Got some extra apples to use up, or a fall party to bake for? Look no further than this Finnish Apple Pie. This galette-style pie comes together easily (just remember to account for the chilling time for the crust dough!). It features a super-flaky crust and all the flavors of fall! It’s delicious warm, at room temp, or chilled- you’re sure to love it.
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Tools & Equipment for Finnish Apple Pie
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Kitchen scale (optional)
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Bench scraper: optional, but helpful for laminating the crust dough
- Cheese grater, for grating cold butter or alternatively, use a sharp knife
- Apple peeler
- Pastry cutter
Ingredients for Finnish Apple Pie
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar: for both the crust & the filling
- Fine sea salt
- Unsalted butter
- Ice cold water
- Sour cream-helps make the crust super flaky & tender. See below for alternatives
- Apples-Granny Smith are always a good pie favorite, or use whatever type you wish!
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Nutmeg
- Cardamom
How to Make This Recipe
Making the Crust (with pie crust tips and tricks)
One of the absolute biggest tickets to a flaky, tasty pie crust is to have COLD ingredients (maybe that’s how pies became such a fall holiday tradition?) Start by popping your butter in the freezer for 10 minutes. Also, put some water in a bowl with a few ice cubes and place that in the freezer too.
When the butter is really cold, grate it into a medium mixing bowl with a cheese grater. Or you can cut it into shards with a sharp knife. Put the grated butter back in the freezer for 10 more minutes.
While the shredded butter is chilling, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the cold butter to the bowl with the dry ingredients and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until the mixture has a grainy texture and the butter pieces are very small.
Add a couple tablespoons of the ice water to the bowl to moisten the dough. I use the pastry cutter to add in the wet ingredients as well. Add the sour cream, then continue to gradually add water.
When you are finished, the dough should stay together when you press it with your fingertips. It will still be somewhat crumbly, but it should not be extremely dry and should be able to be pressed together.
Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. If your kitchen is super warm, you may want to rub an ice cube over your counter first.
Press the dough together so that it forms into a round, flat disk.
Use a bench scraper to cut the dough in half, then press one half onto the other. Repeat x3: this will improve the flakiness of your crust!
Form the dough back into a disk and cover with plastic wrap and place it into a plastic bag. Chill for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
Make The Filling & Bake
Remove your crust from the fridge to let it warm up a little while you prepare your filling.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Peel, core and slice your apples. Place the slices in a large mixing bowl.
Add the sugars and spices to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
Roll out your crust dough into a large oval, big enough so that a little excess dough comes over the edges of the baking sheet.
Line up your apples on your dough, leaving an edge of dough on all sides.
Fold over the excess dough.
Bake for 17-23 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown.
Let sit for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy!
FAQ’s and Alternatives
How Should I Serve and Store Finnish Apple Pie?
Serve this sliced into squares. It’s pretty flexible- you can serve it warm, room temp, or even chilled, and it will still be great.
It’s definitely hard to beat eating it warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, though!
Finnish Apple Pie keeps covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Can I Substitute the Sour Cream?
You can omit it altogether if you want- you’ll just need slightly more water to make up for it, and you may miss out on some flavor, flakiness and tenderness in your crust! It will still be delicious, though.
Alternatively, you can try full-fat plain Greek yogurt (these are often fairly interchangeable in baked goods). I’m also thinking I’ll try substituting my viili for the sour cream one of these times, for a little extra Finnish-ness.
Finnish Apple Pie (Omenapiirakka)
Ingredients
- 3 cups 381 g all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 1/2 sticks 284 g unsalted butter (cold)
- 1/2 cup-3/4 cup water ice cold
- 2 Tbsp sour cream cold
- 5-6 medium apples
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2-2/3 cup granulated sugar to taste, depending on the tartness of apples
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Instructions
- Pop your butter in the freezer for about 10 minutes to get it really cold, then grate it into a medium mixing bowl (or cut into shards with a knife). Put the shredded butter back in the freezer.
- You'll also want ice cold water, so put a bowl of water with a couple of ice cubes in it into the freezer while the butter freezes as well.
- While the water and butter are cooling, put the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk them thoroughly with a fork.
- Add the cold butter to the dry ingredients and use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut the butter in until the butter is very small and the mixture has a grainy texture without any huge chunks.
- Add a couple tablespoons of water to lightly moisten the dough. Add the sour cream. I use the pastry cutter to evenly cut in the wet ingredients as well.
- Continue gradually adding water. You are done when the dough is still crumbly, but sticks together easily when pressed together with your fingers. It should not be extremely dry.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and press it all together so that it forms a thick, flat disk.
- Laminate the dough to increase flakiness: cut the dough in half with a large bench scraper and press one half directly onto the other. Repeat about three times, then form the dough back into a disk.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- Take the pie out of the fridge to the counter while you prep your filling.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sent aside.
- Peel, core and slice your apples and put the slices in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugars and spices and mix thoroughly.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and roll out into a large oval, big enough to mostly cover the baking sheet & even drape over the edges a little.
- Lift the rolled out dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Leaving a couple inches of extra dough on all sides, line the dough with the apple mixture.
- Turn the edges of the dough over the apples.
- Bake 17-23 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown.
- Slice into squares to serve. This is delicious plain (warm or cold!) or warm with ice cream.
Notes
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If you liked this recipe, or have questions about it, please let me know in the comments!
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What’s next?
Need another apple recipe? Try Pork and Apple Meatloaf
Another dessert? Try Finnish Sour Cream Cake
Or check out my Finnish Food Archives or Dessert Archives!
This looks interesting. I have never had this type of pie before. It looks so delicious!
Thank you, Dusty!
This looks delicious, thank you for sharing!