America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Gluten-Free Deep-Dish Apple Pie

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on May 24, 2019

Time

1¾ hours, plus 2½ hours cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Gluten-Free Deep-Dish Apple Pie

Ingredients

2½ pounds (1134 grams) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick2½ pounds (1134 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick½ cup plus 1 teaspoon (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar ¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice¼ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 recipe Gluten-Free Double-Crust Pie Dough 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Before You Begin

This pie is best served the day it is made. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the pie dough.

Instructions

  1. Toss apples, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon together in Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until apples are tender when poked with fork but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. (Apples and juices should gently simmer during cooking.) Transfer apples and juices to rimmed baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Drain apples thoroughly in colander.
  2. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place foillined rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top plastic, gently invert dough over 9-inch metal pie plate, and ease dough into plate; remove remaining plastic. Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic; remove top plastic.
  3. Spread apples into dough-lined pie plate, mounding slightly in middle, and drizzle with lemon juice. Gently invert top crust over filling and remove plastic. Trim dough 1/2 inch beyond lip of pie plate, pinch dough edges together, and tuck under itself to be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge using your fingers. Cut four 2-inch slits in top crust. Brush pie with egg white and sprinkle with remaining teaspoon sugar.
  4. Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake until crust is dark golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let pie cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours; serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Gluten-Free Deep-Dish Apple Pie
Styling by Marie Piraino.

Gluten-Free Deep-Dish Apple Pie

Headshot of America's Test Kitchen
By America's Test Kitchen
Save

Time

1¾ hours, plus 2½ hours cooling

Yield

Serves 8

Ingredients

2½ pounds (1134 grams) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
2½ pounds (1134 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 recipe Gluten-Free Double-Crust Pie Dough
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2½ pounds (1134 grams) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
2½ pounds (1134 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 recipe Gluten-Free Double-Crust Pie Dough
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

2½ pounds (1134 grams) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
2½ pounds (1134 grams) Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup packed (1¾ ounces/50 grams) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 recipe Gluten-Free Double-Crust Pie Dough
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Our gluten-free pie crust absorbed juices shed by the apples, making it soggy, but precooking the apples prevented a flood of juices from ruining the crust. To guarantee a crisp bottom crust, we baked the pie in a metal pie plate on a preheated baking sheet. We like a mix of tart and sweet apples, such as Granny Smiths and Golden Delicious, but you can also use Empires or Cortlands (tart) and Fuji, Jonagolds, or Braeburns (sweet). It’s not safe to place a glass (Pyrex) pie plate on a preheated baking sheet. If you must use a glass pie plate, do not preheat the baking sheet; your crust will not be as crisp.

Before You Begin

This pie is best served the day it is made. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the pie dough.

Instructions

  1. Toss apples, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon together in Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until apples are tender when poked with fork but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. (Apples and juices should gently simmer during cooking.) Transfer apples and juices to rimmed baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Drain apples thoroughly in colander.
  2. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place foillined rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Remove top plastic, gently invert dough over 9-inch metal pie plate, and ease dough into plate; remove remaining plastic. Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle between 2 large sheets of plastic; remove top plastic.
  3. Spread apples into dough-lined pie plate, mounding slightly in middle, and drizzle with lemon juice. Gently invert top crust over filling and remove plastic. Trim dough 1/2 inch beyond lip of pie plate, pinch dough edges together, and tuck under itself to be flush with edge of pie plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge using your fingers. Cut four 2-inch slits in top crust. Brush pie with egg white and sprinkle with remaining teaspoon sugar.
  4. Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake until crust is dark golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let pie cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours; serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Gift This Recipe

Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.

This is a members' feature.