It is officially autumn when treats such as apple cider and pumpkin pie become a common occurrence. In fact, many pies are typically consumed in the fall, especially because of Thanksgiving. Some of my favorites, however, are specifically apple desserts, like apple pie and cobbler.

So, over this past weekend, my family and I decided to pick apples from Burch Farms. With the apples, we made about seven or eight pies, and donated them to the local food pantry. Apples have a variety of uses, from being eaten raw, to pies, ciders, and various other desserts. Read on to learn how to make a simple apple pie.

There are a few ways to make an apple pie. I prefer to make my own crust, but you may use a store-bought crust or crumble for the pie. For the crust, you will need about 2 ½ cups of flour, 1 cup of butter, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, and 6 to 8 teaspoons of water. You can mix the crust with a large spoon, your hands, or any sort of food processor. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and butter, then add the water until the dough begins to stick together. Then you may shape the mixture into two equally-sized discs. These should be enough to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Put one disc in the pan; the other can be refrigerated.

For the filling, slice about 6 apples, or 7 cups of chopped apples (Gala or Granny Smith apples), enough to fill the pie. Mix these apples with the juice (and zest, optional) of 1 lemon, about 3 ½ cups of water, about 1 ½ cups of white or brown sugar, 1/3 cup of cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of cloves. Boil this mixture for about 2 to 3 minutes. Let this simmer until the apples are soft but not mushy. This can now be poured on the pie crust. Put the other disc of crust on top of the pie, and connect it to the edges of the crust. Finally, cut small vents into the top of the pie. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake the pie for about an hour. It should be ready once the crust is a golden-brown. Enjoy!