Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie
This Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie is the epitome of fall’s comforting flavors! This rustic organic pie marries the natural sweetness of ripe apples with the rich notes of brown sugar and golden honey, all wrapped up in a buttery and flaky crust.
If you’re looking for more apple pie recipes, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like Vanilla Bean Apple Pie, Lattice Spied Apple Pie, Chinese Five Spice Cranberry Apple Pie, Sourdough Apple Pie, or Brown Butter Apple Pie Without Eggs.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie
- Ready In: 7 hours 30 minutes
- Makes: 9-inch pie
- Main Ingredients: butter, apples, all purpose flour, light brown sugar
- Flavor Profile: caramelized brown sugar, honey, apples in a buttery crust
- Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Medium
- Why You’ll Love It: perfectly buttery, flaky lattice crust with sweet honey apple filling
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Buttery & Flaky Crust: I love this organic pie because it has a buttery and flaky crust! I also top the crust with turbinado sugar, which gives it a really nice texture and a little extra sweetness!
- Comforting & Sweet: This Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie has the comforting flavor of traditional apple pie with brown sugar and cinnamon, but it has a hint of honey for a little added sweetness.
- Eggless: I also top this pie with my favorite pie wash that is just one part water and one part honey. This gives pie an uber golden brown crust and it makes it sweeter, I’m totally obsessed! And, it’s naturally eggless!
- Fall Vibes: This Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie has all the fall vibes! This homemade apple pie is the perfect bake for a lazy weekend and it would also be a showstopper at your Thanksgiving table.
- Organic Pie: While you can buy apple pie at the grocery store, it's so much better to make your own at home! Using organic ingredients will ensure a tastier pie along with better quality ingredients you can trust.
Ingredients
- Butter: I use organic salted butter because I always bake with salted butter! But, unsalted butter works if you prefer. You can add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the dough. Be sure to check out Best Salted Butter for Baking for my top picks for butter.
- Apples: I use a sweeter apple here, I prefer to use Gala, Pink Lady or Fuijis for the apple filling. But, if you like a more tart apple such as a granny smith apple, you can use your favorite crisp apples for the apple mixture, it's totally personal preference. I always say you need to like the apples in order to like the apple pie, so use your favorite!
- Light Brown Sugar: I use my homemade light brown sugar, but store bought also works.
- Honey: I use organic raw honey both inside this apple pie and for the pie wash. My favorite pie wash is a 1 to 1 ratio of honey and water. This creates a golden brown crust with a slightly sweet flavor that I am obsessed with!
- Cinnamon: I use organic Korintje cinnamon. Check out my post the Best Cinnamon to Bake With for more info on the different varieties of cinnamon. You can also use other spices if you prefer, allspice or nutmeg will work if that's all you have.
- Cornstarch: I use organic cornstarch in the filling. This helps solidify the sugars in the oven so you don't get a soggy pie crust or have fruit juices run out. If you are avoiding corn, use tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch instead.
- Turbinado Sugar: I top this organic pie with turbinado sugar. This is a course sugar and is what gives the crust this sparkly look and perfect texture! If you don't have this, you can leave it off. But, regular cane sugar will not work because it will just melt into the pie crust as the sugar crystals are much finer.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Make sure to use cold butter for your pie crust. If you are new to making pie crust, then make sure to read post How to Make Pie Crust in a Mixer where you’ll find lots of tips and tricks for making the best buttery and flaky pie crust!
- Use an aluminum, stainless steel or cast iron 9-inch pie plate. These materials will conduct heat the best and help your crust bake up crisp, especially at higher altitudes. Using glass or ceramic is not as good and could result in a soggy bottom crust. Get my top picks in The Best Nontoxic Pie Pans to Bake With.
- I always leave the skins on my apples, but you are welcome to peel them if you want. Either way, the pie will be delicious!
- I lattice the top of this pie, but if you want to do a traditional top, you can skip the lattice step and just top the pie with the top crust too (be sure to make 4 vent holes)! If you want to learn how to lattice a pie with even more detailed instructions, then check out my article How to Lattice a Pie Crust! This has step by step tutorial with photos and a video to teach you how to lattice a pie crust.
- I use my favorite pie wash, which is just one part honey and one part water. This is an insanely delicious way to top your pie and it’s naturally eggless! If you want to do a traditional egg wash, you can do that as well. Alternatively, you could also top this pie with heavy whipping cream too as another eggless option.
- I top this pie with turbinado sugar as it gives it a beautiful texture. This is also optional, so if you don’t have this sugar, you can totally skip it.
How to Make Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie
- To make the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour and cane sugar. Turn the mixer on low for two to three rotations to combine the dry ingredients. Remove the butter from the fridge and chop into small cubes. The smaller the cubes, the flakier the crust. Cut the stick of butter into four and then chop into small cubes from there.
- Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture. Measure out the cold water and have it ready.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly start to incorporate the ingredients. Gradually turn the mixer to medium speed. Once the butter mixture looks like wet sand, immediately add in all the water.
- As soon as the dough comes together, stop the mixer. Do not over mix.
- Divide the dough into two portions, one should be almost double the size of the other. I prefer to weigh them, the large one should weigh 312 grams and the small should weigh 170 grams. Form them both into discs and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. To make the filling: In a medium bowl, add the brown sugar, brown honey, flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon and mix together. Slice the apples into thin slices, leaving their skins on. Add the apple slices to the sugar mixture and toss to coat them completely. Set aside. To make the topping: Add the honey and water into a small dish and microwave for a few seconds to combine completely. Set aside.
- Grease a 9-inch pie pan well with butter. Remove the pie dough from the fridge. Remove the plastic wrap and place on a floured surface. First, roll out the large disc to ¼-inch thick, it should be about 11-inches in diameter. Place the pie dough into the pie pan and press lightly to form against the pan. It should be large enough that the dough folds right over the top. Roll out the second crust (smaller disc) to ¼-inch thick, it should be about 9-inches in diameter. Set aside.
- Add the filling into the pie pan and spread evenly.
- I like to use a pizza cutter for this next step, but a sharp knife will work as well. Cut the rolled out dough into 1-inch wide strips.
- Place the strips on top of the apples going horizontal leaving 1-inch between strips. Use the smaller strips towards the sides of the pie and use the longer strips for the middle.
- Next, add the remaining dough strips going vertical, alternating each strip over and under the horizontal ones.
- Once the lattice top is complete, trim the crust if needed so it lines up with the edges of the pie pan, and crimp and fold over the edges of the dough to seal the top and bottom together. Flute the edges.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the dough with the honey and water mixture and sprinkle the top of the pie with turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden brown. (If you're baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
Make Ahead & Storage Instrucitons
Easily make this homemade apple pie in advance. You can bake it the day before. Just store in a cool, dry place. I just leave it out on the counter. You can also warm it up in the oven before serving at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas
If you're planning a Thanksgiving dinner, try some of my favorites like Slow Cooker Turkey, Bone Broth Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes With Pecans, or Easy Stuffing Recipe.
Add other desserts besides pie to your Thanksgiving dessert table. Desserts that would go well with this Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie include Pumpkin Pie Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting, Brown Butter Pumpkin Cookies With Caramel, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake, or Eggless Sourdough Pumpkin Pie.
Recipe FAQ's
Using both honey and brown sugar in this apple pie give it a rich brown sugar flavor that is classic, but with the addition of floral notes of sweet honey. It's really the best combination for an elevated apple pie.
I prefer to use a sweet apple such as Fuji, Pink Lady, Cosmic Crisp or Galas. I love the combination of the sweeter apples with the rich brown sugar and floral honey. If you prefer a more tart apple, you can use granny smith or something similar. I always say, use apples you like if you want to like the apple pie you're baking. So just use your favorite!
Yes, I leave the skins on. At my bakery we always left the skins on because it was much faster. But, apple pie also bakes in the oven for a long time and it softens the skins. So, there's really no need to remove them, in my opinion.
Using cornstarch and flour in the filling is what is going to help solidify the fruit juices and sugar as the pie bakes. This will prevent he pie crust from getting soggy. Also, be sure to use a pie pan that conducts heat well, this really makes a huge difference. Cast iron, stainless steel or aluminum are your best options. Stay away from glass and ceramic as those can cause your pie crust to be soggy.
If you skipped the cornstarch, flour or both, then the apple pie filling will be runny. These two ingredients are what solidifies the fruit filling as it bakes, preventing it from running out when sliced. If you are avoiding corn, you can use tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch instead, but you need a binder. Also, be sure to let pie cool completely before slicing. If you don't let it cool, it will run out the center, even if your filling is perfect.
Yes, you can skip the lattice if you don't want to do it. Just add the top crust on top, crimp the edges and flute the crust. Then be sure to add in vent holes, this is super important when doing a double crust. I like to just do 4 vent holes on the top. Then, continue following the recipe.
I use a 1:1 mixture of honey and water. This will give you the best golden brown pie crust without eggs. It also adds a subtle sweet flavor that I am obsessed with. This is my signature pie wash I use for almost everything!
When the top of the pie is golden brown, then you know it's done. Don't be afraid to bake it a few more minutes, as all ovens are a bit different. So adding a few extra minutes is totally okay to achieve that golden brown crust.
Yes! If you make your pie dough and just realize you can't bake the pie, then just pop your dough in the freezer and it will keep for up to 3 months. Just remove the pie dough from the freezer and place in the fridge 24 hours before you want to roll it out.
Using cornstarch in a fruit pie filling will help thicken the fruit juices. This will prevent a soggy bottom and prevent the pie from leaking fruit juices the moment it's cut into. This also keeps pies more flavorful as juices stay inside the pie. I think cornstarch is a must for all fruit pie fillings! If you don't want to use cornstarch, tapioca, arrowroot or potato starch in its place.
The best way to store homemade pie is out on the counter. Do not put it in a tupperware or under a cake dome as this will result in soggy crust! Pie is best eaten the day its made or within 3 days.
The best (and only way) to reheat pie is in the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer. You can do this on a warm setting or you can do 350°F. This should only take about 5 to 10 minutes to reheat the pie and the crust will stay nice and flaky!
More Homemade Pie Recipes
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Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- 9-Inch Pie Pan
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
Crust
- 226 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cane sugar
- 170 grams salted butter (cold)
- 7 tablespoons cold water
- Extra flour for rolling
Filling
- 113 grams light brown sugar (packed)
- 43 grams raw honey
- 21 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large apples
Topping
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1 tablespoon water
- Turbinado sugar
Instructions
- To make the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour and cane sugar. Turn the mixer on low for two to three rotations to combine the dry ingredients.
- Remove the butter from the fridge and chop into small cubes. The smaller the cubes, the flakier the crust. Cut the stick of butter into four and then chop into small cubes from there. Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture. Measure out the cold water and have it ready.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly start to incorporate the ingredients. Gradually turn the mixer to medium speed. Once the butter mixture looks like wet sand, immediately add in all the water. As soon as the dough comes together, stop the mixer. Do not over mix.
- Divide the dough into two portions, one should be almost double the size of the other. I prefer to weigh them, the large one should weigh 312 grams and the small should weigh 170 grams. Form them both into discs and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- To make the filling: In a medium bowl, add the brown sugar, brown honey, flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon and mix together. Slice the apples into thin slices, leaving their skins on. Add the apple slices to the sugar mixture and toss to coat them completely. Set aside.
- To make the topping: Add the honey and water into a small dish and microwave for a few seconds to combine completely. Set aside.
- Grease a 9-inch pie pan well with butter. Remove the pie dough from the fridge. Remove the plastic wrap and place on a floured surface. First, roll out the large disc to ¼-inch thick, it should be about 11-inches in diameter. Place the pie dough into the pie pan and press lightly to form against the pan. It should be large enough that the dough folds right over the top. Roll out the second crust (smaller disc) to ¼-inch thick, it should be about 9-inches in diameter. Set aside.
- Add the filling into the pie pan and spread evenly.
- I like to use a pizza cutter for this next step, but a sharp knife will work as well. Cut the rolled out dough into 1-inch wide strips. Place the strips on top of the apples going horizontal leaving 1-inch between strips. Use the smaller strips towards the sides of the pie and use the longer strips for the middle. Next, add the remaining dough strips going vertical, alternating each strip over and under the horizontal ones.
- Once the lattice top is complete, trim the crust if needed so it lines up with the edges of the pie pan, and crimp and fold over the edges of the dough to seal the top and bottom together. Flute the edges.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the dough with the honey and water mixture and sprinkle the top of the pie with turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to use cold butter for your pie crust. If you are new to making pie crust, then make sure to read post How to Make Pie Crust in a Mixer where you’ll find lots of tips and tricks for making the best buttery and flaky pie crust!
- Use an aluminum, stainless steel or cast iron 9-inch pie plate. These materials will conduct heat the best and help your crust bake up crisp, especially at higher altitudes. Using glass or ceramic is not as good and could result in a soggy bottom crust. Get my top picks in The Best Nontoxic Pie Pans to Bake With.
- I always leave the skins on my apples, but you are welcome to peel them if you want. Either way, the pie will be delicious!
- I lattice the top of this pie, but if you want to do a traditional top, you can skip the lattice step and just top the pie with the top crust too (be sure to make 4 vent holes)! If you want to learn how to lattice a pie with even more detailed instructions, then check out my article How to Lattice a Pie Crust! This has step by step tutorial with photos and a video to teach you how to lattice a pie crust.
- I use my favorite pie wash, which is just one part honey and one part water. This is an insanely delicious way to top your pie and it’s naturally eggless! If you want to do a traditional egg wash, you can do that as well. Alternatively, you could also top this pie with heavy whipping cream too as another eggless option.
- I top this pie with turbinado sugar as it gives it a beautiful texture. This is also optional, so if you don’t have this sugar, you can totally skip it.
- High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until golden brown.
Nutrition
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This is my go to fall pie recipe, it’s always a hit and I’m obsessed with the honey crust!