Spiced Apple Butter Pie with Biscoff Cookie Crust
A non-traditional take on a classic apple pie.
Apple pie is a classic pie filled with delicious apples and cinnamon wrapped in a golden flaky crust. But the real question is does it have to be? The simple answer is no. If you’re not a fan of chunky fruit pies my grandmother’s custardy pie could be for you.
My grandmother’s recipe for Apple Butter Pie is a custardy apple pie made with creamy homemade apple butter. It’s similar to a pumpkin pie but made with apples instead and it’s simply delightful. I did adjust my grandmother’s original recipe by using my favorite cookie crust instead of a pastry crust. Me and pastry honestly don’t get along too well but I do love the cinnamony taste of the Biscoff cookies with the sweet apple custard. It’s really a match made in pie heaven.
Spiced Apple Butter Pie with Biscoff Cookie Crust
Apple Butter Custard
2 large eggs
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup apple butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp kosher salt
Biscoff Cookie Crust
1 sleeve Lotus Biscoff Cookies
6 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
¼ tsp kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
In a food processor, crumble the Biscoff cookies into fine crumbs and place aside in a mixing bowl. Add the salt and melted butter to the cookie crumbs. Mix together until the crumbs are coated with the butter and can easily clump together when pressed.
Place your buttery cookie crumbs into a 9 inch pie pan and pat the crumbs evenly into the pan to create the pie crust. Start with the bottom of the crust and build up the sides of the pie plate with the crumbs. You need to make sure the crumbs are firmly pressed together and there are no cracks in the crust. Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 8 minutes, cool the crust in the pan for at least 10 minutes before filling.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until they become a pale yellow. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk, apple butter, spices, vanilla and salt. Mix until everything is fully incorporated and you have a semi thick custard. Pour your custard into your cooled pie crust and jiggle the pie pan slightly to release any air bubbles trapped in the custard.
Top your pie with a sprinkling of cinnamon and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. Your pie is done when the edges of the custard are set and the middle has a little jiggle to it.
I carefully wiggle the pie plate to see if it has a jiggle similar to Jello. You don’t want the custard to be too wet because it won’t set properly and you don’t want the middle to be set because the custard will crack, a nice little jiggly middle is all you need.
Cool the pie completely on a wire rack before placing the pie in the fridge for at least an hour before enjoying.
*Notes:
I found that letting the pie sit overnight is actually best so the flavors can mellow similar to a cheesecake.
For this pie, I do recommend using a hand or balloon whisk to mix the custard. I have tried using a blender to whip up the custard and it gave the custard slightly too much air. It was a lighter, more airy custard but it did create more air bubbles in the pie.
For the apple butter, you can use either homemade or store bought. I personally like to use my homemade apple butter but the choice is yours. No matter what you choose, it will be delicious.