Crustless Apple Pie is made with a thick crispy, cake-like layer on top of thinly sliced apples coated in cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar and does not have any bottom crust at all.
In a large bowl, add the softened butter and granulated sugar. Using a hand-held beater (or by hand), mix to combine.
Add the egg and mix to combine.
Add the flour, salt, and vanilla extract and combine.
Using plastic wrap, shape the dough into a log. Place in the freezer until hardened, 1-2 hours. Freezing the dough will make for a crispier crust.* See note above.
For the Filling:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the sliced apples, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add the apples to a roughly 9-inch baking dish.
Assembling the Pie:
Take the dough out of the freezer and slice into thin slices, about ¼ inch thick. Layer the slices on top of the filling, overlapping in places. Add chopped walnuts on top if using (optional). Bake for 1 hour, checking on it periodically to make sure it doesn’t burn, and cover with aluminum foil if needed. Remove when the top is golden brown.
Serve warm, adding the apple pie by the spoonful to each dish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top (optional).
Notes
Baking Dish: If you do not have a pie dish, use a square or rectangular baker that is roughly the same size as a 9-inch pie dish. The shape of the dish does not matter, as you will scoop portions with a large serving spoon, rather than cutting slices like with a pie.
Filling the Dish: The apples should fill ¾ of the baking dish. If you have a deeper dish, you could always add more apples and adjust the sugar and spices as needed.
Make Ahead: Make the topping the night before (completely optional). The topping is super quick to throw together and can be tossed in the freezer overnight. Then pull the frozen dough out right when you are done peeling, slicing, and coating the apples in sugar and spices. This is a better option than making the whole pie ahead of time and reheating. It's better fresh.
IfMaking Same Day: If making the topping the day of, account for 1-2 hours for the dough to be in the freezer prior to slicing and baking.
Slicing the Apples: Slice the apples the same thickness. Keeping the slices the same thickness will result in the apples cooking at the same rate. If you have some apple slices that are thicker than others, the thicker slices will be undercooked compared with the thinner slices.
Frozen Dough: Using a frozen dough topping is quite a bit easier than making a pie crust from scratch.