The cold weather has been approaching slowly, and with every new breeze and drop in the temperature, the warm treats of the fall season become more and more enticing. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find that perfect fall dessert. So, we decided to share with you some tried and true recipes for this homemade comfort food, so you can make and experience them for yourself or your friends and family. Thus far, we’ve made apple pie, a perfect fall classic, and a super simple improvised mixed-berry tart to go with it. 

If you have any ideas for recipes you’d like to share with others, whether you’ve tried them personally or not, email us at [email protected] to let us know. We’ll try them out for ourselves and get back to you with the results!

Apple Pie

Makes one large apple pie

Prep time: ~30 minutes

Bake time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups of apple (peeled and diced)
• Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (or homemade)
• 2 ½ tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup of granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 
• ⅛ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Directions 

(Filling)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Have ready a 10 by 10-inch pie pan, ungreased (follow instructions for pie crust if it says to grease).
2. Chop up 2 to 3 peeled apples, or as many as it takes to get 3 cups of diced apples, which should be small squares, each about a centimeter all around. 
3. Place chopped apples in a medium bowl and add flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Mix to evenly cover all of the apples. 

(Crust)

1. Roll out room temperature pie crust and place it in the pie pan, pressing to form it to the bottom and sides of the pan. Remove excess from edges. 
2. Pour the filling mixture into the pan spreading an even layer throughout. Cut excess crust dough into thin strips (eyeball width to be about half an inch) and intertwine to create the lattice structure on top.

• Lay half of the strips parallel and evenly spaced to start, then add each perpendicular strip one by one starting on one side and alternate lifting every other strip. 
• Attach the ends of the strips to the sides of the pie crust when you’ve finished weaving them.

1. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes; the crust on top should be golden-brown.
2. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve with ice cream!
   

Mixed Berry Tarts with homemade jam

Makes about 12 tarts

Prep time: ~20 minutes

Bake time: 15 minutes

Chill time (optional): 20 minutes

Ingredients

• Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (or homemade) 
• 1 6oz pack of raspberries
• 4 strawberries or a scoop of strawberry jam
• 3 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
• ¼ cup blueberries

Directions

(Crust)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Have ready an ungreased muffin tin with enough muffin cups for 10-12 tarts (for alternate pie crusts, follow given baking instructions).
2. Bring refrigerated pie crust to room temperature and spread it out on a lightly floured surface. To prepare the crust, use a cup or cookie cutter a bit bigger in diameter than the muffin cup and cut out circles from the pie dough. Each full crust should make approximately 6 small tart crusts when used conservatively.
3. Press each small dough circle into a muffin cup, ensuring it is snug. Fold the edges into small waves so that the circle fits in the cup with a height of about ¾ to a whole inch.
4. Bake the cups for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

(Filling)

1. For the filling, puree the raspberries, strawberries (or jam), blueberries, and sugar until smooth.
2. Bring this puree to a simmer in a saucepan on low heat until desired thickness is achieved. 
3. Allow both the puree and tart crusts to cool, then pour about a teaspoon of the jam (or desired amount) into each tart. 
4. Refrigerate to serve chilled!