12 Great Apples for Baking (2024)

FAQs

12 Great Apples for Baking? ›

For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

There are a few apples that don't make the cut. While great for snacking, Gala, Fuji and Red Delicious are the most common apples that won't hold up in the oven and will give you a watery-mushy pie, tart or cake.

Cortland apples: If you're a fan of the classic McIntosh, this is the baking apple for you. These juicy green and red–blushed apples have a tart flavor and crisp texture; they're similar to a McIntosh apple, but hold their shape better.

Honeycrisp. One of the sweetest apples around, this Midwestern favorite is good for anything—including baking. It boasts a distinctive juicy crispness and is firm enough that it won't cook down much. It complements just about any other apple variety to make a stellar pie.

Avoid soft, mushy apples. I use Granny Smith because overall, its flavor and texture are the best for baking. I also love sweet apples in this bread like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady. Applesauce: If you don't have unsweetened applesauce, use the same amount of plain yogurt or sour cream.

Overall, crunchy (or crisp) apples are best for baking because they will soften but not turn to mush when heated. There are a few common exceptions, namely Red Delicious and Gala, whose flesh aren't dense enough to do well when baked, orchard owner Mark Toigo said.

So you can put away your Granny Smiths and Red Delicious if you think you can just whip up McDonald's signature dessert at home. Instead, Mickey D's makes their pies with six different types of apples — Jonagold, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gala, Rome, and Ida Red, all of which are homegrown in the U.S.

McIntosh apples remained a popular apple variety in North America for many years and were highly favored for their prolific yields, cold-hardy nature, and soft, flavorful flesh. The apples were also decreed Canada's national apple, imprinting the fruits onto their 1996 Canadian silver dollar.

Why is it so hard to find McIntosh apples? ›

"Part of the reason it's less popular today is that it's not crisp enough," he says. In an age of good dentistry, apple buyers want a crunch. The other problem is its red colour that lacks the stripy variation of Gala and Braeburn, which between them account for 45% of the UK market.

Nature's Pick Mcintosh Apples 4 Pack | ALDI.

For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

One of the chief reasons bakers end up with apple soup under the crust is failure to bake their pie long enough. There's almost no such thing as over-baking an apple pie; I've baked apple pies for 2 hours and longer, and they turn out just fine.

Gala: If you want extra sweetness without the soft texture, choose Gala apples for your pie. As with Golden Delicious apples, bakers sometimes reduce the sugar in their recipes due to this variety's extra-sweet flavor.

McIntosh. Not meant for cooking, but definitely great for eating, crisp McIntosh apples are halfway between sweet and tart. They're smaller and softer than other apple types, with red and green skin.

Gala: If you want extra sweetness without the soft texture, choose Gala apples for your pie. As with Golden Delicious apples, bakers sometimes reduce the sugar in their recipes due to this variety's extra-sweet flavor.

Green apples, like Granny Smith apples, have a much denser texture. That makes them better able to withstand high heat. So green apples are preferred when apples are used for baking.