Copycat McDonald’s Apple Pie

Because I grew up in a household that mostly ate Chinese and Asian food, my experiences with American food were limited to school lunch and the occasional fast-food meal. My family went to McDonald’s the most, and it was there that my parents introduced me to their favorite dessert: the McDonald’s apple pie, a classic that was introduced in 1968.

Tucked snugly inside a cardboard box, the fried hand pie had a shatteringly crisp crust that housed a molten cinnamon-apple filling. It was usually “burn-the-roof-of-your-mouth hot,” but I didn’t care. I always ate it immediately and never wanted to share it with anyone else.

McDonald’s swapped in a baked version of the apple pie in the continental U.S. in 1992 to much (understandable) uproar. The baked version, with slits on the top and sugar sprinkled on the outside, is a whole different kind of pastry. It’s less crisp, more doughy, and definitely not as tasty as the original pie. 

You can still get the fried version nowadays, but they’re only found at McDonald’s restaurants in Hawaii. Because I don’t live in Hawaii, satisfying my nostalgic craving for a fried McDonald’s apple pie means I have to make it myself. After much trial and error, here’s my version that I’m proud to say comes pretty close to the original.

To keep things simple, I focused on making the apple filling from scratch and used store-bought pie crust for ease and convenience. I first tried using puff pastry dough, but the dough was tricky and delicate to work with, and it puffed up almost too much in the fryer.

Switching to pie dough was key. Here’s why it makes for a superior crust.

• It’s easier to handle, as it has less butter than puff pastry.
• It’s sturdy enough to hold the filling.
• It fries up beautifully crunchy on the outside with some flakiness as you bite into it, but not so much that it shatters everywhere and makes a mess.

This recipe was tested with two brands of store-bought pie dough, as well as homemade pie dough, and all worked well. I actually prefer store-bought pie dough for these pies, as it has fewer visible chunks of butter, making it easier to roll out and handle.

Any good baking apple, meaning one that will keep its shape but not get mushy when baked, will work here.

1. Use the right amount of apple. You only need two cups of diced apple here. Don’t be tempted to throw in any extra you might have, as you want the right amount of filling in each pie. Too much filling makes the pies hard to seal and they can leak in the fryer.
2. Keep the dough cold. Only roll out and cut one pie dough at a time so that the dough doesn’t get too warm and soft. After you’ve cut out all the dough, chill it until firm; this can take anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is. After you fill the dough, chill the assembled pies again before frying.
3. Heat the oil to the right temperature. Use a deep-fry or sugar thermometer if you have one to make sure the oil is at 375ºF before frying. If you don’t have one, keep a few scraps of pie dough around. Drop one into the oil when you think it’s ready as a tester — it should really sizzle before you start frying. Plus, you get a snack!
4. Turn the pies gently. Avoid using tongs to flip the pies as they’re frying; the metal tips can sometimes pierce the crust. Use a slotted spoon, fish spatula, chopsticks, or a spider instead to gently flip them over.

These copycat McDonald’s apple pies can be frozen. Fry them, let cool completely, then freeze in a single layer until frozen solid. Transfer to zip-top plastic bags and freeze for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in a 300ºF oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes. 

In all honesty, these pies are so good that we never have any leftovers. We’ve even had them for breakfast — because there are apples in them, right?