This Apple Butter Pie is an easy-to-make twist on a classic fall flavor, with a silky-smooth filling packed with a unique and bold apple taste.
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At first glance, most people might assume this Apple Butter Pie is actually a pumpkin pie. While they share a similar color and texture, this creamy, gorgeous pie is all about fall's favorite fruit! Made with store-bought apple butter as the base, plus a few eggs, cream, and spices, the filling couldn’t be easier to prepare. Just whisk everything together and pour it into a blind-baked pie crust (more on that later) and bake! The pie can be garnished with cute stamped pie crust cookies, or not! The result is a beautifully creamy pie that highlights apple flavor in a fresh, unexpected way.
Ingredients Needed
Here is an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe is listed below in greater detail.
- pie crust (see the section below for a few options)
- apple butter (homemade or store-bought)
- heavy cream
- eggs
- light or dark brown sugar
- spices: cinnamon + nutmeg + clove
- kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in my house, which is coarse... if you use table salt or fine salt, you may need to adjust the salt amount)
Pie Crust Options
There are a few crust options for this Apple Butter Pie, but my favorite is a Spelt Pie Crust. Spelt flour makes a fantastic crust—it’s easy to handle, has a hearty, well-rounded flavor, and doesn’t need to be chilled before rolling out. It adds a wholesome, crumbly texture with just a touch of sweetness and a hint of cinnamon. However, it does have a distinct whole-grain flavor, so if that’s not your preference, I’d suggest going with a different crust.
Here are some options:
- Pâte Sablée (which is more like a shortbread) or Pâte Sucrée (which is a sweet, crumbly butter crust)
- This cinnamon butter pie crust from the Perfect Pumpkin Pie
- Biscoff Pie Crust or Graham Cracker Crust
Kelli's Best Tips
What I love about this pie is how easy it is to make. Since it's a custard pie baked at a low temperature, the crust needs to be partially blind baked. If you’re new to this, check out the Guide to Blind Baking Pie Crust, though all the instructions you need are also in the recipe below. Once you’ve baked your crust, you can move on to the pie filling, which is essentially just whisked together then baked.
Here’s my top tip: don’t over-bake! For custard pies, aim for a just-set filling. Over-baking it can cause a spongy texture, cracks, or an overcooked egg taste. A sign of doneness is the “soufflé” effect, where the edges puff slightly—this should go about 2 to 2-½ inches from the edge, but with the center still slightly wobbly, but not liquid. If it’s still liquid, bake a few minutes longer.
It will continue to "cook" and set-up after it comes out of the oven. When fully cool, refrigerate for at least 6 hours to let it fully set.
How to Store and Serve Apple Butter Pie
This pie should be stored in the refrigerator. It can served straight from the refrigerator, or you can let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour or so.
This pie tastes really great when served with Maple Whipped Cream!
More Apple Recipes:
More Custard Pies
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PrintFull Recipe
Apple Butter Pie
This Apple Butter Pie is an easy-to-make twist on a classic fall flavor, with a silky-smooth filling packed with a unique and bold apple taste. Bake it up in a whole-grain Spelt Pie Crust and serve it with Maple Whipped Cream for a fun, apple-flavored pie.
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 01:20
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 servings
- Category: Custard
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) spelt pie crust (see notes below)
- 1-¾ cups (470 grams/17 ounces) prepared apple butter
- 1 cup (226 grams) heavy cream
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup packed (110 grams) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- Pinch ground cloves
Instructions
- Roll out the pie dough to an 11-inch circle. Fit the pastry into a 9-inch pie plate, making sure to press the pastry into the sides and the bottom. Crimp the edges as desired. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork to let steam escape during baking. Place the pie in the freezer for 15 minutes to let the pie dough chill.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and place oven racks in the middle and lower positions.
- Remove the pie shell from the freezer. Line with a round piece of parchment paper, then add pie weights (I recommend dry rice or beans or lentils), making sure to push the pie weights to the edges.
- Bake for 20 minutes on the lower rack, then remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and pie weights. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Set aside until ready to use. Lower the oven temperature to 325ºF.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together until fully combined. Carefully pour the filling into the blind-baked pie shell and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake the pie on the middle rack until the pie is almost set, with the outer edges have started to puff up but the center is still slightly wobbly.45-55 minutes, or until the pie reaches a temperature above 180ºF and the outer edges have started to puff up but the center is still slightly wobbly.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool before placing in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours to finish firming up.
Notes
This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.
My favorite crust for this is a Spelt Pie Crust—it’s easy to handle, adds a wholesome, slightly sweet flavor with a hint of cinnamon, and doesn’t need chilling before rolling. If you prefer something less whole-grain, try Pâte Sablée, Pâte Sucrée, or a Biscoff Crumb Crust or Graham Cracker Crust.
The spelt pie crust makes a bit more dough than needed for a 9” pie, allowing you to use the extra for decorative cut-outs. To make the cut-outs, roll out the extra dough, then use cookie cutters for your desired design. I use these Fall Pastry Stampers frequently. Transfer the cut-outs to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill to firm them up. For added shine and a sweet crunch, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. To be efficient with your time, you can also bake them with the pie crust when you blind bake, but for a shorter amount of time. Bake for 15 minutes at 375ºF. Once the apple butter pie has finished chilling, place the leaves decoratively over the top of the apple butter custard.
This recipe was originally published in 2019. Since then, I've updated the accompanying article and photos but the recipe remains the same.
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Dana
Do you think this pie could be made ahead of time and frozen? If so- would you allow to thaw in fridge prior to serving?
Kelli Avila
Hi Dana--I haven't tried it myself. My best guess is that it would be ok, but again, not sure. If it was frozen, I would let it defrost overnight in the fridge and then maybe warm up pie slightly for like 10 minutes in a 350 oven to crisp up the crust. If you do it, let me know how it goes?
Jen
I made this pie for Thanksgiving (using a sourdough discard crust I had in my freezer), and it was so delicious! I used homemade apple butter, and it set up well with a lovely flavor. Definitely worth repeating! Thanks for the great recipe!
Chani
Would you adjust the spices when using homemade apple butter? Really excited to try this for Thanksgiving!
Kelli Avila
I don't think so, since storebought apple butter also has spices in it. But this can really only be answered after tasting the apple butter. Taste it, and if you think it's strongly flavored, stick with the original amount of spices. If it has a weak flavor, maybe increase the spices? Experiment!
Katherine
Made these this week! Amazing! I do have a question though: my filling beaded after baking. Any tips on how to avoid this next time? Thank you!
Kelli Avila
When did it bead? When it is in the refrigerator? Occasionally custard-style pies have done this to me too. If I'm being honest I'm not sure how exactly to avoid it. At least not yet! I find that it happens more often when I slightly over bake the pie. But I haven't found a reliable way to avoid it--what I do to "clean" it up when that happens is take a fresh paper towel or napkin and lightly lay it on top of the pie to soak up the excess moisture.
Laura K
This happens a lot when I make cheesecake. From my experience, I think it happens when the filling is not sufficiently cooled or if it's super humid). What I do that almost always works is set paper towels over the top of the pan and then cover with cling wrap or foil. The paper towels should not touch the pie or cake filling so if you have a springform ring that will fit around your pie plate, using that during the initial fridge period would work. I rarely have issues after my cheesecake has fully chilled in the fridge.
Sorcha
This recipe us exactly what I've been searching for! An apple butter pie with a spelt crust, ingredients given in gram measurements. Perfect! Will be baking this one!
Kelli Avila
Wow so awesome! So glad you found what you were looking for!
Ella
Can you use frozen pue crust instead or mini pie crust
Kelli Avila
Yes, but it might not fit all of the filling. You also will still need to make sure that the pie crust is blind baked according to instructions.