Every September, I announce on Instagram, both officially and emphatically: “It’s fall, y’all.” It’s a tradition no one asked for, yet I continue to deliver on dutifully year after year. This announcement doesn’t come when the mornings start to feel chilly, the air starts to feel crisp, or the first leaves start to fall, but rather when all three happen at the same time. This year, that moment came surprisingly early—right after Labor Day—which meant an earlier start to fall baking. The first thing I always make after my officially unofficial declaration of fall? Apple pie.

While this website boasts no shortage of apple pie recipes (we’ve got four of them, to be exact), Stella Parks’ easy, old-fashioned version is the simplest. Unlike many recipes in which you have to pre-cook your apples to achieve a succulent pie filling, Stella’s skips that step entirely while still producing a pie with a thick, saucy filling. Her easy trick is to macerate the apples. 

Why (and How) You Should Macerate Your Apples

When making an apple pie, you want to draw out as much liquid as possible from the fruit so you don’t waterlog the crust, and you also want to make sure the apples are tender. Many apple pie recipes call for pre-cooking your apples to solve those problems, but this can be time-consuming, given that it’s a hands-on task. If the delicate apple slices aren’t monitored closely while cooking, they can quickly overcook, resulting in mushy fruit. Macerating apples helps break down the fruits’ structures and reduces their volume—no cooking or pot-watching required.

While we recommend macerating in a zip-top bag to limit the apples’ exposure to air, you can use a bowl as long as you cover it tightly with plastic wrap pressed directly into the slices. Even then, you should still expect some oxidation. After peeling, quartering, and coring the apples, cut them into half inch-thick slices, making sure they’re as uniform as possible—this will ensure there is an even surface area across all the slices and that they all break down and release their juices at about the same rate of time. Once your apples are sliced, add them to the bag (or bowl) with the brown sugar, spices, and salt called for in Stella’s recipe. From there, the apples need to sit for at least three hours at room temperature, or up to eight hours in the fridge, which gives you plenty of time to make, roll, and shape your pie crust. During this resting time, the tart juice from the apples will collect at the bottom of the bag. Flavored with brown sugar and spices, this liquid acts as a concentrated syrup in the pie filling. 

How to Turn Macerated Apples Into Pie Filling

To ensure the pie filling is nice and thick, we recommend adding a touch of tapioca starch to the apples. This ingredient absorbs excess liquid, thickening the filling without making it gloopy. Add the tapioca starch to the bag of apples after about three hours when the fruit has reduced in size by about a third, then zip it back up and give it a good shake. (You’ll want to use about 1 ounce per 4 1/2 pounds of apples.) Waiting to add the starch after all the juices release from the apples ensures the starch will absorb evenly into the liquid. From there, you’re ready to tuck your apples into the pie plate. (The most exciting part…besides eating the actual pie.) 

What Type of Apples Should You Use for a Juicy, But Not Mushy Pie?

Some apple pie recipes suggest using a variety of apples for a more complex flavor. Different apple cultivars, however, have different textures and flavors, and using an assortment may have disastrous results. Some may break down more quickly and release more liquid than others, creating a watery, mushy pie with unevenly cooked apples. For the best taste and texture, we recommend using one variety of apples per pie. We like tart apples like Granny Smiths, since their high pectin levels hold onto their shape nicely in the oven, keeping the filling thick instead of runny. For extra depth of flavor, we incorporate brown sugar and warm spices.

The Takeaway

Macerating your apples eliminates the common apple pie-baking step that calls for pre-cooking the fruit. It’s an easy, hands-off technique that minimizes cleanup and requires little more than apples, brown sugar, spices, a little salt, and a zip-top bag. The maceration process creates a syrup that we include in the apple filling for extra flavor, and a small addition of tapioca starch helps thicken that filling. The result is a saucy, luscious apple pie that you’ll want to make all season long. 

It’s fall, y’all!!!