I come from a long line of Bills. We’ve got Bills, Billys and Wills. Both Grandma Joyce’s and Great-Grandma Mary’s husbands are part of this list. So the question I’ve got, which Bill is the Bill?

Either way, it is brilliant! It has all of the perks of a classic apple pie without the finicky process of crust making. The ingredients for the topping are cut together like a crumble topping but then they’re lightly pressed together. Giving you…a light, airy, crispy, golden crust in just a few minutes!

Bill’s Apple Pie

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

4 apples, thinly sliced*

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp water

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss apples with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, 1 Tbsp of butter and 3 Tbsp of water.

Cut together flour, brown sugar and 1/2 cup of butter. Will resemble coarse crumbles when ready.

Arrange apples in a prepared pie pan. Then sprinkle crumbles over the top. Gently press the crumbles flat, they will resemble a rough pie crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then decrease oven to 350 for an additional 15-20 minutes.

 

*Bill’s version suggests winesap apples. They’re not always the easiest to come by around these parts so I went with granny smiths. I think any kind will work, it’ll just be more sweet or tart depending on your pick.

I used my fancy Christmas present to peel and slice the apples, this can obviously done the old fashioned way if your Christmas wasn’t as kitchen friendly as mine usually are.

You end up with these funny little spirals…

…they just need to be cut in half to be pie ready.

Each of the filing ingredients can go together at once, but make sure that butter is melted or at least softened.

I took the softened approach so there are little butter bits. Don’t worry, it’ll all meld in the oven.

Topping time!

Looks crumbly and ready.

This is after I patted it down. Don’t be a perfectionist. This is a rustic dish and it should look it.

Golden perfection.

Serve it up with ice cream, whipped cream or plain!

What do you think, could this be another contender for best apple pie?