This Wilderness Our Home

Warm citrus, cozy spice, and the tender cream-cheese crust that’s become our new holiday rhythm.

There are a handful of recipes stitched into my life, and apple pie is one of the deepest. My great-grandmother — born in 1913, steady and resourceful in that way women of her generation often were — is the one who first taught me how to make pie crust.

I remember standing beside her at the counter, learning how to turn the dough as I rolled so it stayed even and round. She taught me how to repair a tear, how to seal the top and bottom crusts, and how to wrap the edges in foil so they didn’t brown too quickly. And I remember sneaking bites of the apple filling while it rested — tart Granny Smiths, cinnamon, that squeeze of lemon she always added — because the filling was always irresistible long before the oven ever saw it.

My grandmother, on the other hand, never pretended pie crust came easily to her. She’d laugh about it, shrug, and make cobblers instead — and honestly, I loved those just as much. It taught me early that tradition doesn’t need to look perfect to be meaningful.

And then there’s my husband’s family. His grandpa believed there was only one kind of pie unless otherwise stated.

Ask, “Do you want pie?” and the answer was always apple.

Everything else required a name — peach pie, blackberry pie, pumpkin pie — but “pie” meant apple. Full stop.

Somehow all of these threads — the things that were passed down, the things learned by watching, the shortcuts, the confidence, the humor — shaped the version of apple pie I make now.

This is the recipe we’ll be making every holiday season, and likely long after that. It keeps the spirit of where it came from, but it’s also ours — bright, warmly spiced, simple, and a little elevated.

Recipe: Citrus-Kissed Apple Pie with Cream Cheese Crust & Crumb Topping

🥧 Cream Cheese Pie Crust

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold & cubed

4 ounces cream cheese, cold & cubed

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1–2 tablespoons cold water, as needed

Instructions

Whisk flour, salt, and sugar.

Cut in butter and cream cheese until coarse crumbs form.

Add 1 tbsp heavy cream.

Add cold water 1 tbsp at a time until the dough just comes together.

Press into a disk, wrap, and chill 1 hour.

🍎 Apple Filling

Ingredients

2.5–3 lbs apples (mix of Granny Smith + Honeycrisp/Fuji), peeled & sliced

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon orange juice

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Instructions

Toss apples with sugars, cornstarch, spices, salt, vanilla, citrus juices, and fresh ginger. Let macerate 15 minutes.

Strain off the juices into a saucepan. Simmer until thick and syrupy.

Return syrup to apples and toss.

🌾 Crumb Topping

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

5 tablespoons unsalted butter total

3 tbsp cold, cubed butter (cut in first)

2 tbsp very soft or melted butter (drizzled in to form larger crumbs)

Instructions

Mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon.

Cut in 3 tbsp cold butter first, then drizzle in 2 tbsp very soft or melted butter, tossing gently to create clumps. Do not overmix.

🔥 Bake

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Roll chilled crust into a 9-inch pie dish.

Add filling.

Cover with crumb topping.

Tent loosely with foil (protects crumbs + crust edges).

Bake 40 minutes covered, then 15–20 minutes uncovered until golden and bubbling.

Cool 1–2 hours before slicing.

Related Recipes

Looking for more cozy, make-ahead desserts and holiday helpers?

Banana Pudding for a Crowd (Our Thanksgiving Classic)

The Caramel Collection (Vanilla, Salted, Chocolate & Butterscotch)

Dutch-Process Hot Chocolate Mix (Jar or Gift Set)

Customizable Granola Bars (Kid-Approved + Perfect for Busy Weeks)

Apple pie has always been “the” pie in our families — the one that doesn’t need a label. It just shows up warm and fragrant, and everyone knows exactly what it is.

This version feels like a bridge between generations:

my great-grandmother’s old-school techniques,

my grandmother’s cobblers and humor,

my husband’s grandpa insisting that “pie” means apple,

and the life we’re living now — kids, Friendsgiving, swim team potlucks, and late-night kitchen slices.

It’s still just apple pie — flour, butter, apples, sugar, spice — but the small choices make it ours.

If you make it, I’d love to know where it lands in your traditions.

Author’s Note

I’ve carried this recipe in pieces for years — some written, some passed down, some learned by watching the women in my family work in flour-dusted kitchens.

If pie crust intimidates you, or yours tears, or browns faster than planned, you’re not alone. You can patch dough. You can tent foil. The people you feed will remember the warmth, not whether your crimp was perfect.

If you ever want to share your own apple pie story — or the dessert that always shows up at your holidays — I’d love to read it.

🖊️ From my little counter to yours — thank you for being here.