The Simple Mistake That's Ruining The Flavor Of Your Apple Pie

Apple pie is a classic for a reason. The sweet, supple texture of well-cooked sweet-tart apples, along with the flaky bite of a proper pastry crust made with TLC, leaves very little to be desired. Save for a melty mouthful of vanilla bean ice cream to contrast the gentle warming spices, of course.

Notice that nowhere in that description does it say anything about "enough apple pie spice to feed a football team." That's because overseasoning is probably tied with overcooking the apples as the number one mistake people make when baking an apple pie. Or using the canned stuff — ew.

And those mistakes have one thing in common: They're ruining the star of the apple pie show. If you're making an apple pie, you should experience the apples first and foremost. The warming spices are just part of the supporting cast — even your favorites are just there to help tell the apple's story.

When you first start making apple pies, you're probably trying to capture something of whatever your favorite apple pie is: Your grandmother's, Aunt Patsy's, or your fancy neighbor Jennifer from Canada who never met a baked good she can't conquer. And when yours doesn't work, you wonder which spice you mismeasured.

Unless you're me. When I started recreating my apple pie mentor's pastry, it tasted different, maybe better. It was only after making it four times that I realized that misreading the directions on the bottle of apple pie spice she swore by means I'd used a third less of the called-for amount. I learned three things that day: McCormick shouldn't split the line between the one and the half; I should wear my glasses when cooking; and the key to fantastic apple pie is less seasoning, not more. That's a lot easier to accomplish than perfect pastry.

If you don't have a recipe, start with just a pinch or so of any given apple pie spice. There are up to six common apple spices to choose from, and they all tend to be strong, so you don't need much. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove, ginger, and cardamom are the big ones, probably in that order.

If you get it wrong, don't automatically add more of this, that, and the other thing. Instead, taste and try to figure out if you're missing one. Don't automatically add your favorite because that must be it. And be open to it being something that's not common. For example, if it's mine you're recreating, the answer is probably (spoiler alert) black pepper.

Lastly, don't forget the salt and citrus. Salt makes things taste like better versions of themselves and citrus makes it pop. If it tastes flat or dull, add salt and a squeeze of lemon or orange juice to make everything, including the apples, shine a bit brighter.