It’s pie season. All the pies! All the time! This apple pecan crumble pie was a wee bit experimental and took two tries to perfect, but I think I got to a great point with it that combines two popular types (apple pie and pecan pie) with one of my favorite types of crusts.
Plus, making a graham cracker or ginger snap crust is a lot easier and faster than a homemade dough crust. The problem is that it’s slightly less stable than the doughy hug of a regular pie crust. Thus, this became a “crumble pie.” It doesn’t actually crumble, but it is reminiscent of apple crumble, so I’m running with it.
I think when I make this again for Thanksgiving dinner, I’ll add in some oatmeal to really drive home the crumble part. Plus it should add a bit more stability to it.
Properly chilled, though, yours should set up just fine without it, don’t worry. Make sure your apples are really drained and dried well before adding them to make sure they don’t make your pie too wet.
I’ll also be serving my apple butter pie (photo on the right!) alongside this one instead of pumpkin. Or maybe in addition to pumpkin. You can’t have too many pies, I always say.
Feel free to serve this pie (or any pie) with fresh whipped cream. I’ve got a trick that’ll make your fresh cream keep its shape for days. It just takes one super easy added ingredient and your cream will last as long as your guests do. Not that it ever lasts long enough to find out.
Now that I’m thinking about it, this recipe could totally be converted into an apple pecan bar recipe. Just swap the pan and cut it into squares. So easy and not unlike these pumpkin ginger dream bars.
Note: I used my trusty OXO mandoline to help me with the slicing of the apples since I like them pretty thin. If you use a trick like this, make sure to chop them down to bite-size pieces for ease of eating.
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Ingredients
- 2½ cups ginger snaps (I use Trader Joe's triple ginger snaps)
- 6 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I used a mix of Jazz and Sonya)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/3 cups dark corn syrup (I used Karo)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp granulated sugar or sugar substitute
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups pecan halves (I used a combination of halves and crushed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a food processor, blender, or in a plastic bag, crush ginger snaps into fine crumbs.
- Mix melted butter with crumbs and press firmly into a pie pan until the bottom and sides are covered in packed crumbs. Use the back of a flat measuring cup to help you pack it down, if needed.
- Bake pie crust for 7-9 minutes, then set aside or chill until filling is ready.
- Place diced apples in a saucepan over medium heat, and add 1 cup of water. Cover and bring water to a simmer.
- Cook apples until they are soft and barely translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix eggs, corn syrup, 1/4 cup sugar (or substitute), salt, and melted butter together.
- Drain apples well until the water is gone. Pat apples with a paper towel and toss with cornstarch to remove any excess water.
- Press apples into the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and 2 teaspoons of sugar (or substitute) over the top.
- Layer pecans over the top of the apples in a single layer.
- Slowly pour the liquid mixture over the pecans. They should float to the top. Add a decorative layer of pecans on the top as shown, if you like.
- Place pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 50-55 minutes. It won't be completely set at this point.
- Cool completely, then chill at least 3 hours before cutting.
- Rewarm in the oven for 5 minutes at 350F to serve.
I used a glass Pyrex pie plate for this recipe.
Catherine Clark is a Chicago native sharing noteworthy things she sees and attempts to make in the world. She's a geek, cat lady, designer and editor by day, and noob chef by night.
