Growing up, Autumn was marked by soccer starting. Double sessions began in August before school had even begun, signaling that Autumn’s return.The sticky humid practices brought the reminder that not only was school coming and with it cooler weather. Since I was a much better student than soccer player, this was a welcome reminder. As days got shorter, August faded into September and the leaves would burst with color for about two weeks. October marked the end of the soccer season and the beginning of my baking addiction.

My love of baking developed during in part thanks to soccer. My last few years in high school I would bake a batch of cookies or brownies before a hellish game or a particularly hard practice. In this time baking became cathartic for me. As the goalie of a defeated team (yes, you read that right) baking became a way of dealing with my pre-game anxiety,

plus it helped me stay on the good side of my teammates which is helpful when your entire purpose on a field is to shout a lot.

I  was more than happy to bake cookies, cakes, and bars, but I hesitated when making pie until culinary school. I don’t come from a long line of bakers, which meant I had no one walking me through the steps to make pie dough (and Smitten Kitchen was just founded in 2006) so I stuck to my tried-and-true recipes.

As an adult (if I can call myself that) I embrace the adventure that is making pie dough. There are so many possibilities that come from the simple combination of flour, butter, salt, and sugar, but I think pie dough has become my favorite. It’s always seasonally appropriate because you can change the filling to whatever is on hand! You can make hand pies, 3″ tarts, 10″ pies, or little pie cookies even! There are infinite possibilities out there.

Now that I don’t play soccer, there’s nothing like an apple pie to signal that fall is here. I may have been over-eager when I made this pie in early September since Summer seemed to linger for longer than I wanted but my house sure smelled like fall for a little while there.

Since the weather is changing over (thank goodness, am I right?) I thought it was time to break this recipe out. Make any changes you want to this: add in a splash of bourbon or real vanilla bean if there’s some in your cupboard! Skip the crumble topping and use both crusts to make some beautiful pie artwork like Demetria over at Woodland Keep!

Here’s what you’ll need:

The recipe for the pie dough can be found here. Be sure to have this rolled out in the pie tin before you begin the streusel and filling.

For the streusel topping:

6 tablespoons (90 g) room temperature butter

1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar

1 cup (145 g) all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

 

In a small bowl combine butter and sugars until well incorporated.

Add flour and mix until flour is combined with the sugar and large lumps form. Set aside.

For the filling:

1-2 dozen apples sliced into 1/4″ wedges – I needed close to 20 apples because I was using apples with a 1.5″ diameter

1/4 cup (25 g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 lemon, juiced

 

Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated.

Pour apple filling into the prepared pie tin.

Top with streusel and place into preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until filling is bubbling and streusel is golden brown.

Let cool and remove from pie tins. Serve with ice cream or eat it plain.

Be sure to have the pie dough recipe rolled out and ready to go. Preheat oven to 400 F.

For the Streusel:

In a small bowl combine butter and sugars until well incorporated. Add flour and mix until flour is combined with the sugar and large lumps form. Set aside.

For the filling:

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated.

Pour apple filling into the prepared pie tin. Top with streusel and place into preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until filling is bubbling and streusel is golden brown. Let cool and remove from pie tins. Serve with ice cream or eat it plain.