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Lick your lips over these tasty bakes.
What makes a great apple pie? There are a few factors that move every fork from single slice to the whole damn pie. It’s the flaky, buttery crust that has a mini crunch on each bite. It’s the sweet, sharp mix of apples, gently spiced into a rich sauce. It’s even the way the side—be it vanilla ice cream or caramel sauce—complements the perfect ratio of pastry and filling. Salivating? Just you wait.
We’ve scoured the length and breadth of our fair nation to bring you the greatest apple pies, so good you’ll have no regrets in purging your savings on cross-country gas, risking a roadside motel stay, and sweating it out in line. The Fodor’s Finest of apple pies deserves a lil’ drama, because they are delicious superstars.
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Apple Annie’s
WHERE: Oak Glen, CA
For the freshest of apples, go to the source: Apple Annie’s is perched on a 14-acre park on Oak Tree Mountain, surrounded by a bounty of apple trees. You can get your fill of the filling in their Mile High Apple Pies, which stack four pounds of apples, chunk on chunk, to form a mini mountain. They’re soft, juicy, seasoned to perfection, and ideal for folks who want more fruit than crust. However, if you must, the restaurant also serves an equally tasty, though not quite as life-changing, standard apple pie.
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Sister Pie
WHERE: Detroit, MI
A bright little corner bakery in Detroit’s West Village, Sister Pie celebrates the seasons through pie, harnessing the bounty of Michigan’s fruit farms. Their pies are acclaimed for their flaky, handmade butter crusts and unique flavor combinations. In fall, don’t miss Sister’s spin on the humble apple pie: a decadent apple butter custard pie, featuring a pure apple butter base, fresh apple center, and creamy custard filling on top. Divine! Fans can even take a class and learn how to make it themselves.
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Four & Twenty Blackbirds
WHERE: Brooklyn, NY
This one’s a New York icon, and for good reason. Their crust is said to be the best around…so good, you’d maybe be happy without filling (or would you?). Anyway, expect a flaky break, then an almost melt-in-your-mouth chew on any of Four & Twenty’s pies, and as for the apple variety, the salted caramel apple pie is really something special. Delicious dough aside, apples are sourced from the Hudson Valley, cooked plump and juicy, and tossed in a nicely balanced spice blend that includes Angostura bitters. Homemade caramel sauce gives it sweetness, and a sprinkle of flake sea salt provides a savory contrast.
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Lynden Dutch Bakery
WHERE: Lynden, WA
Lynden Dutch Bakery has been operating since 1907, albeit not by the same family, but still using passed-down techniques and even a 75-year-old oven to ensure a consistency that generations of locals have come to love. The bakery specializes in traditional Dutch baked treats, such as stroopwafels, buttercake, oliebollen, and those addictive almond-filled Dutch letters, and best of all, apple pie gets a Dutch touch. Theirs comes with a buttery streusel crumble, and caramel drizzled on top, adding to the thickness whilst still melting beautifully on the tongue.
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The Elegant Farmer
WHERE: Mukwonago, WI
An apple pie baked in a paper bag may not sound so appetizing at first but trust us (and the legions of fans who make the journey to Mukwonago, Wisconsin, especially), it works! In fact, it’s the farm kitchen’s most famous and nationally awarded menu item. Chefs at The Elegant Farmer basically use a brown paper bag to insulate the pie, resulting in a uniquely crisp top crust, a caramelized inside, and apples cooked just right. The technique is said to originate in Amish cooking methods, but the exact method and ingredients are kept under strict secrecy.
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The Blue Owl Restaurant & Bakery
WHERE: Kimmswick, MO
If Apple Annies had you pumped for a tall apple pie but your gas tank only pumps to the Midwest, then good news: The Blue Owl serves a towering Levee High Apple Pie in Missouri, and like many things in the region, it’s extra sweet. The visually impressive pie is stacked high with fresh apples and coated with sticky caramel and pecans. In addition to the big knockout, the bakery offers a slew of fruit and nut pies (including apple crumb pie) alongside seasonal specials.
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Three Babes Bakeshop
WHERE: San Francisco, CA
The founders (or ‘babes’) at Three Babes Bakeshop focus on small-batch, handcrafted pies made with organic and locally sourced ingredients. Their classic apple pie uses organic apples from Northern California orchards, sweet cream butter, fresh lemons, and a special mix of spices for the filling, and then covered with a woven lattice that flakes like art. The taste is wonderfully natural, balanced with just a hint of sweetness so as not to overpower the freshness of the ingredients, and a vegan option is also available.
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First Slice Pie Café
WHERE: Chicago, IL
While Chicago’s better known for its pizza pies, First Slice Pie Café’s slowly edging its apple pies into the spotlight for us folks with a sweet tooth, and in the process giving back to the community. The café’s founding mission is to provide food to the city’s neediest citizens through multiple partnerships. Their apple pie tastes as good as the work it does: a traditional bake with a crisp crust, with dense Granny Smith apples, and a warm spice mix filling that’s oh-so-comforting on a chilly winter’s day.
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My Sugar Pie
WHERE: Zionsville, IN
Years of baking pies for friends and family led owner and pastry chef Kelly to open My Sugar Pie, the same nickname she and her mom give her children. The pie shop menu has two delicious apple pie options: first, the Mom’s Original Dutch Apple, a nostalgic, sweet, and comforting bake with a buttery, crumbly streusel top; and second, the Apple Lattice, which features a lighter, golden-brown crust. Both are filled with fresh apples and Kelly’s signature spice mix.
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Southern Roots Vegan Bakery
WHERE: San Antonio, TX
You wouldn’t guess that the best vegan bakery would be in animal-product-obsessed Texas, but San Antonio is full of surprises. We love the Southern Roots Vegan Bakery, a family-owned business that bakes delicious donuts, cookies, naked cakes, and pies without dairy or eggs. Their 11-inch apple pie layers tender spiced apple filling inside a buttery, flaky vegan crust, finished with a sweet oat crumble.