Apple Schnitz Pie Recipe, Amish Pie - Amish Heritage (2024)

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Schnitz Pie

In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, "Apple Schnitz Pie" is a very common Amish church pie. Schnitz pie is made with dried apples that are cooked and mashed.

When I was a little girl, growing up in the Amish church, we had Schnitz pie with almost every church meal, which was every other Sunday.

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Our traditional church meal consisted of homemade bread, buns, Amish peanut butter, lunch meat, cheese slices or cheese spread, pickles, and this Apple Schnitz pie or traditional apple pies.

In later years, we more often had cookies instead of pie. I guess cookies were probably easier to make and could be made ahead of time.

Apple Schnitz Recipe for Church Dinner

On the Saturday morning before hosting church at our house, the ladies got up early to bake enough Schnitz pies to feed close to two hundred people. I don't remember exactly, but I think we used to bake twenty to thirty Amish pies.

That's a lot of work, and we didn't want to bake them too far ahead. So that Saturday was always a very busy day with baking, cleaning, and getting all the last-minute work done to get ready for church at our house.

What is Schnitz?

Schnitz is slices of dried fruit, especially sliced dried apples. I believe the word "Schnitz" comes from German, meaning to carve or slice. So Apple Schnitz simply means sliced dried apples. Some people also spell it as Snitz Pie.

Sometimes my mom made this pie using homemade apple butter and apple sauce instead of dried apples. We still called it Schnitz pie. It tasted very similar and was faster to put together.

But Traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Schnitz pie is typically an Amish apple pie made with cooked dried apples and spices. The filling is the consistency of thick apple butter.

I love this Schnitz pie recipe, and it brings back childhood memories of eating church dinner.

How to Make Apple Schnitz

I love dried apples, and sometimes you can find them in a big bag at bulk food stores. But around here it is hard to find dried apples in bulk. So I made my own dried apples to make this Apple Schnitz pie recipe.

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You will need a food dehydrator unless you have figured out how to freeze dry apples. I have not tried freeze-drying yet. I just use a dehydrator that I found years ago at a garage sale.

It's very easy to make dried apples, and my kids practically fight over them.

Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples. I never measure my slices, but I think they are probably around 1/4" thick. Then dip the slices in lemon water (add approximately 1/4 cup of lemon juice to about 2 or 3 quarts of water). Pour the apple slices into a strainer and drain.

Arrange the slices, in a single layer, on your dehydrator racks. It takes several hours to dehydrate them. And exactly how long it takes to dry the apples will depend on your drier.

But drying food is a great way to preserve it for a long time.

Snitz Pie Recipe

To make this Apple Schnitz pie (or Apple Snitz Pie, however you want to spell it), soak the dried apples in the water for several hours. I soaked mine overnight.

Then cook the soaked apples in the same water until softened. I cooked mine for approximately twenty-five minutes on medium heat. Stir them occasionally, and if the pan is getting dry, add a bit more water.

The recipe I was following says to rub the soft apples through a colander. And I am guessing that the Amish probably do it like that if they don't have electrical appliances.

But I just mashed mine in my Ninja chopper until it was a smooth consistency. Add sugar and spices and pour the filling into an eight-inch unbaked pastry shell.

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Before you place your top crust on, get a cup of cold water and dip your fingers into the water. Run your wet fingers around the top edge of the bottom crust. You just want the rim a little moistened so that the top crust sticks better to the bottom, creating a good seal.

Poke a few holes (or cut a fancy design) into your top crust. Place it on the top and lightly press the edges together to seal the pie. Cut off any overhang and crimp the edges.

Bake your Schnitz pies in the bottom half of the oven (Not on the very bottom, position your rack just below the middle) for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 30 - 35 minutes.

Store in the refrigerator for up to several days.

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Schnitz Pie Recipe Amish

This is an old-time classic Pennsylvania Dutch pie recipe. I honestly don't know if the Amish in other communities eat Apple Schnitz pie with their church dinner.

In some communities, the ladies make fry pies with apple schnitz filling.

But this is a very common pie in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. And if you ever find yourself visiting that area, look for an Amish bakery and try their Schnitz pie. And also their Shoofly pie. These are two unique and delicious Amish pies.

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You can use store-bought crust to make this pie or make homemade pie crusts with my recipe for easy flaky crusts. This recipe only makes enough filling to fill an eight-inch pie crust.

I hope you enjoy Amish Apple Schnitz Pie made with dried apples. If you try this recipe, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

More Amish Pie Recipes

Chocolate Shoofly Pie

Dutch Apple Pie Recipe with crumb topping

Blueberry Pie

Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie with crumb topping

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Amish Apple Schnitz Pie Recipe

Apple Schnitz pie is made of cooked dried apples and spices. It is a traditional Lancaster County church pie recipe.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

soaking apples 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Amish

Servings 6 people

Calories 310 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 - 3 c. dried tart apples
  • 1 1/2 - 2 c. warm water
  • scant 2/3 c. sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cloves
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • pastry for 2 (8 inches) pie crusts

Instructions

  • Soak dried apples in 1 1/2 c. warm water for several hours or overnight.

  • Cook apples in the water they were soaked in.

  • Preheat oven to 425°.

  • When the apples are soft rub them through a colander, or chop in your blender or food chopper until smooth.

  • Add sugar and spices. Mix.

  • Put mixture into an 8" unbaked pie shell. Moisten the edges with cold water.

  • Poke several holes into your second crust. Cover pie with top crust. Seal edges by lightly pressing together and crimp.

  • For beautiful browning, brush the top with cream or beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

  • Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° and continue baking for another 30 - 35 minutes.

  • Yield: 1 pie (8 inch)

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 2gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 122mgPotassium: 243mgFiber: 6gSugar: 40gVitamin A: 108IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Amish pie recipe, Apple Schnitz Pie, Schnitz pie recipe Amish

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Apple Schnitz Pie Recipe, Amish Pie - Amish Heritage (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Dutch apple pie and apple pie? ›

Dutch apple pies have a crumbly topping while traditional apple pies have a top layer made from pie crust. Unlike other apple pie varieties like French apple pies, Dutch apple pies have a streusel topping that can require extra prep time and tools like a pastry blender.

What heritage is apple pie? ›

According to Food52, apple pie originated in England. It arose from culinary influences from France, the Netherlands, and the Ottoman Empire as early as 1390—centuries before the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock. Eventually, apple pie was brought to the colonies by European settlers, where the dish quickly caught on.

What is a Snitz? ›

ˈshnits. plural schnitz or snits also snitz. : sliced dried fruit. especially : sliced dried apples.

Should you cook apples before putting in pie? ›

Should you cook the apples before baking apple pie? You don't have to pre-cook the filling before spooning it into the pie crust, but it's a quick step I recommend. Just 5 minutes on the stove begins the softening process, and also helps the flavors start to mingle.

How do you keep Dutch apple pie from getting soggy? ›

Here are some tips to prevent runny apple pie.
  1. Precook the filling. ...
  2. Reduce the juice. ...
  3. Experiment with different thickeners. ...
  4. Vent the top crust. ...
  5. Try a lattice or crumb top crust. ...
  6. Bake thoroughly — and then some. ...
  7. Let the pie cool completely — preferably overnight.
Sep 19, 2018

Why is Dutch apple pie so good? ›

Let me fill you in: dutch apple pie is traditionally made with a streusel topping made up of butter, flour, brown sugar and sometimes, nuts or oats. It's just slightly sweeter than traditional apple pies made with a lattice crust or regular crust on top and perfect with ice cream on top.

What's the difference between a Dutch pie and a regular pie? ›

What Makes it “Dutch”? The unique crumb topping of butter, sugar, and flour is what sets this dessert apart. While traditional apple pie boasts a regular double crust (a crust on the bottom and a crust on top), a Dutch apple pie has a regular bottom crust, but a crumble topping.

What is Dutch apple pie topping made of? ›

Topping
  1. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened.
  2. 1 cup Gold Medal™ All Purpose Flour.
  3. 2/3 cup packed brown sugar.
  4. 1 tablespoon granulated sugar.

What are the 4 types of pies? ›

There are four types of pies: cream, fruit, custard, and savory.

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