Honey Lemon Apple Pie

This Honey Lemon Apple Pie is probably my absolute new favorite pie recipe, it is that good! I use a mix of honey, apple, and lemon in the filling and this baby is brushed with honey (instead of eggs) making it a naturally eggless pie recipe with perfectly golden brown crust!

If you love apple pies, be sure to check out my other favorite apple pies like Orange Blossom Honey Apple Pie, Vanilla Bean Apple Pie, Lattice Spiced Apple Pie, or Caramel Apple Pie.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

• Recipe Name: Honey Lemon Apple Pie
• Ready In: 7 hours 30 minutes
• Makes: 9-inch pie
• Main Ingredients: salted butter, all purpose flour, apples, lemon
• Flavor Profile: sweet and tangy with a naturally buttery golden crust
• Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils
• Difficulty: Medium
• Why You’ll Love It: eggless apple pie with honey and zesty lemon

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Eggless Pie: Making eggless pie is very easy, but it also yields in a more golden brown crust! I brush the crust of this Honey Lemon Apple Pie with my favorite eggless pie wash, which is just equal parts honey and water. The result is a beautiful golden brown, slightly sweet, eggless pie!
• Elevated Classic: This is just like a traditional apple pie recipe, but I add in lemon juice, honey, and lemon zest. I also cook the filling to reduce the lemon juice, because you don't want liquid in a fruit pie, but you do want the flavor of the lemon. So, this Honey Lemon Apple Pie tastes like a elevated apple pie.
• Lattice Top: This Honey Lemon Pie has a lattice top, which makes it look extra beautiful. You can see the apple filling showing through, which is something I love! If you are new to organic pie baking be sure to check out How to Lattice a Pie Crust for step by step instructions and tips for making a lattice pie.

This Honey Lemon Apple Pie is so light, fruity, and it's perfectly golden brown. While this pie is a little extra effort (because the filling needs to be cooked), it's totally worth it! If you're wondering why I cook the filling here, and not in other apple pie recipes, check out my post Should You Cook Pie Filling Before Baking?. Because this pie has fresh lemon juice, it needs to be cooked down to ensure the crust doesn't become soggy, so this step is crucial.

If you don't want to cook the filling, check out more traditional apple pie recipes like Brown Butter Apple Pie Without Eggs, Old Fashioned Dutch Apple Pie, Lattice Spiced Apple Pie, or Sourdough Apple Pie. These pies all have the classic brown sugar and cinnamon filling, which doesn't need to be cooked. While these all evoke a warm and cozy feeling, this Honey Lemon Apple Pie is incredibly light and totally out of the box! So, it would also make a wonderful addition to more classic apple pies, like this, at Thanksgiving this year.

Ingredients

• Butter: I use Organic Valley Salted Butter, you can use your favorite. Just be sure it's cold, straight from the fridge as cold butter will give you flaky pie crust.
• Cane Sugar: I use organic cane sugar, which is less processed than granulated white sugar. This gives this apple pie a more natural sweetness, without being overly sweet.
• Apples: I use Honeycrisp apples, but any other sweet variety like Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady would also have the same flavor.
• Honey: I use organic raw honey both inside the pie and for the pie wash. I use a 1 to 1 ratio of honey to water for pie wash (in place of eggs!). That makes this an eggless pie and it gives the crust a really perfect golden brown color and a little sweetness that I am obsessed with!
• Cornstarch: Organic cornstarch really is essential for fruit pies as it thickens the filling to ensure you don't get a soggy crust and so fruit juices don't run out when the pie is sliced.
• Cinnamon: I use organic Korintje cinnamon, which is my favorite variety. Be sure to check out my post the Best Cinnamon to Bake With for more info on the different kinds of cinnamon.

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Baker's Tips

• Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
• Use cold butter for the pie crust. If you are new to making pie crust, or want a step by step and tricks, check out How to Make Pie Crust in a Mixer for a lot more info!
• I use Honeycrisp apples in this recipe. But, if you can't find them, you can also use Fuji or Gala as they are very similar and a lot more easily found in stores.
• Cooking the filling is super important in this recipe. The lemon juice will add flavor, but it needs to be cooked and reduced down so that the pie isn't soggy and juicy.
• This an eggless pie recipe, because I am using honey and water to brush the crust. This is also why this pie has such a pretty color, the honey really browns the crust, and it tastes amazing.
• Use an aluminum, cast iron or stainless steel pie pan for the best flaky crust. Check out The Best Nontoxic Pie Pans to Bake With for more info.
• If you don't want to lattice the top, you can totally skip that step! Just roll out the top portion of the dough and place it on top, you can roll and flute it just like a normal pie. If you go this route, be sure to make a couple vent holes in the top.
• Pie shouldn't be covered or in an airtight container, so don't cover it or put in Tupperware if you are saving it. Putting it in an airtight container will cause the pie to become soggy. Pie is best when left out on the counter at room temperature.
• High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until golden brown.

How to Make Honey Lemon Apple Pie

Step 1

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

Step 2

To make the filling: In a small saucepan, add the apples, cane sugar, honey, lemon juice, flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon and mix together. Put over medium heat, and continue to stir occasionally. The sugar will start to melt and coat the apples. The juices will start to bubble. Continue to cook until the liquid has thickened, you’ll know when you scrape the bottom of the pot and you can visibly see that it doesn’t fill in the open space immediately. This should take 8 to 14 minutes. Place the mixture in the fridge to cool, or allow to cool until room temperature.

Step 3

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 4

To make the topping: Add the honey and water to a small dish. Microwave it for 10 seconds or so to melt the honey so you can completely stir it together. Set aside.

Step 5

Grease the 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.

Step 6

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, 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 water and honey topping.

Step 7

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Honey Lemon Apple Pie FAQ's

More Honey Pie Recipes

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Brown Sugar Honey Apple Pie

Blueberry Honey Crumble Pie

Orange Blossom Honey Apple Pie