The Best Apple Pie Pizza

Apple Pie Pizza is the perfect way to celebrate apple season. Combining juicy apples, warm spices, and a mouthwatering crumble-top drizzled with a sweet glaze on a buttery crust creates a delicious way to enjoy these wonderful flavors of Fall. Serve it with a dollop of rich, creamy vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. This is sure to be a family seasonal favorite!

Apple season is almost here! Do you know what that means!? It’s time to begin gathering all the apple recipes to celebrate one of the best fruit-bearing seasons of the year. 

Apple Picking

Have you ever been apple picking? If you haven’t gone to a local apple orchard to pick apples during apple season, I highly recommend it. It’s one of our favorite family activities to do early in the Fall. There are so many apple orchards throughout the United States. North Carolina is home to many great apple orchards throughout our beautiful state. 

All About Apples

Apple season begins in late August and continues through November. Do you know how many apple varieties there are? You’re not going to believe it! There are over 7,000 varieties of apples. Some of the most common varieties include Gala, Fuji, Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious, Red, and McIntosh. Apples are high in fiber and low in calories making them a healthy and delicious snack. The texture and flavor of apples also make them wonderful for cooking.

What’s in the best Apple Pie Pizza?

The crust

• Salted butter: As mentioned earlier, sweet and savory flavors enhance the delicious flavor of the Granny Smith apples. Therefore, salted butter should be used in this recipe. If you are trying to cut down your salt intake, then by all means use unsalted butter. Whatever you do though, please don’t use margarine. (Thank you!)
• Sugar: Sugar in combination with water affects baked goods’ texture in two important ways: It keeps baked goods soft and moist. The bond between sugar and water allows sugar to lock in moisture so that cakes, muffins, brownies, and frostings don’t dry out too quickly. Sugar also creates tenderness.
• Egg: Remember, when baking, always use room-temperature eggs. Room temperature eggs mix in better, and easier,  with the other ingredients in a recipe. They are also more voluminous when they are at room temperature. 
• Vanilla extract:  Vanilla extract enhances the other flavors in a recipe, especially baked goods. It elevates the flavors and adds a wonderful aroma to a dish. If you haven’t baked with homemade vanilla extract before, once you do, you’ll never use storebought vanilla extract again. It’s the best! 
• All-purpose flour: Flour provides the structure in baked goods. Wheat flour contains proteins that interact with each other when mixed with water, forming gluten. It is this elastic gluten framework that stretches to contain the expanding leavening gases during rising. The protein content of flour affects the strength of the dough.
• Baking soda: Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, is widely used in baking. This is because it has leavening properties, meaning it causes the dough to rise by producing carbon dioxide.
• Baking powder: Baking powder contains baking soda and cream of tartar and cornstarch. It’s also a leavener.
• Salt: Salt enhances the flavor of the other ingredients in the recipe. Salt also helps to balance out the sweetness and tartness in apple pie pizza.

The toppings

• Apples: It will be no surprise to hear you need apples to make apple pie pizza. I prefer using Granny Smith apples. They have long been considered the best apples for cooking and baking. Granny Smiths are crisp and sour which pairs wonderfully with sweet and savory flavors. Cooking or baking sweet and savory dishes with Granny Smith apples enhances their flavor and makes them a true match made in heaven.
• Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a sweet-spicy kick to every dish it’s in, whether sweet or savory. It is one of the healthiest and most delicious spices on the planet. 
• Water: Water combined with the juice from the apples during the cooking process helps to make the sweet and syrupy sauce that becomes the apple pie filling.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch is a thickening agent that helps create the desired consistency of the apple pie filling. 
• Brown sugar: The touch of molasses in brown sugar creates a depth of flavor that elevates baked goods and compliments the tartness of the Granny Smith apples perfectly in this apple pie pizza. 
• Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is a super-fine and free-flowing white sugar that dissolves easily in liquids making it perfect to use in glazes for baked goods.
• Milk: Milk combined with powdered sugar makes for a rich and creamy glaze on top of the apple pie pizza. 

How to Make the Best Apple Pie Pizza:

The crust:

To begin making apple pie pizza, start with the crust.  It makes the most sense to start here because the crust needs to refrigerate for about 30 minutes before it’s parbaked in the oven. Then, it needs to cool for a bit before the assembly of the pizza can begin. 

The apple pie filling:

While the crust refrigerates for 30 minutes, begin making the apple pie filling. Peel, core, and cut the apples. I have made apple pie pizza filling with different sizes of apple chunks in it. Half my family likes the smaller pieces, while the other half likes the bigger bites of apple. Either way, the filling tastes fantastic! Cook the apples on the stovetop according to the directions to create a mouthwatering filling that will be spread on the pizza crust. The warm cinnamon spice and decidence of the butter make this apple pie filling perfect for this pizza and any other recipes calling for apple pie filling. Be sure to bookmark it or Pin this recipe!

The crumble topping:

Finally, make the delicious crumble to sprinkle on top of the apple pie filling. This is quick and easy. The secret to making this crumble is cubbing the butter before you let it soften on the counter. By cubbing the butter first, it’s easier to incorporate it throughout the sugar, flour, and cinnamon, making the perfect-sized crumbs. 

The glaze:

Now that the pizza is assembled, it’s time to bake it. While the pizza bakes, make the sugar glaze. Once the pizza is out of the oven and has cooled slightly, drizzle the sugar glaze over the top of the entire pizza. Voila! You have just made the best apple pie pizza and now it’s time to enjoy it. 

Cut the pizza in slices using a pizza cutter. Serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream. 

Can I make Apple Pie Pizza with shortcuts?

The easy answer to this shortcuts question is, yes. There are a few shortcuts you can use for this recipe. However, it’s no secret that I try to cook from scratch as often as possible. Cooking and baking from scratch is typically healthier, less expensive, and (in my opinion) tastier. There IS something to be said for time-saving shortcuts though. Therefore, there are some shortcuts that I will suggest. 

Easy Shortcuts

The crust: Premade store-bought pizza dough can be used to make apple pie pizza crust. Keep in mind that the dough you find in the grocery store is not sweet. This is a great alternative to make this pizza quickly and with less sugar, especially if you are trying to limit the amount of sugar in your diet. You can also use store-bought premade sugar cookie dough to use for the crust. This will create a sweeter pizza, more like dessert.

Apple pie filling: Typically found in a can, you can use premade apple pie filling instead of making your own. I will caution you though, most premade pie fillings are a lot less flavorful than homemade. I love being able to adjust the sweetness, the spiciness, and the consistency of homemade pie filling. 

Crumble topping:  A quick shortcut to the crumble topping is store-bought granola. Again, although it’s a quick and easy alternative, it isn’t quite the same as the savory and sweet crumble that can be made from scratch. The brown sugar is undeniably delicious with the apple pie filling!

The glaze: The only shortcut I can provide is to go without it when it comes to the glaze. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a premade glaze that can be substituted for making it. 

Keep in mind that making the apple pie pizza crust, filling, crumble, and glaze takes about 30-40 minutes. Overall, this recipe is very easy and quick.

A Family Favorite

Whether you are making Apple Pie Pizza for a special snack (perfect to celebrate the first day back at school) or a delicious dessert, your family is sure to love it! It’s a fun recipe to experiment with too. Try peach pie pizza in Summer and cherry pie pizza in Spring.

I hope that your family loves this recipe as much as we do here on the farm. Let me know in the comments what you think and how your apple pie pizza turned out. I love to hear from you! 

Looking for more seasonal recipes? You may also enjoy these:

Harvest Pear Crumble

Delicious Pumpkin Roll

Follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for more recipes and farmhouse inspiration! 

Yield: 10-12 servings

Apple Pie Pizza

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

If you like apple pie and pizza, you're going to love this recipe for Apple Pie Pizza. A slightly sweet crust is topped with mouthwatering homemade apple pie filling and a delicious crumble topping. Just when you thought it couldn't get better, a sugar glaze drizzled over the apple pie pizza elevates it to another level. Serve it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream and a mint sprig. This dessert pizza is a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of fall and a new school year!

Print

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1/4 cup salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For Easy Apple Pie Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3-4 medium Granny Smith apples; peeled, cored, and diced into 1/4-1/2-inch cubes/pieces or smaller
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons water, divided
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the Crumble Topping:

• 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

For the Glaze:

• 1 cup powder sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

For the Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, cream the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the creamed mixture to the dry mixture and mix well.
4. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and press it into a 12-inch pizza pan. The dough should be 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Bake for 10 minutes until the dough is a very light golden brown.
6. Remove from oven and allow the dough to cool completely on a wire rack (leaving the crust on the pizza pan).

For the Apple Pie Filling:

1. In a 5-quart pot, melt butter and cinnamon over medium heat. Stir in the apples, sugar, and 3 tablespoons of water.
2. Cover and cook stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes until apples are slightly softened.
3. In a small dish, combine 2 tablespoons of water and cornstarch. Whisk to combine. Slowly add the cornstarch and water mixture to apples; stirring constantly. Let me mixture bubble slightly and thicken over medium-low heat for about a minute. The apples will continue to cooks, but be careful not to let them get mushy.
4. Take the apple mixture off the heat and allow them to cool.

For the Crumble Topping:

In a bowl combine softened butter, brown sugar, flour, until crumbly. Use a fork or a pastry cutter to do this.

Apple Pie Pizza Assembly:

1. Spread the apple pie filling thoroughly and evenly on the pizza crust.
2. Sprinkle of crumble all over the top of the filling.
3. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until the ingredients are heated through and crumble topping is lightly browned.
4. While the pizza cools slightly, make the glaze by combining the powder sugar and milk in a bowl. Whisk until the glaze is lump-free. If you prefer a looser consistency, add milk slowly; a little at a time. Drizzle the glaze on top of the pizza.

Using a pizza cutter, slice the pizza into wedges. Serve with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!

Notes

You can make Apple Pie Pizza gluten-free by using Gluten-Free Flour. It turns out great!