Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie

Name: Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 450 min
Ingredients: 226 grams all purpose flour; 1 teaspoon cane sugar; 170 grams salted butter ((cold)); 7 tablespoons cold water; Extra flour for rolling; 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; 1 tablespoon raw honey; 1 tablespoon water; Turbinado sugar

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.

brown sugar honey apple pie sliced in a aluminum pie pan on a white marble counter.

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 crust with cozy honey apples

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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.

Jump to:

A Quick Look At The Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Baker’s Tips
How to Make Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie
Make Ahead & Storage Instrucitons
Thanksgiving Menu Ideas
Recipe FAQ’s
More Homemade Pie Recipes
Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie
The Bake Shop

Ingredients

Butter: I use Organic Valley Salted Butter, you can use your favorite. Just be sure its cold, straight from the fridge as cold butter makes the best flaky crust.
All Purpose Flour: My favorite is Cairnspring Mills.
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.
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 what gives the crust this sparkly look and perfect texture!

*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 pie pan or cast iron. 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

butter cut into small cubes on a cutting board on the counter.

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.

ingredients for pie dough in the bowl of a mixer on a white countertop.

Add the cold, cubed butter to the flour mixture. Measure out the cold water and have it ready.

pie dough mixed together in the bowl of a mixer on a white countertop.

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.

two disks of pie dough wrapped in plastic wrap on the counter.

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 disks and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.

white bowl of apples honey and brown sugar on a white marble counter.

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 apples 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.

pie dough in a pie pan on a white marble counter.

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 disk 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 smaller disk to ¼-inch thick, it should be about 9-inches in diameter. Set aside.

pie pan with crust and apple pie filling on a white marble counter.

Add the filling into the pie pan and spread evenly.

pie dough cut into 1-inch strips on a white marble countertop.

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.

apple pie being latticed with strips of dough on top on a white marble countertop.

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.

apple pie latticed with strips of dough on top and fluted edges on a white marble countertop.

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.

latticed apple pie with strips of dough on top and fluted edges, pie wash and turbinado sugar on a white marble countertop.

Using a pastry brush, brush the dough with the honey and water mixture and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

brown sugar honey apple pie in a aluminum pie pan on a white marble counter.

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.

slice of brown sugar honey apple pie on a white plate on a marble counter.

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

Can you freeze pie dough?

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.

What does cornstarch do in pie filling?

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.

How should I store homemade pie?

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.

How should I reheat pie?

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

Blueberry Slab Pie Without Eggs

Peach Crumble Pie

Eggless Strawberry Honey Galette

Rustic Sourdough Peach Galette

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