Gooey Apple Pie

Apple pie with a gooey, chunky, lightly sweetened filling that slices cleanly.

Why It Works

  • Par-cooking the apples to 160°F (71°C) sets their pectin into a more stable form, helping them retain their shape while remaining tender as they bake.
  • Cornstarch and sugar help thicken the juices into a gooey syrup, while lemon juice gives it a bright flavor.

Apple pie with a gooey filling.

Apple pie with a smooth, gooey filling.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Sometimes it's easy to dismiss that haunting feeling that your opinions are merely opinions and not, as you previously believed, facts. Those Beatles haters? They're the cynical, miserable sods, right? It's not the band that's the problem. Someone doesn't like pizza? They probably also hate gravy and ice cream and everything else good in the world.

But when people you know and love and respect start to question your taste in apple pie, that's when you really have to stop and reconsider the universality of goodness. My original apple pie recipe makes a pie that, to my taste, is just about as perfect as can be. The apples have a bright, fresh flavor; it's not goopy; and it's not overly spiced. That said, it is, shall we say, a little wet. When it's properly cooled and rested overnight, that wetness is more of a pleasing moistness that oozes out of the pie as you slice it. But try to cut that pie open when it's even a bit too hot out of the oven and you end up with a pie plate full of apple soup.

I can see the appeal of a firmer, gooier apple pie. I loved Hostess hand pies as a kid, with their gelled filling and tender chunks of fruit. Now and then, I even enjoy the odd McDonald's apple pie, whose filling has the texture of a jelly doughnut and the flavor of spiced apple cider from concentrate.

So this time around, I'm not after the bright, fresh, light apple pie I love. Instead, I'm after a pie that slices cleanly and holds its shape as you lift it out of the pie plate. A pie with chunks of apple that are tender yet intact, lightly bound in a thickened sauce that's just sweet enough, with a hint of spice. This is the pie for all you gooey-pie-lovers out there (and you know who you are).

Pie Precedents: How to Get a Gooey Apple Pie Filling

I do want to quickly note that my taste in apple pie does not even run the soupiest of everyone I know. I remember discussions with my old boss Chris Kimball, back when he used to run Cook's Illustrated. He'd talk about how he couldn't stand apple pies with gooey, cooked fillings. The original Cook's Illustrated classic apple pie (warning: paywall) was made the easiest way: by tossing seasoned apples into a pie crust and baking it. The result is apples that have a bright flavor but a texture that verges on applesauce, with a very thin liquid surrounding them. It's a pretty soupy pie, and it's delicious.

Cook's Illustrated's more recent deep-dish apple pie (again, paywall), a recipe developed by my friend Erika Bruce, calls for par-cooking the apple filling in a Dutch oven. The pie comes out with intact-but-tender chunks of apple bound in a gooey sauce.

But hang on a second. The pie in which the apples are par-cooked, then baked, comes out with apples that are more intact and less mushy than the pie in which the apples are just tossed in raw? How does that work out? Surely cooking them twice would cause them to break down more, right?

Nope, and here's why: Like all fruits and vegetables, apples are held together by pectin, a carbohydrate glue that acts as the mortar between cells. Breaking down this pectin by heating it to around 185°F (85°C) will turn your apples mushy. However, as the magazine explains, natural enzymes in the apple can convert that pectin to a more heat-stable form if the apple is held for prolonged periods of time at temperatures close to (but not exceeding) 160°F, or 71°C.

To confirm this, I cooked two miniature apple crisps by tossing apple slices with cinnamon, sugar, cornstarch, and a little lemon juice. Then I took half of the apple slices and cooked them to 160°F, holding them there for 15 minutes before letting them cool to room temperature. I then baked both batches of apple in identical containers, topped with a simple oat, butter, and brown sugar crisp topping.

Two piles of cooked apples on a plastic cutting board. The left is labeled "par-cooked = stable" and the right "raw = mush."

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

As you can plainly see, the par-cooked apples stayed fully intact, separating into individual slices. They had a tender bite, but weren't mushy. The raw apples, on the other hand, got the applesauce-like texture that I remembered from that original Cook's Illustrated apple pie.

There are a number of ways you can get your apples to 160°F and activate those enzymes. The microwave and the stovetop both work well, though both require some temperature management and a careful eye on the thermometer. (You don't want to overheat the apples, or the enzyme will get deactivated and you'll end up with applesauce.) The key is to take it slow, and stir constantly.

With the apples par-cooked, we've essentially ended up with my original perfect apple pie, meaning we haven't solved the problem of too much juice as if that were really a problem in the first place.

My first thought was to add more thickener, bumping up the level of cornstarch from two to four tablespoons. This works, but you end up with a goop-to-apple-chunk ratio that's way off base. Using different thickeners, like tapioca starch or regular flour, didn't help either.

Instead, I went with the easiest method: reduce the juices. Crank the heat up to medium-high, and let those apple juices cook down (don't worry, the apples' heat-stable pectin will keep them nice and shapely as they cook) until they form a thick sauce in which a distinct trail appears on the bottom of the pot as you drag your spatula through it. Once the apple juices have thickened, it's necessary to completely cool the filling before you put it in a pie crust—you don't want to melt the butter in the crust! This is most quickly done by spreading the apples into a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet to maximize surface area.

Sous Vide Method

Of course, if you have a sous vide cooker (like the Anova Precision Cooker), this whole temperature game becomes much easier. By bagging your seasoned apple slices and placing them in a 160°F (71°C) water bath, you can very easily set their pectin before finishing them on a stovetop, just like with the Dutch oven method.

I tried holding batches of apples in my sous vide setup for times ranging from 15 minutes up to six hours, and found that the optimal balance was around one hour. Not so long that this becomes an all-day project, but long enough to give you apples that hold their shape extremely well as they bake. (Besides, you'll get diminishing returns with sous vide times longer than an hour.) Compared to the all-stovetop or microwave method, sous vide is easier (no fiddling around with heat levels) and way more foolproof, and it produces superior results.

Pie Times: How to Assemble and Bake the Pie

Once you've got that filling par-cooked, the rest is, well, pie. Start by making a good pie dough, like our easy pie dough, and line a pie plate with one of the disks. Add the (completely cool!) apple filling, and top it with a second disk.

Next, trim both edges together until they overhang the pie plate by about half an inch. Then you can tuck them underneath until they're flush with the edge of the pie plate. Flute the edges using your thumb and forefinger from one hand and the forefinger from the other. I find that lightly flouring your fingers for this step can help you work faster, and prevent you from accidentally sticking yourself to the dough.

Finish off your pie by brushing it with an egg white (this helps it brown and gives it a nice, glossy appearance), sprinkling it with sugar (to give it crunch and texture), and cutting a few vent holes (them apples gotta breathe).

If you've taken a long time to assemble the pie, if your home is particularly warm, or if you're just the paranoid type, at this stage, you can stick your pie back in the fridge for half an hour, or into the freezer for 15 minutes, to ensure that the pastry is nice and firm. The goal is to cook it hot right at the beginning, so that the outer layers of the pastry firm up and give the crust structure before the cold interior layers start to soften so much that the pie crust slouches or melts. I start my crust at 425°F (220°C) for about 20 minutes, then lower the oven to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking it until it looks like this:

A golden brown baked apple pie.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

For the Best Texture, Cool to Room Temperature Before Slicing

Looks almost good enough to eat, doesn't it? But don't! Not yet, at least. Leftover apple pie is good warmed up. It's settled enough and lost enough moisture that, even when warm, it'll retain its gooey texture and hold its shape. But fresh-from-the-oven apple pie still needs to cool before slicing, lest all that work we put into those tender-yet-firm apple slices and the gooey reduced liquid binding them together goes to waste in a puddle at the bottom of the pie plate.

Let your pie cool fully to room temperature before slicing—I make mine the day before and let it rest on the counter overnight before serving—then slice it with a sharp knife.

Repeat: LET IT COOL.

A slice of gooey apple pie being held up by a serving utensil.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

This is what you'll be rewarded with.

Okay, you've convinced me. Maybe I can learn to love two different styles of apple pie. What's that called? Pie-lyamorous?

Now repeat after me, in unison: We are all individuals. We do not all have to love the same pie. We are free to make our pies in whatever manner we choose, and we are prepared to judge each other harshly for the personal choice we make.

And if your choice in apple pie sparks a debate at the Thanksgiving table this year, remember: You can always bring up politics or religion or some other less controversial subject.

November 2015

Recipe Details

Gooey Apple Pie

Active 60 mins
Total 6 hrs
Serves 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 5 pounds (2.25kg) apples (see note), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/2 inch thick

  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup (100 to 150g) sugar (see note), plus more for sprinkling

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch (1/2 ounce; 15g)

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) fresh juice and 1 teaspoon grated zest from 1 lemon

  • 1 recipe Easy Pie Dough

  • 1 large egg white

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and place a heavy rimmed baking sheet on it. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Toss apple slices with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice and zest until well coated. Let rest for 10 minutes.

    A collage showing apples being peeled and then mixed with sugar and spices.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  2. To Cook Filling on the Stovetop: Transfer apples and their juices to a large Dutch oven. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until lightly steaming. Cover and continue cooking over lowest heat setting, stirring frequently, using a thermometer to maintain temperature below 160°F (71°C). Do not allow liquid to come to a boil for first 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until juices thicken enough that a spatula dragged through the bottom of the pot leaves a trail that very slowly closes back up, about 10 minutes more. Transfer apples to a rimmed baking sheet, spread out into a single layer, and allow to cool completely, about 1 hour.

    A collage showing sliced, seasoned apples being cooked in a Dutch oven and then spread on a baking sheet.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  3. To Cook Filling With a Sous Vide Precision Cooker (see note): Set precision cooker to 160°F (71°C). Transfer apples and their juices to a vacuum bag and seal. Cook in water bath for 1 hour. Transfer contents to a large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until juices thicken enough that a spatula dragged through the bottom of the pot leaves a trail that very slowly closes back up, about 10 minutes. Transfer apples to a rimmed baking sheet, spread out into a single layer, and allow to cool completely, about 1 hour.

    A collage showing apples being sealed in a plastic bag and then cooked sous vide before being put into a Dutch oven.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  4. Roll 1 disk of pie dough into a circle roughly 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Add filling, piling it into the pie shell until it all fits. Roll remaining disk of pie dough into a circle roughly 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to top of pie.

    A collage showing a glass pie plate being lined with uncooked pie dough, filled with apples, and then being topped with another layer of pie dough.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  5. Using a pair of kitchen shears, trim edges of both pie crusts until they overhang the edge of the pie plate by 1/2 inch all the way around. Fold edges of both pie crusts down together, tucking them in between the bottom crust and the pie plate and working your way all the way around the pie plate until everything is well tucked. Use the forefinger on your left hand and the thumb and forefinger on your right hand to crimp the edges. Cut 5 slits in the top with a sharp knife for ventilation.

    A collage showing a pie crust being trimmed and then formed in a glass pie plate.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  6. Use a pastry brush to brush an even coat of lightly beaten egg white all over the top surface of the pie. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon (15g) of sugar. Transfer pie to baking sheet in oven and bake until light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking until deep golden brown, about 25 minutes longer. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for at least 4 hours before serving.

    A two-image collage showing an unbaked pie being sprinkled with sugar and then slits cut in the top crust to allow steam to escape.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    A slice of gooey apple pie on a plate, next to the remainder of the pie in a glass pie dish
    J. Kenji López-Alt

Special Equipment

Instant-read thermometer, pie plate, Dutch oven, rimmed baking sheets, pastry brush, sous vide precision cooker (optional; see notes)

Notes

I like to use Golden Delicious or Braeburn apples for pies. (For what to expect from other apple varieties, see the results of my experiments here.)

I prefer using half a cup of sugar in my apple pie, though some folks prefer the extra sweetness that three-quarters of a cup brings. Adjust according to your sweet tooth.

Using a sous vide precision cooker makes it easy to maintain the required 160°F (71°C) temperature and will produce a pie with apples that retain their shape better than if cooked on the stovetop.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
361 Calories
13g Fat
61g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 361
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 4g 22%
Cholesterol 16mg 5%
Sodium 206mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 61g 22%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Total Sugars 30g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 9mg 45%
Calcium 22mg 2%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 251mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)