crabapples have to offer!  

B. Ingredients for the pie crust (makes one bottom and one top crust)

You can use a store bought pie crust. However, if you want to go to the next level and make your own crust using organic whole wheat pastry flour, here’s what you’ll need:

• 338 grams organic whole wheat PASTRY flour (Important: Standard whole wheat flour is not ground fine enough to make a good pie crust so make sure you use a PASTRY flour – here are some good options.)
• 1 tbsp maple sugar (or leave out for less sweet pastry)
• 1/2 lb chilled unsalted organic grass-fed butter, cut into 1″ cubes (2 standard sticks)
• 1/2 cup ice cold water (you’ll actually use a little less than 1/2 cup, as detailed in instructions)
• 2 tbsp organic apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• Optional: 1 egg (NOT added to dough – you’ll whisk the egg and brush it on the dough surface of top crust as an “egg wash” prior to baking)

As noted in the recipe card at the bottom, a food processor will help speed up the crust-making process. Regardless, you’ll still need a rolling pin to roll the dough out. 

Pie pan size: 

For this recipe, we use a 9″ x 1 ½” pie pan which holds up to 4 cups of filling. However, you’ll only want to use about 3.5 cups of crabapple filling as measured once the ingredients have been cooked down.

Step-by-step to making crabapple pie:

Step 1. Make and chill pie dough.

Make pie dough as per instructions in recipe card. We like to start our dough in a food processor using the pulse setting. This keeps the dough from getting warmed up by our hands and also doesn’t over-work the dough or completely pulverize the butter.  

Once made, divide the dough into two even pieces (one for top crust and one for bottom), then roll each piece into a ball. Cover dough in a bowl or wrap it in plastic wrap, then place it in the fridge to chill for at least one hour.

Step 2. Form bottom pie crust.

Butter your 9″ x 1 ½” pie pan. Roll out half of the pie dough (one of the two balls) to about 1/8″ thickness. Try to form the dough into a ~10″ diameter circle, slightly larger than the pie pan in order to allow coverage for the sides of the pan. The shape doesn’t have to be perfect — you’ll finish forming the dough by hand inside the pie dish. 

For this step, use a rolling pin and a counter surface generously dusted with whole wheat organic PASTRY flour. You’ll also want to dust the dough surface with flour as you go so the rolling pin doesn’t stick. Also, a pastry scraper will help loosen the dough when you’re ready to transfer it to the pie pan. 

Transfer rolled dough to pie pan and finish forming it with your fingers until the sides and top edges are even.

Left: Use your pie pan (ours is glass) to see if your dough is rolled to the proper size. It should extend about 1″ beyond the diameter of the pan so you have enough dough to cover the sides. Center: Dough transferred to buttered pie pan. Right: Dough formed into bottom pie crust. Also, note that the dough on the bottom crust goes over the lip of the pie pan, otherwise the crabapple filling can more easily bubble out of gaps between the two crusts while cooking.

Step 3: “Dock” the bottom crust then chill again.

Very important: Use a fork to poke holes on the walls and bottom of the pie crust to prevent air bubbles from forming when the crust bakes. This process is called “docking.” 

Docked pie crust ready to be chilled.

Now, put the pie crust in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Step 4: Make crabapple pie filling.

Combine all crabapple pie filling ingredients in pot, except for 2 tablespoons of flour, which will be added once the filling has cooled and before you pour it into pie crust.

Cook your crabapple filling for about 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly to prevent burning/scalding — especially towards the end once a lot of the liquid has cooked out.

Finished crabapple pie filling. Note there’s still plenty of liquid in the filling. This will be thickened by the two tablespoons of flour you add prior to baking the pie.

You want to finish with about 3.5 cups of crabapple pie filling. You can transfer the filling to a large measuring bowl to make sure you’ve cooked it down enough.

Avoid a pie baking mess by measuring your finished crabapple pie filling. If you end up with more than 3.5 cups, cook it a bit longer to further reduce the water content.

Let your crabapple filling cool to at least room temperature. If you’re not in a rush, chill it in the fridge. Or use an ice-bath method to rapid chill the filling to speed things up.  

Step 5: Pre-bake bottom pie crust.

While the crabapple filling is cooking, preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Pre-bake the bottom pie crust for 15 minutes. If you don’t pre-bake the bottom crust prior to making the pie, it won’t cook through and/or it will be soggy. 

Remove crust from oven and let crust cool to room temp.

Bottom crust pre-baked and ready to fill.

Step 6: Roll out top crust, assemble pie, score surface, then bake. 

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Roll out your top pie crust dough just as you did the bottom crust, although the diameter can be about 9″ rather than 10″ this time since there are no sides to the top crust to account for. 

Thoroughly mix 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat pastry flour into cooled crabapple filling. (The flour makes the filling thicken up while it bakes.)

Then pour crabapple filling into bottom pie crust and even it out with a spatula. 

Now, put top crust on top of filling and shape as-needed to fill any holes or gaps at the edges. Use a fork to push down crust edges and add a decorative flare. 

Next, score the top crust with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape while the pie bakes. Put pie on baking sheet to prevent your stove from getting dirty in case any filling boils over. (This shouldn’t happen if you measure out your finished filling first.) 

Top crust on and “scored” with a knife.

Now for the optional “egg wash”… Whisk one egg and baste the pie crust surface with the egg before putting it in the oven. This gives the crust a more attractive, golden-brown and shinier finish. (Yes, we forgot this step when making the pie for this recipe because we were in a rush preparing for a family dinner!)

Bake for about 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 

Finished crabapple pie straight out of the oven.

Step 7: Cool and serve with optional toppings. 

Remove pie from oven and place it on a cooling rack. Crabapple pie is best served warm. Also, it pairs amazingly well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

Note that it’s difficult to get a warm piece of fresh crabapple pie to come out of the pie pan perfectly shaped, but you probably won’t care once you taste it because wow is it good!

If presentation is important to you, cool the pie in your fridge before cutting and plating. Then heat pieces individually in your oven (for best texture) or microwave. 

Print

Crabapple pie

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crabapple dessert recipe, crabapple pie, whole wheat pie crust

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Aaron von Frank

A delicious seasonal pie made with fresh crabapples, sweetened with maple syrup. Use our organic whole wheat pastry flour pie crust to take your crabapple pie to the next level!

Ingredients

Crabapple pie filling

• 6 cups de-seeded, quartered crabapples / weight: 1 lb 13 ounces (Alternative: sliced sour apples like 'Granny Smith')
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup organic grass-fed butter, unsalted
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp organic whole wheat pastry flour (added AFTER crabapple filling is made and cooled!)

Whole wheat pie dough

• 338 grams organic whole wheat PASTRY flour (slightly more than 2.5 cups)
• 1 tbsp maple sugar (or leave out for less sweet pastry)
• 1/2 lb chilled unsalted organic grass-fed butter, cut into 1″ cubes (2 standard sticks)
• 1/2 cup ice cold water (you’ll actually use a little less than 1/2 cup, as detailed in instructions)
• 2 tbsp organic apple cider vinegar (One of the secrets to a good pie dough!)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg, for "egg wash" of top crust, NOT added to dough (Egg wash is optional.)

Instructions

1. Step 1. Make and chill pie dough.

   Put ice in 1/2 cup water, then set aside to allow water to chill.

   Mix dry ingredients in bowl, then transfer them to a food processor. Cut cold butter into ~8 equal sized chunks or 1" cubes. Add butter to food processor and use pulse setting to work butter into flour mixture. Do NOT over-blend; you want butter chunks of varying sizes for ideal crust texture.

   Next put 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar into 1/2 cup measuring cup. Fill the remainder of the 1/2 cup measuring cup with ice water. (Adding vinegar to pie dough makes it easier to work and creates a better finished crust.) Next slowly add your ice water/vinegar combination to the dough, working it in as you go with pulse setting on food processor. You probably won't need to use the full half cup of ice water to get the dough to stick together, and that's ok.

   Divide dough into two even pieces (for top & bottom crusts), then roll each piece into a ball. Cover dough in bowl or wrap in plastic wrap, then chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

2. Step 2. Form bottom pie crust.

   Generously dust counter surface and rolling pin with flour. Butter 9 x 1 ½ pie pan. Roll out half of pie dough to about 1/8″ thickness into a ~10″ diameter circle. You’ll also want to dust the dough surface with flour as you go so rolling pin doesn’t stick.

   *Transfer rolled dough to pie pan and finish forming it with your fingers until the sides and top edges are even. (*Use a pastry scraper or large sharp knife to help loosen the dough from counter surface if necessary.) 

3. Step 3: “Dock” bottom crust then chill again.

   Use a fork to poke holes on walls and bottom of raw pie crust to prevent air bubbles from forming when the crust bakes, aka “docking.” Put pie crust in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

4. Step 4: Make crabapple pie filling.

   Combine all crabapple pie filling ingredients in pot, except for 2 tablespoons of flour.

   Cook crabapple filling for about 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly to prevent burning/scalding — especially towards the end once a lot of the liquid has cooked out. You want to finish with about 3.5 cups of crabapple pie filling - measure to be sure.

   Let your crabapple filling cool to at least room temperature, but chilled is better. Chill in fridge or use ice-bath to rapid-chill.

5. Step 5: Pre-bake bottom pie crust.

   While crabapple filling is cooking, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Pre-bake bottom pie crust for 15 minutes. Remove crust from oven and let crust cool to room temp on cooling rack.

6. Step 6: Roll out top crust dough layer, assemble pie, score surface, then bake. 

   Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Roll out your top pie crust dough to about 1/8" thick x 9" diameter circle. Thoroughly mix 2 tablespoons of organic whole wheat pastry flour into cooled crabapple filling. Pour crabapple filling into bottom pie crust and even it out with spatula. 

   Put top crust on top of filling and shape it as-needed to fill any holes or gaps at the edges. Use a fork to push down crust edges. Score the top crust with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape while the pie bakes. Apply optional egg wash if desired.

   Put pie on baking sheet and bake for about 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  

7. Step 7: Cool and serve with optional toppings. 

   Remove pie from oven and place it on cooling rack. Best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

   Cuts better and more cleanly after chilling and setting for a day. Re-heat pieces individually in oven or microwave.  

We hope crabapple pie and our other crabapple recipes (see below) help you appreciate this under-appreciated seasonal food as much as we do!  

KIGI,

Other crabapple recipes you’ll love:

• Crabapple hand pies
• Wild-fermented crabapple cider with beautyberries
• Maple syrup candied crabapples with oat-pecan crumble cakes
• One-pot roasted chicken with chestnuts and crabapples
• Chestnut crabapple mash