The Important Differences Between Marie Callender's Frozen Apple Pies

Though apple pie likely originated in England, it has an all-American reputation. It's such a staple in both diet and culture in the United States that it has its own official yearly holiday: May 13 is National Apple Pie Day. So it's no wonder that Marie Callender's makes multiple varieties for your eating pleasure — but what are the differences between them?

The three main types of apple pie that Marie Callender's bakes up are Dutch Apple Pie, Lattice Apple Pie, and No Sugar Added Lattice Apple Pie. If you're wondering what differentiates a Dutch apple pie, it's this: The classic, American-as-apple-pie variety has crust on both the top and bottom, like a giant round envelope stuffed with filling. Dutch apple pie, however, is layered with crust on the bottom, then apple pie filling, then a crunchy streusel (typically made with butter, sugar, and flour). In Marie Callender's version, the pie has a flaky crust and a brown sugar streusel topping as its crowning glory.

Marie Callender's Lattice Apple Pie is a more typical, crust-based apple pie. The lattice description just refers to the basketweave-style on top, which is made by taking strips of crust and interlacing them through each other. The end result looks sort of like a wicker chair seat, with apples peering out through the spaces in between. Marie's No Sugar Added Lattice Apple Pie is pretty much the same deal, except that it has 75% less sugar and fewer calories since it is sweetened with erythritol and allulose instead of cane sugar. All three list apples as the first ingredient and are simply spiced with cinnamon. 

Beyond these three Marie Callender's frozen pies, the brand also has other apple-y, pie-like products. There's the Apple Crumb Cobbler. The rectangular dessert is deeper and heartier, with more fruit filling than the pies, and, like the Dutch Apple Pie, it's topped with streusel.

For those who want a more individualized pie-eating experience, Marie also puts out a couple of apple pies under its line of small desserts. First, there are Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies, which are petite and fit perfectly in your palm for easy eating. The crust is stuffed with sweet apples and dark caramel sauce, then folded over and sealed around the edges, like empanadas or Hostess snack pies. They're an awful lot like your favorite McDonald's dessert, but Marie Callender's are baked, not fried.

Finally, the aptly named Small Apple Pie is just that: a smaller, perfect-for-one-eater dessert. The crust is solid (no lattice here), and at 10 ounces, it's enough for a single pie lover or perhaps two people who didn't save much room for dessert.