Sour Cream Apple Pie

Traditional apple pie never gets old, but that doesn’t mean playing around with add-ons and extras isn’t welcome. In this sour cream apple pie recipe, a quick custard enfolds the apple pieces, and a combo of butter, flour and sugar turns into crunchy streusel nuggets for the topping. It’s a fun change without adding a lot of extra work.

This apple pie with sour cream recipe is excellent in the autumn and would be a good pick for a Thanksgiving dessert spread. It is also homey and wouldn’t be out of place at a picnic or casual gathering any time of year. The sour cream gives it a pleasant tang that complements the apples well and eliminates the need for whipped cream or ice cream (although you can add them anyway, if you want to!).

Ingredients for Sour Cream Apple Pie

• Pie dough: You can use a classic butter pie pastry or one of the best store-bought pie crusts.
• Eggs: The ultimate pro tip is to let eggs come to room temperature before using them in most baking recipes. This makes the eggs easier to combine with other ingredients.
• Sour cream: Sour cream is part of the custard mix, as in a sour cream raisin pie. Using low-fat sour cream will change the texture of the custard, but it will still work.
• Sugar: The pie filling contains granulated sugar, and the crumb topping contains brown sugar. The former lets apple and sour cream flavors shine through, while the latter adds a little extra pizzazz to the crunchy topping.
• Flour: Using all-purpose flour in the custard helps give it structure, and you’ll mix some additional flour with the sugar and butter to make a crunchy crumb topping.
• Vanilla extract: If possible, use real vanilla extract and skip the imitation vanilla. Although the imitation version is much cheaper, it lacks the nuanced flavor of true vanilla.
• Salt: A smidgen of salt helps bring out the other flavors in baked goods and keeps them from seeming too sweet. You can add a bit extra if you use coarse or kosher salt.
• Apples: The best apples for apple pie are those with a balance of sweet and tart flavors, with a firm texture that holds up to cooking. Look for Braeburn, Cortland or Honeycrisp apples.
• Butter: Unsalted butter is the standard for baking, but in this case, you can get away with either salted or unsalted butter.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the dough

Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 1/8-inch-thick circle and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the crust to 1/2 inch beyond the rim of the plate and flute the edge. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 2: Make the filling

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sour cream, then stir in the sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, vanilla and salt, and mix well. Gently stir in the apples. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Add a topping

Meanwhile, combine the brown sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons flour, and cut in the butter until crumbly.

Sprinkle over the pie. Bake until the filling sets, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

Sour Cream Apple Pie Variations

• Add spices: You can’t go wrong adding cinnamon to apples, and other warming spices, such as nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves and cardamom, are all great matches for fruit desserts. Don’t want to pick just one? Mix a batch of homemade pumpkin pie spice and add it to the custard.
• Bulk up the topping: This pie’s crumb topping is made simply from flour, butter and sugar, but you could always add crushed walnuts, pecans or oats to make it a bit more substantial.
• Mix in other fruits: Substitute blueberries or raspberries for some of the chopped apples for more flavor. Berries will also impart some color to the custard.

How to Store Sour Cream Apple Pie

Because it includes dairy, you must store this pie in the fridge. Once the pie is cool, tightly wrap the pie dish and refrigerate the leftovers in that, or cut slices and carefully move each slice to a snap-top container.

How long does sour cream apple pie last?

Eat up your pie pieces within three to four days.

Can you freeze sour cream apple pie?

Custards don’t freeze particularly well, so this pie is best made when you’re ready to consume it.

Sour Cream Apple Pie Tips

Do you need to peel apples for sour cream and apple pie?

The apple pie with sour cream recipe calls for peeled apples, but you could leave the peels on for an extra healthy boost (and less labor). The peels contain lots of vitamins and antioxidants, so if you don’t mind the extra texture, having peel in the mix is excellent.

How should you serve sour cream and apple pie?

You can serve this sour cream apple pie recipe at room temperature or chilled. Because the pie has dairy built in, you don’t need to top it with ice cream or whipped cream. Try dusting the pie with some cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, or top it with a spoonful of raspberry compote or easy blueberry sauce.