Make The Easiest Apple Pie Ever

The trickiest part of an apple pie is the crust, but this tasty pie has a store-bought shell and a crumb topping. It's hard to believe that a pie this scrumptious can be so easy to make!

FILLING

7 cups peeled, cored and sliced baking apples
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
⅓ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Recommendations: Winesap or Northern Spy apples are ideal if you can find them. Cortland, Gala, Granny Smith, Jonathan and even Golden Delicious are fine choices, too, and more widely available. Mixing apple types adds layers of flavor and texture. Use a few McIntosh apples with the firmer apples recommended above if you want a slightly saucy texture. Don't use Red Delicious—it's not a good pie apple.

Variations: You can add one-quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract (or more to taste). Or replace two cups of apples with two cups of sliced ripe pears. Or add two tablespoons of finely chopped crystallized ginger. Or replace one-half cup of apples with one-half cup of dried cranberries.

SHELL

Use one store-bought 9- or 9½-inch frozen deep-dish pie shell, such as Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish Pie Crust or Marie Callender's Deep Dish Pie Shell.

TOPPING

½ cup packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon salt
5½ Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces

Adjust your oven rack to one position lower than center, then preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the pie shell from its packaging, then return it to the freezer until it's time to add the filling.

To make the filling: Combine the apple slices, lemon juice and one-third cup of sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, let sit for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the two tablespoons of flour and a pinch of salt over the mixture, and mix well again. Transfer the filling to the pie shell, mounding it so that it's higher in the center. Place the pie directly on the oven rack, and bake for 25 minutes.

To make the topping: Combine the brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, three-quarters cup of flour and one-eighth teaspoon of salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to mix. Remove the lid, and scatter the butter pieces on top of the mixture. Pulse again, repeatedly, until the butter is very finely chopped and the mixture has a fine, sandlike texture. Transfer to a bowl, and rub well with your fingers to form clumpy crumbs. Refrigerate.

When the pie has cooked for 25 minutes, remove it from the oven, place it on a baking sheet and cover it evenly with the topping. Tamp the topping down gently with the back of a large spoon. Put the pie back in the oven on the baking sheet, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes.

The pie is ready to come out of the oven if its juices are bubbling thickly near the pie's edge. The pie also should have puffed up slightly. Cool the pie on a rack for one hour before serving.