Glazed Maple Apple Pie is the perfect fall dessert. Get a double dose of maple with your apples; in the filling and in the glaze. The pretty maple leaf border is a special finishing touch.

Pie, pie, pie. I can’t get enough pie!

The only thing better than a perfect All American Apple Pie is an all American apple pie made with real maple syrup, and the only thing better than an all American apple pie made with maple syrup is an all American apple pie made with maple syrup and also glazed with maple syrup.

I get lots of apples of many varieties from our farm share, and over the last few weeks I’d accumulated a nice stash in the fridge. Time to post a great apple pie recipe on the blog!

I made this Glazed Maple Apple Pie using the random assortment of apples I had in the refrigerator. You can use your favorite pie apple.

At first I was going to just post a straight up recipe for a 2-crust apple pie. But, being unable to control the constant parade of recipe ideas in my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about an apple pie made with maple syrup. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about an apple pie with crackly thin glaze on top. So, here it is, Glazed Maple Apple Pie.

The first test run of this recipe was going really well. I employed my favorite fruit-pie technique of macerating the fruit in the sugar and pre-cooking the juices before filling the pie.

Pie Science!

Macerating the fruit is an important step for three reasons; 1. to reduce boil overs, 2. to allow pre-cooking of the starch and, 3. to help the fruit maintain its shape while baking.

Because the sugar draws excess water from the fruit the amount of boil over during baking is reduced. Once the juice is drawn out of the fruit you can pre-cook it with the corn starch to ensure that the starch will be fully activated (under cooking the starch could result in a runny pie filling).

When fruits and vegetables are heated (e.g., baked in pie) the cell walls weaken and the water contained in the plant leaks out. The fruit or vegetable looses its structure and becomes mushy. When uncooked fruit is tossed with sugar, the sugar is drawn into the fruit and reinforces the cell walls, allowing the fruit to maintain it’s shape while baking. No mushy pie filling! It’s like magic, except that it’s science.

Things were going great and I thought I might get the recipe right on the very first try, with a good video to boot. The pie came out of the oven smelling divine and looking beautiful, and then I ruined it with the glaze.

Macerating the apples helps them keep their shape while baking. No mushy filling.

I used the same maple glaze that I put on my favorite Oatmeal Cookies. Problem was, that glaze was much too thick and it totally covered up the pretty maple leaf border that I’d created and left a thick, clunky layer on top of the pie. It was tasty, but not blog worthy.

So, back to the drawing board. While I was at it, I wanted to tweak the filling just a bit. I always put a little lemon zest and lemon juice in my apple pie filling. The lemon helps accentuate the apple flavor. But I noticed that the lemon flavor was a little too strong in the first pie. So I planned to reduce the amount of juice and zest in the filling for the 2nd round of testing.

While I was making the 2nd pie, I tasted the filling after the apples macerated in the sugar and syrup, but before the lemon was added. I really liked the flavor exactly as it was so I decided to nix the lemon all-together. Without the lemon the maple flavor was more prominent.

Depending on the type of apple you’re using, you may want to add just a smidge of lemon juice to spark the flavor. Taste the apples and judge for yourself. Oh, and don’t skip that little pinch of salt in the filling, it does wake up the flavors without leaving a salty taste.

Don’t you think this pie would look beautiful on your Thanksgiving table?

Watch the recipe video to see how-to make Glazed Maple Apple Pie.

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Glazed Maple Apple Pie

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 1 hour

Bake Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours

Glazed Maple Apple Pie is the quintessential fall dessert. Get a double dose of maple with your apples; in the filling and in the glaze. This easy to follow recipe also has a how-to video. The pretty maple leaf border is the perfect finish.

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Ingredients

• 1 Recipe Perfect Pie Crust
• 3 pounds (1.3 kg) apples, peeled, cored and sliced to 1/4 thick
• 1/2 cup (4 oz, 113g) granulated Sugar
• 1/4 cup (2 oz, 60 ml) real maple syrup
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 egg white

Maple Glaze

• 1/2 cup (2.25 oz, 63g) confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 cup (2 oz, 60 ml) REAL maple syrup (use grade B syrup if available, see note)

Instructions

1. Combine the sliced apples with the sugar, maple syrup and salt. Set aside to macerate for at least 2 hours and as long as 3 hours.
2. Roll 1/2 the pie dough and fit into a 9 deep-dish pie plate. Roll the other 1/2 of the dough to a 12" circle. Sprinkle the circle with flour, fold in half then fold again. Wrap the folded dough in plastic and set into the dough lined pie plate. Set the pie plate into the refrigerator while you make the filling.
3. Preheat the oven to 325°F convection or 350°F regular.
4. Drain the apples, save the juice. Combine 1/4 cup of the juice with the corn starch. Heat the remaining juice on medium high until it begins to boil. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the corn starch slurry. Return to a boil, whisking constantly, until the juices are thickened and become translucent. Immediately toss the juices and the cinnamon with the apple slices.
5. Remove the pie plate from the refrigerator. Pour the apples into the pie plate. Unfold the dough round for the top crust. Use a small maple leaf cutter to cut a steam hole in the middle of the crust (save the cut leaf). Brush the edges of the bottom crust with egg white. Lay the top crust over the filling with the vent hole centered on the pie. Pinch the two crusts together to seal. Trim the excess dough so it's flush with the edge of the pie plate.
6. Gather the dough scraps and re-roll. Use the maple leaf cutter to cut as many leaves as you can. Brush the entire top crust of the pie with egg white. Arrange the cut leaves around the edge of the pie to form a pretty border, using the egg white to stick them together then brush the tops of the leaves with egg white.
7. Place the pie a sheet tray and bake until golden brown and the fruit in the middle of the pie is tender, about 1 hour.
8. Combine the sugar and syrup in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. It should be the texture of thick cream or crepe batter
9. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool about 10 minutes. Drizzle the glaze over the top crust of the pie (not the border). Use a pastry brush to distribute the glaze evenly over the pie right up to, but not on, the decorative border. Any excess glaze can drip into the steam vent.
10. Allow to cool completely before serving, the glaze will set as the pie cools

Notes

I only recommend real maple syrup for the glaze. Grade B syrup has the strongest maple flavor.

Did you make this recipe?

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