How To Make the Easiest Apple Pie

Really good apple pie can — and should — be easy to make. After all, part of the appeal of apple pie is its simplicity: Warmly spiced apples are baked until tender in a crisp, buttery crust. That’s it.

These days, however, apple pie recipes can read more like flight instructions. And while dedicating an entire weekend to baking can be fun, sometimes you just want something quick and fail-proof.

This is that apple pie. It doesn’t involve special ingredients. We encourage you, in fact, to use a store-bought crust. The filling is just five ingredients, most of which are probably in your kitchen. But there are a couple of smart moves that — without adding much extra time — will result in a pie that you’re also really excited to eat. So think of it as the smartest easiest apple pie recipe, and as warm, yummy, and perfectly sliceable as they come.

Here’s my promise: This apple pie doesn’t have a single ingredient it doesn’t need, and doesn’t get wildly complex. However, a few smart steps are going to make for a better pie. You can make it in under two hours (excluding cooling time) and it’s guaranteed to perfume your whole house and make the ideal dessert for a fall dinner with friends.

Apple pie is the perfect vessel for using up whatever random variety of apples you got from the market or while apple picking. In fact, a combination of sweet and tart apples makes for a more balanced pie filling. Granny Smith and Jonagold are ideal tart apples for baking, while Pink Lady, Gala, and Honey Crisp are sweet. All of these varieties also keep their shape as they bake.

Read more: The 5 Best Apples for Baking

Toss the apples with sugar, then drain. After peeling and slicing your apples, you want to toss them with sugar and set them aside to soften and drain. This step makes the apples more tender and prevents a soggy crust. But it’s faster than pre-cooking them on the stove, and they also maintain their shape. You can discard the liquid they release, or save it for cocktail-making (or take a cue from Alton Brown and reduce the liquid to use as a glaze). After draining, toss the apples with cinnamon, cornstarch, and a pinch of cardamom.

Brush the inside of the crust with egg wash. You’re probably familiar with egg wash as a way to make the exterior of your baked goods more golden and a bit shiny, but adding a layer of egg wash to the interior of the pie crust before filling it creates a protective layer that will keep the apple’s juices from destroying your crust. Speaking of crust, store-bought crust really is ideal here. These are Kitchn’s favorite pie crusts from the store.

Layer the apples inside the crust. Instead of dumping the apples in, spend a few minutes laying and stacking the apple slices. It seems fussy, but it’s actually ingenious: This will help you avoid large gaps, which means you’re less likely to get a shrunken filling and domed crust. Keep layering until the apples are slightly taller than the pie pan.

Bake your pie on a preheated baking sheet. Jumpstart the baking process by preheating a baking sheet, then slide your pie onto it to bake. This makes the bottom crust extra crisp and helps speed up the baking process.

The hardest part of pie baking (for me, anyway) is waiting for the pie to cool completely before slicing. The cooler your pie is, the cleaner your slices will be. Warm apple pie with ice cream is amazing, though, so if that’s your goal, you still might want to give this pie at least an hour to cool (it’ll be plenty warm, even then). Leftover apple pie keeps well in the fridge for up to three days.