Move oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Poke defrosted pie crust with a fork about 30 times (make sure you get the sides of the pie shell, too!).
Loosely fit lightly greased foil into pie shell so it covers the bottom, sides, and top of the pie shell. Fill the lined pie shell with pie weights or dried beans.
Bake pie shell for 15, and then remove the liner and weights and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes until the pie shell is golden. Place pie shell on a wire rack to cool until you’re ready to fill it.
MAKE DUTCH APPLE PIE TOPPING:
Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugars, and cornmeal until combined. Drizzle the melted butter over the flour and use a fork to stir until the flour mixture is evenly moistened and the topping forms into pea-sized pieces.
Spread the Dutch Apple Pie topping into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the topping until it’s golden brown, about 5-10 minutes (make sure you watch it carefully!).
Move topping to a wire rack to cool until needed.
MAKE APPLE PIE FILLING:
Prep the apples by peeling, coring, and slicing them into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Place the apples in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice; set aside.
Add 1/2 cup apple juice, cornstarch, and sugars in a blender. Pulse for 3-second increments until the mixture is combined and there are no visible cornstarch clumps; set aside.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of apple juice, butter, apple pie spice, and salt and place the apples in an even layer in the pan (some will be stacked on top of each other).
Bring the juice mixture to a simmer, and adjust the temperature to keep the heat at a simmer, and cook the apples until they are fork tender, stirring them every couple of minutes, for a total of 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to over-cook the apples because they will turn mushy!
Use a slotted spoon to remove the apples from the pan, leaving most of the apple juice in the pan. Place the apples in a bowl while you make the sauce.
Make sure the burner heat is on medium, and slowly whisk the apple juice and cornstarch mixture into the hot apple juice in the pot.
Continue to whisk constantly until the sauce thickens and bubbles.
Pour the sauce over the apples, and toss to coat them in the sauce. Pour the apples into the pre-baked pie shell.
FINISH THE DUTCH APPLE PIE:
Sprinkle the topping over the pie filling, and set the pie on the now-empty baking sheet. Bake the pie until the topping is deep golden brown, about 5-10 minutes.
Cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and/or caramel sauce (all optional).
Notes
The nutrition information for this Dutch Apple Pie Recipe is just for the apple pie and not for the ice cream or whipped topping.