To me, fall tastes like a hot fruit pie. That brown sugar sweetness and the steaming baked fruit against the cool cream of an à la mode pie captures the flavor of the season. Even though it’s been a little weird here in D.C. with the summery weather, the nights have been cool enough to inspire some baking.

After seeing Ivonne’s post on apple pie for Canadian Thanksgiving (a real downside to moving back to the U.S. is having only one Thanksgiving), my boyfriend and I were craving an apple pie of our own. I was itching to try Ivonne’s recipe, but he really wanted to use his own. It comes to him from a reputable source — Mrs. Krietenstein, of Mt. Vernon, Indiana. At 102 years old, she still makes a mean pie, and we were going to try and pay it homage (while still cutting some corners to account for my lack of pastry experience).

It meant — yes, I know, bad food person — a pre-made pie crust, but every apple was lovingly peeled and sliced, and the recipe was simple enough that we peeled apples while watching a movie, then ate dinner, and got to eat the pie as dessert.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

1 each Your favorite crust recipe or refrigerated crust
6 each Applesauce (up to 8 apples) peeled and thinly sliced
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 bunch sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt