The Secret to Grandma Ople's Apple Pie Is So Genius (And So Easy)

As far as baked desserts go, apple pie is pretty simple. With the use of a store-bought pie crust, you only need a handful of ingredients to make a universally loved dish—or, if you make your own, more power to you! Apple pie’s straightforward formula also makes it an easy dessert to enhance. Take your pie from respectable to rave-worthy with this trick from our most popular apple pie recipe.

Why You Should Add a Sugar-Butter Mixture to Your Apple Pie Crust

Normally, apple pie recipes suggest you add a mixture of butter and sugar to the pie’s interior — which makes perfect sense, since it’s used to make the gooey filling. That mixture can also transform a pie’s crust by making it crispier. Think a classic apple pie, but with a little churro on top. 

If you don’t want to take my word for it, though, Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie has plenty of positive reviews that will hopefully change your mind. 

“I've been making apple pies for years. Today I decided to try this recipe because it was different than any other I’ve ever made,” says Allrecipes member Donna D. “All I can say is [it’s] the best pie I have ever eaten…The pie came out perfect and it was all gone by the morning.”

How to Add a Butter-Sugar Mixture to Your Apple Pie Crust

Ready to level up your pie crust? We recommend starting with Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie, since this hack is written right into the recipe. If you’d rather stick with your favorite recipe, you’ll just need to add 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water. 

While your oven warms to 425 degrees F, melt your butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add flour and stir to form a paste. Cook the butter-flour paste until fragrant, about one to two minutes. Then, add the white sugar, brown sugar, and water, and bring the saucepan to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for three to five minutes, then remove the saucepan from heat. Keep your mixture set aside until the pie and lattice crust have been assembled. 

Once your pie is in good shape and your lattices are woven, it’s time to level up your apple pie. Fold and trim any excess dough and pinch the edges to secure them. Slowly pour the mixture over your pie, and make sure it seeps into the openings in your lattice. Brush the mixture over the crust, but make sure it doesn’t seep off the sides. 

Next, following Grandma Ople’s recipe, bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking until the apples are soft and the crust is golden brown. Once it’s cooled down, serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or a slice of cheddar cheese.

Get the Recipe: Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

More Additions to Apple Pie

There is one notable omission in this recipe, but it’s an easy fix: If you want more spices in your apple pie, then by all means, add them. Cinnamon or vanilla extract are the most obvious choices here, but you can also make your own apple pie spice blend with cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, and nutmeg.