Get Ready For Apple Pie Day With These 21 All-American Recipes

Apple pie is delicious any time of year, so whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving, Independence Day, or National Apple Pie Day this May 13, you won't be disappointed by sweet apples in a flaky crust topped with Cheddar cheese, fresh whipped cream, or served à la mode.

Embrace your sweet tooth by diving fork first into one of the mot quintessentially American desserts: apple pie. Start with tender, flaky pie dough, and then fill your pie with a sweet and spiced apple filling, before topping with a decorative top crust, and baking until golden brown.

If you are making your crust from scratch, be sure to keep everything chilled until you are ready to bake your pie. To start, cut cold butter into flour using your pastry cutter until you end up with pea-sized pieces of butter mixed in with the flour. The small pieces of butter will help produce that flaky crust you desire. Don't overwork the dough once the water is added or your crust will turn tough. Finally, it is OK to still see visible pieces of butter in your dough as you roll it out on a floured surface.

Save dough scraps to make decorative pieces for your pie, or toss the scraps in cinnamon sugar and bake on their own for a sweet, buttery treat.

For the filling, you want to choose the right apple, one that will hold its shape while the pie bakes. The more acidic the apple, the less likely it is to completely breakdown in the oven. Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Empire, Courtland, and Golden Delicious will fare much better than Red Delicious or McIntosh apples that are better for eating raw.

For more delicious apple pie recipes to celebrate this National Apple Pie Day, or any other time the pie-making bug strikes, check out these 21 all-American apple pie recipes from The Daily Meal.

There are few foods more American than apple pie, and this classic interpretation from Blue Duck Tavern is the perfect slice to serve warm with a scoop of cold ice cream right on top of the pie.

For the Winning Apple Pie From Blue Duck Tavern recipe, click here.

This apple pie recipe uses fresh apples and is topped with a crumble topping for a perfect slice. For best results, choose apples that are good for baking, meaning that they are firm and will hold their shape while being baked and not turn mushy or mealy. Try mixing Granny Smith with Honeycrisp apples. For this recipe, we used a mixture of ground cinnamon, allspice, vanilla extract, and don't forget a pinch of salt to bring out all the flavors. We added a streusel topping for an easy preparation and delicious crumbly texture. — Emily Jacobs

For the Amazing Apple Pie recipe, click here.

Here's a classic recipe for apple pie that's popular at Yardbird Southern Table and Bar. For best results, make sure that the butter for your dough is super cold and that the ice water for the dough is strained from a glass with ice. — Gail Goetsch

For the Apple Pie recipe, click here.

All the taste of a classic apple pie without all the work. Use store-bought crescent roll dough, and fill with your homemade apple pie filling before rolling up the dough and baking to a golden brown.

For the Apple Pie Crescents recipe, click here.

For best results, make sure the butter and cream cheese are well chilled before making your flaky pie crust. Then combine crisp, slightly tart apples, like Granny Smith apples with spices and sugar before adding to the pie shell.

For the Apple Pie With Cream Cheese Pie Crust recipe, click here.

The star anise infuses the brown butter, and that fragrant nuttiness complements the light, licorice-like flavor of the spice. In combination with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a rich vanilla bean, the pie has a complexity that still doesn't take away from the simplicity of the apple pie itself — that traditional apple flavor and buttery, flaky crust. I love to make the crust from scratch, but feel free to use your own recipe here or go ready-made. The filling could not be more simple, and this is now my go-to apple pie. — Aliya LeeKong

For the Apple Pie With Star Anise Brown Butter recipe, click here.

This is a classic all-American apple pie. Use both tart and sweet apples and the most flavorful ones that you can find. This recipe is sized for a nine-inch deep dish apple pie.

For the Art of the Apple Pie recipe, click here.

We took an American classic and added sweet flavored bacon inside the pie, added it to the crust, and made a deliciously beautiful bacon-weaved top. — Bacon Today

For the Bacon Weave Apple Pie recipe, click here.

These pie cookies have a cut lattice crust and a sweet cinnamon, apple, and caramel filling. Sprinkle with fleur de sel before baking for a sweet and salty touch.

For the Caramel-Apple Pie Cookies recipe, click here.

With vodka in the crust and Cheddar cheese grated on top, this pie is atypical in all the best ways. The tangy, salty Cheddar is the perfect complement to the sweet apple filling, and the addition of vodka in lieu of water makes the crust more pliable without making it tough.

For the Cheddar Apple Pie recipe, click here.

Adapted from one of chef David Burke's creations, the original version of this recipe already had Cheddar cheese in it, but we gave it an extra dose with Cheez-It crackers. — Anne Dolce

For the Cheddar Cheeze-It Apple Pie recipe, click here.

This grilled apple pie is sure to please the masses with its smoky sweet goodness. — Clint Cantwell

For the Grilled Apple Pie recipe, click here.

People are sure to be impressed with this homemade apple pie. The recipe calls for simple, easy-to-follow steps. — Taste of Home

For the Handheld Apple Pies recipe, click here.

This rustic apple pie uses a free-form crust, so no pie tin needed, and a rolled oats and apple filling.

For the Katie Lee's Rustic Apple Pie recipe, click here.

Ah, McDonald's apple pies — we liked you better when you were fried, but we also understand why that can't be anymore. Ever since McDonald's started transitioning its menu to target a nutritionally conscious crowd, we've had to settle for our dessert pies un-fried, which are technically turnovers, baked but still delicious. Introduced in the late 1960s, these small dessert treats were hits immediately. There's nothing more American than hamburgers, fries, milkshakes, and pies — and you can find them all under the golden arches. — Megan Byrne

For the McDonald's Apple Pie recipe, click here.

A classic apple pie takes a shortcut with easy unroll-fill refrigerated pie crust, like Pillsbury's pie crust. — Pillsbury

For the Perfect Apple Pie recipe, click here.

Use a blend of sweet apples and tart apples — an easy combination is Granny Smith with Golden Delicious; however, if you are sourcing from your local orchard, ask them to recommend a sweet softer apple and a tart firmer apple. — Emily and Melissa Elsen

For the Salted Caramel Apple Pie recipe, click here.

Try this refreshing (or perhaps, mind-numbing) twist on a familiar classic. Brandy and crystallized ginger give this apple pie some serious kick.

For the Tipsy Apple Pie recipe, click here.

The sour cream lends its tangy flavor and creamy texture to this otherwise traditional apple pie filling.

For the Sour Cream Apple Pie recipe, click here.

Apple Pie Spice is the flavor secret for this classic double-crusted pie. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired. — McCormick

For the Spiced Apple Pie recipe, click here.

In this caramel apple recipe, the apple remains the star of the show but, in a wild-card move, I've added fleur-de-sel to bring out the robust, hidden flavor notes of the fruit's natural sweetness.

For the Salty Caramel Apple Pie recipe, click here.