Apple Butter Pie Recipe
Apple butter pie is a delicious yet often overlooked alternative to a classic pumpkin pie. It’s the perfect dessert to break up the parade of pumpkin and pumpkin spice treats that take over every fall menu, while still delivering that same cozy, spiced flavor and thick, creamy custard texture. If you love the warmth of traditional autumn desserts but want something a little different, this pie fits beautifully on any holiday table. And if pumpkin pie isn’t your favorite, apple butter pie makes a comforting, crowd-pleasing choice that’s every bit as festive and satisfying.
Table of Contents
What is Apple Butter Pie?
Apple butter pie is a smooth, spiced custard pie that captures all the cozy flavors of fall. It’s made almost exactly like a traditional pumpkin pie, but instead of pumpkin purée, it uses apple butter as the base. This simple swap creates a pie with the same silky, custardy texture and warm spice profile, but with a deep, concentrated apple flavor. The result is a rich, aromatic dessert that feels both familiar and distinctive, perfect for anyone who loves the taste of baked apples and pumpkin spice.
Brief History of Apple Butter Pie
The earliest published recipe for apple butter pie appears in The New Dixie Cook-Book, printed in 1889. That recipe closely mirrored the pumpkin pie recipes of its era, simply replacing pumpkin purée with apple butter to create a new variation with a subtly different flavor. Since it reflected pumpkin pie recipes of the time, and canned milks were not yet widely available, it called for fresh cream and milk.
Since then, apple butter pie has surfaced in cookbooks and regional collections with steady, if modest, regularity. While it has never achieved the widespread fame of fall classics like pumpkin, sweet potato, or pecan pie, it remains a hidden gem of American dessert history.
What is Apple Butter?
Apple butter is a thick, richly flavored spread made by slowly cooking apples with sugar and warm spices until the mixture darkens and much of the liquid has evaporated. The long cooking time gives it a deep, almost caramelized flavor and a texture similar to a highly concentrated applesauce. It was introduced to American cooking by the Pennsylvania Dutch as a practical way to preserve apples after harvest, though apple butter itself dates back to medieval Europe, where it was a common method of extending the apple season. The Pennsylvania Dutch name for apple butter is appelstroop.
Note: The Pennsylvania Dutch also created another pie to stretch apples past harvest called Schnitz Pie, made from dried apple slices that are simmered to create a thick, sweet apple filling.
Despite its name, apple “butter” contains no actual butter or oil. The term simply describes its smooth, spreadable consistency. To make a truly personalized pie, try preparing homemade apple butter to match your preferred sweetness and spice balance.
How Do You Use Apple Butter?
Beyond this apple butter pie recipe, apple butter is a versatile fall spread. It can be spread over toast, biscuits, or warm rolls, swirled into oatmeal, or even used as the jelly in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a richer fall flavor. It also makes a wonderful glaze for roasted meats like pork or chicken, adding a subtle sweetness that complements savory dishes. For something quick and comforting, try baking it into popovers or hand pies, or stir a spoonful into Greek yogurt for a simple, naturally sweet breakfast.
Apple Butter Pie vs Pumpkin Pie vs Marlborough Pie
Apple butter falls into a group of custard pies that are all very similar and historically served with Thanksgiving dinner. The best-known member of this group is pumpkin pie, though Marlborough pie and apple butter pie both offer unique takes on the same comforting idea. Sweet potato pie, which can be nearly as popular as pumpkin pie, also falls in this category.
- Pumpkin Pie: Pumpkin pie is possibly the iconic American Thanksgiving dessert. It’s a sweet, rich, creamy, custard pie made with pumpkin puree and spiced with a mix of fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Marlborough Pie: Marlborough pie is a nearly extinct pie that was once a classic Thanksgiving dessert in New England back in the 1800s. It features a light custard made from stewed and grated apples, or applesauce, enriched with sherry. Because it relies on fresh apples rather than apple butter, the flavor is brighter and fruitier, with minimal spice beyond a touch of nutmeg. The sherry adds a delicate complexity that sets it apart from heavier fall custards.
- Apple Butter Pie: Apple butter pie bridges the gap between pumpkin pie and Marlborough pie. It’s prepared much like a pumpkin pie but uses apple butter in place of pumpkin purée, creating a denser, thicker custard with a deep, baked apple flavor. The use of concentrated apple butter gives the filling more body and intensity than Marlborough pie.
- Sweet Potato Pie: Popular in the American South and made with pureed, roasted sweet potatoes, sweet potato pie has a delicious, full-bodied flavor compared to pumpkin pie. It usually uses less spice than either pumpkin pie or apple butter pie to allow the flavor of the sweet potatoes to shine through.
Each of these pies are a delicious addition to any Thanksgiving or fall table. Try baking all four and let us know which is your favorite!
Step-by-Step Apple Butter Pie Recipe:
Crust:
Like most custard pies, you’ll want a dark-baked pie crust for this pie. Like pumpkin pie, apple butter pie also bakes up deliciously in a graham cracker crust.
How to Make an Apple Butter Pie:
Ingredients
- 1¾c Apple Butter
- ¼c Brown Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 7½oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 6oz Evaporated Milk
- ¼t Salt
- 1T Ground Cinnamon
- ¼t Ground Nutmeg
- ⅛t Ground Allspice
- ⅛t Ground Cardamom
Ingredient Note: This recipe uses both condensed milk and evaporated milk. Learn how each type affects the texture and taste of the final pie and why I use a combination of both here.
1.
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
2.
In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients: apple butter, brown sugar, eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, salt, and spices.
3.
Blend until smooth using an immersion blender.
Note: I prefer using an immersion blender for this recipe because the filling is thicker than that of pumpkin or Marlborough pie. The immersion blender creates a smooth, custard-like texture with minimal effort. However, you can also whisk by hand, or use a blender or food processor for similar results. Learn more about how to use each of these tools here.
4.
Brush the edges of your prepared dark-baked pie crust with cream for a golden-brown finish after baking. (Optional).
5.
Pour the prepared apple butter pie filling into the crust, smoothing the top with a spatula.
6.
Bake for 35 – 45 minutes, until the edges are set, but the center still has some jiggle.
7.
Let the pie cool slightly before serving. Apple butter pie tastes wonderful both warm and chilled, just like pumpkin pie.
How to Serve Apple Butter Pie
Since apple butter pie is so similar to pumpkin pie, it can be served any way you’d usually serve pumpkin pie.
- Decorative Crust Cut-Outs: Create an Instagram-worthy finish and decorate your pie with pie crust cutouts. Make the cutouts before baking your apple butter pie. To make them, roll out some extra pie dough to about 2mm thick, then use cookie cutters to create festive shapes. Freeze them on a flat surface. Before baking, brush with heavy cream (add a drop of food coloring to the cream for extra fun), and bake the cutouts on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 350°F until golden brown. As soon as your pie comes out of the oven, arrange the baked cutouts on top of the custard and they’ll stick to the pie as it cools.
- Whipped Cream: Whipped cream is a popular topping for almost any custard pie. For a rustic look, spread it over your pie with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. For something fancier, use piping tips to create decorative patterns. Chopped nuts sprinkled on top or mixing in a ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon add a festive touch.
- Toasted Meringue: For something a bit more old-school, try topping your apple butter pie with meringue instead of whipped cream. Like the whipped cream, try adding a ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the meringue for extra spice. The meringue can be toasted until golden, giving it a dramatic, retro look.
How to Store Apple Butter Pie
Because of the dairy in the filling, apple butter pie should always be refrigerated after baking. Once cooled, cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap or foil and store it in the refrigerator for 3–5 days. If you’d like to keep it longer, wrap the pie tightly in plastic to prevent freezer burn. It can be frozen for up to one month. To serve, transfer the pie to the refrigerator the night before so it can thaw.
For the best texture, especially if the crust has softened, reheat the pie in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 20 minutes before serving. This refreshes the crust, warms the filling slightly, and makes the pie taste almost as good as freshly baked.
Apple Butter Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 Dark, Blind-Baked Pie Shell
- 2 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
Apple Butter Pie Filling
- 1¾ cups Apple Butter
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 7½ oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 6 oz Evaporated Milk
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp Ground Allspice
- ⅛ tsp Ground Cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
- In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients: apple butter, brown sugar, eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, salt, and spices.
- Blend until smooth using an immersion blender.
- Brush the edges of your prepared dark-baked pie crust with cream for a golden-brown finish after baking. (Optional).
- Pour the prepared apple butter pie filling into the crust, smoothing the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until the edges are set, but the center still has some jiggle.
- Let the pie cool slightly before serving. Apple butter pie tastes wonderful both warm and chilled, just like pumpkin pie.
