Some Frozen Apple Pies Match Homemade

When a dessert-maker hears the phrase, "Easy as apple pie," he or she is likely to give a knowing smile and a slight shake of the head at the fallacy inherent in that comment.

As any cook who's ever tackled that most iconic American dessert can tell you, the filling may be a fairly simple affair, but it's the crust that makes or breaks the confection. Good pie crust makers can be identified at Thanksgiving by the large numbers of friends, relatives and total strangers who will find any excuse to stop by their house "just for a slice of pie and coffee," often while they've got perfectly good desserts of their own at home.

If you are lucky enough to be a pie crust expert, or be partnered with one, you know that disappointment that comes with taking a bite of a limp, gummy or otherwise unsatisfactory crust. Most frozen pies, sadly, will provide a panoply of bad experiences for crust aficionados. But with the improvement in all kinds of frozen foods over the last 10 years or so, could it be that someone, somewhere has come up with a pie crust that won't die in the freezer?

In this comparison, we'll bake up four different apple pies from frozen-food makers. Two will be Dutch apple pies, loved for the crumbled brown sugar topping that takes the place of a top crust and adds sweetness, and two will be more traditional pies with a pastry top crust.

Each pie faced a panel of five adult testers who took on the odious task of spending an entire afternoon eating apple pie. They were graded on appearance, flavor and crust quality. A control pie, made by my own in-house crust expert, was sampled first to provide a baseline.

Each tester could award a maximum of 20 points per pie, for a possible perfect score of 100.

So, if you've got your fork at the ready, let's begin with the two traditional-style pies.

Sara Lee Simple Sweets: 290 calories, 15 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 37 grams carbs.

Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee, the jingle says, and this pie could be the poster child for it. While the package offers microwave heating instructions, it would be a crime to deprive this flaky, lightly sweet crust the oven time required to bring it to near-perfection. Two testers found the top crust to be a bit too puffy, tasting more like a croissant than a pie crust, but all agreed that the bottom crust was nicely tender without being limp. The filling was a bit middle-of-the-road, without a good cinnamon punch but with plenty of apple chunks. Final score: 87.

Wholly Wholesome Naturally Wholicious: 310 calories, 14 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 70 mg sodium, 42 grams carbs.

Despite the overly cute name, this is one great pie. The apples were firm and flavorful, with well-defined notes of cinnamon and allspice, and the balance of fruit to what one tester calls "filling goo" was excellent. The top crust lacked a touch of sweetness, but was very flaky and browned nicely. The bottom crust was praised by our crust expert as being the best she'd tasted in a frozen pie. Final score: 92.

And now, the two Dutch treats:

Mrs. Smith's: 250 calories, 10 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 38 grams carbs.

Not a stellar entry here from one of the biggest names in frozen desserts. The topping was heavy and somewhat greasy, tasting more of refined sugar than brown sugar. The apples were cut too small and lacked body. The filling consistency was overall more reminiscent of applesauce than good pie. Worst of all was the bottom crust, which was nearly nonexistent and added nothing to the overall impression. Final score: 64.

Marie Callender's: 320 calories, 15 grams fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 170 mg sodium, 47 grams carbs.

This was the Cadillac of the test by far, as you'd expect from one of the most expensive lines of frozen foods on the market. Generous slices of apple, redolent of spices without being overspiced, rested on a bottom crust that was firm to the fork but not tough. The topping cooked up with a nice bit of crispness on top, and didn't overpower the filling with sweetness. It was also the best-looking pie, with a perfectly scalloped crust edge. This pie is not cheap, but it was the clear winner with a final score of 98.

However, with a smaller price and nearly equivalent quality, the Wholly Wholicious pie earns the best buy designation for the test. Either will provide you with an excellent dessert choice, really only depending on your preferred style.