Crabapple maple syrup pie

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! 

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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. 

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.

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.” 

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.

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.

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.

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.) 

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. 

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. 

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