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Easy Swedish Apple Pie is deeply spiced apples with a sweet topping that resembles a top crust. There is no bottom crust, so it’s easy to make!
If I reveal that 3 of us polished off this pie in under 6 hours, does that tell you something?
It should tell you it’s astoundingly good. My son, who ate 2/3 of the pie himself, said, “I can’t help myself. It’s so good! It’s the best apple pie I’ve ever had!” The boy has had many, many apple pies, so he is not deprived. It’s just THAT good!
I understood his feelings, because it is a very, VERY good pie. It has no bottom crust, and consists mostly of apples and a light, almost cookie-like top that could resemble a rustic top crust. It’s not a crisp or a cobbler, though, although those might be cousins. The apples are well spiced, and they retain their shape and don’t turn to goo, while the topping gets crispy and the sparkling sugar on top gives it a nice crunch.
It’s a huge win from my kitchen!
How to make Swedish Apple Pie
This pie is perfect for beginning bakers or those who don’t want to fuss with pie crust. You won’t miss the bottom crust at all since the topping forms a lid that is halfway between a cookie and a crust.
With sparkly sugar crystals on top, it’s fabulous!
First, prep the pie dish and melt the butter so it can cool off before you need to add it to the topping.
Then peel and slice the apples right into the pie dish. I used a mixture of apples, which I find to be the most delicious, rather than using a single variety. I used Gala, Honeycrisp, SweeTango and Green Dragon apples. You could also sub in a pear if you don’t have quite enough apples. Sprinkle with boiled cider and apple pie spice.
What is boiled cider?
It’s an ingredient I highly recommend for all recipes that contain apples. It’s simply apple cider that has been boiled down to a 7:1 ratio. So, 7 cups of apple cider is boiled down into 1 cup of boiled cider. It’s been boiled for hours to reduce it to a sticky, amber, sweet-tart apple-y syrup. It deeply intensifies the apple flavor in anything it touches. Add a glug to homemade apple sauce, a splash to any apple pie or cake or baked apples, and even drizzle some in salad dressing. I always keep it on stock, and get palpitations if I run low. Most often I get it from King Arthur, but in the past I’ve found it in a high-end grocery store, and you can also find it on Amazon {affiliate link}. Hint: buy it 3 or 4 bottles at a time and keep it in the cabinet to give as gifts.
Boiled cider is also sometimes known as boiled syrup or apple molasses. I mostly cannot find apple cider in Southern California but I can always use the boiled cider and reconstitute it to make apple cider. Remember the 7:1 ratio, so if I need half a cup of apple cider, I’ll use 1 tablespoon boiled cider and 7 tablespoons water and voila, 1/2 cup apple cider! You can use the boiled cider as-is on pancakes, waffles, French toast, oatmeal or in cocktails, too. It’s not as cloyingly sweet as honey or maple syrup.
Mix up the topping and spread it on the apples. I use a small offset spatula to do this easily. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar crystals, such as these. You’ll probably be able to find something similar in your grocery or baking store, but if not, Amazon has it {affiliate link}.
Bake, cool and enjoy, if you can keep your teenager away from it. Otherwise, make sure you get your piece first, because it won’t last long. I cannot tell you how it tastes on the second day, because it lasted less than 6 hours at my house.
It cuts more cleanly and easily like a pie if you let it cool before cutting, but feel free to eat it warm if you must.
Easy Swedish Apple Pie is deeply spiced apples with a sweet topping that resembles a top crust. There is no bottom crust, so it's easy to make!
Ingredients
- Pie filling
- 5-6 apples (a mix of apple varieties is great)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons boiled apple cider (can omit, but it adds rich apple flavor)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice (or use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + a big pinch each of ground nutmeg, allspice and ginger)
- .
- Topping
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted and cooled slightly (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp. salt to the topping)
- 1 egg
- Pinch of salt
- .
- Garnish
- 1-2 tablespoons coarse sugar crystals for the top
Directions
- Heat oven to 325F degrees. Lightly mist a 9-inch pie baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside. Put the stick of butter in a microwave-safe measuring cup, and melt the butter (it should take about 25-30 seconds). Remove from microwave and allow butter to cool while you put the rest of the recipe together. (If you add piping hot melted butter and egg at the same time, you risk scrambling the egg, so that's why you cool the melted butter just a bit.)
- Core, peel and slice apples about 1/4-inch thick. Add apples directly to prepared pie dish. It will look 2/3 full to full. Drizzle with boiled cider, and sprinkle with apple pie spice. Set dish aside.
- In a bowl, combine all the topping ingredients -- flour, sugar, butter, egg and salt. I do this with a mixer, but you can do it by hand if you like. It will look a little softer than a cookie dough, but not as loose as a batter. Spread it over the top of the apples. I use a small offset spatula to do this. Sprinkle with coarse sugar crystals to give it a nice shiny look.
- Bake for 1 hour. Crust will be light brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Serves 6. (Or at my house, 1 teenager and 2 adults...all gone.)
Notes
Recipe source: from my mother's old recipe box. Also, you can find similar recipes all over the Internet, so it is a widely circulated recipe.
NOTE: If you don't have quite enough apples, use a pear (core it, but you don't have to peel it).
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At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Delicious topping! I made this a few weeks ago for our soup kitchen, and will be using it again today. Thank you so much!
Paula,
Yahoo! So happy to hear that! Soup kitchen is an awesome place to take this, because everyone will like it!
This turned out so delicious, loved the unique way it made it’s own crust!
Kathleen,
So glad you liked it! I must have made this a dozen times so far!
That’s amazing recipe for my family. Thanks for sharing and love your site
Such great idea for our afternoon tea! My family will love it!
This is totally irresistible! Such an amazing apple pie recipe!
This Swedish Apple Pie sounds amazing! I want to dive into my screen!
Holy moly! That looks delicous. I’ve never seen an apple pie like this before. I can’t wait to make it.
Wow this looks amazing! Never had a Swedish apple pie before, so very exciting.