Apple Butter Pie
Apple Butter Pie is the perfect autumn dessert. This custard pie combines flavorful apple butter, sweetened condensed milk, and spices into a flaky pie crust. The result is a delicious dessert with the texture of pumpkin pie and the sweet taste of apples.
If you’re looking for a non-traditional pie to serve for Thanksgiving, you’ll want to give our apple butter pie a try!
Made with apple butter, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, and allspice, it’s smooth, creamy, sweet and tart. It’s the perfect dessert for any holiday table.
The filling only takes about 10 minutes to mix, and you can use a homemade or store bought pie crust. Then, the rest of the time is hands off!
For the finishing touch, top this pie with whipped cream, pie crust cutouts, and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. Your guests will ask for it every year!
Substitutions and Variations
- Use evaporated milk: Instead of sweetened condensed milk, use 12 ounces evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Leave the other ingredients the same.
- Spices: Cinnamon and allspice give this pie a wonderful warm flavor that makes it great as an autumn dessert. Feel free to adjust the amounts or swap them with other spices like nutmeg, ginger, or cloves.
- Pie crust: Use your favorite 9-inch pie crust. For extra flavor, make a homemade crust and sprinkle it with cinnamon. A shortbread or graham cracker crust works well with this recipe.
- Apple butter: I like Musselman’s Apple Butter for this recipe because it’s not too thin and doesn’t contain a lot of extra liquid. Use any type of apple butter you’d like, even homemade, but try to find one that’s thicker so the pie will set properly.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store leftover pie in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Make sure it’s completely cool before covering with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Freezer: Our apple butter pie freezes well! Let it cool completely including the time it takes to set in the fridge. Place the entire pie, or individual slices, in the freezer and let them freeze for an hour or two. Wrap the pie tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. It will stay fresh for about 2 months.
Thawing: Thaw the frozen pie in the fridge overnight before serving.
Tips
- Make sure to use apple butter not applesauce. These are two different products, and applesauce will not work for this recipe.
- Don’t overcook the pie; otherwise, it will dry out. Bake it until it’s a little puffy around the edges and jiggles slightly in the center.
- Add a foil tent around around the crust if it begins to brown too quickly.
- Make an egg wash (egg + 1 tablespoon of water) and brush over the pie crust to make a barrier between the crust and the filling. It helps prevent a soggy crust while baking the pie.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to blind bake the crust?
If you’d like to blind bake the crust, you can but it’s not necessary. The crust cooks while the filling bakes.
Why didn’t the pie set?
There may be a few reasons the pie didn’t set.
It could be because the pie didn’t bake long enough (use our times as a starting point and adjust as needed).
Another reason is because the apple butter had too much moisture and was too thin. You need to use a thick apple butter to make sure the filling sets properly.
Make sure the ingredients have been properly measured, too. Adding too much or too little of an ingredient will affect the way the pie bakes.
Should I use sweetened or unsweetened apple butter?
That’s up to you! This pie is only as sweet as the apple butter you use.
The sweetened condensed milk and brown sugar will enhance any sugar that’s already in the apple butter.
Ingredients
- 9- inch unbaked pie shell
- 1 ½ cups (270 g) apple butter
- 3 large eggs
- 14 ounces (396 g) sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup (50 g) dark brown sugar, *See note.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, and prepare the pie crust by placing it in a 9-inch pie plate. Trim and crimp the edges, and refrigerate until ready to use.9- inch unbaked pie shell
- Using a large bowl and electric mixer, combine the apple butter and eggs on low speed until well combined.1 ½ cups (270 g) apple butter3 large eggs
- Pour in the sweetened condensed milk, and beat on low speed until smooth. Add the brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Continue mixing until everything is well mixed then pour into the prepared pie shell.14 ounces (396 g) sweetened condensed milk¼ cup (50 g) dark brown sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon ground cinnamon½ teaspoon ground allspicePinch of salt
- Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Then, decrease to 350°F, and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes. The pie is finished when the edges puff up and appear set. The center will look shiny, maybe a little wet, and it will jiggle slightly.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for an hour at room temperature before transferring it to the fridge to set completely, about 3-4 hours.
- Top with whipped cream, apple shaped pie crust cutouts, or a dusting of ground cinnamon. Serve chilled.
