I’ve been craving fall fruit pie, to the point where I bought a tartelette from the fancy bakery not once but twice last week. My inner Midwestern farm wife was appalled I’d spend $6 a pop for something when I could just make a whole pie for less–so yesterday, I did.

This is French apple pie or apple-streusel pie, known in my family as “apple pie with a crumbly crust.” I grew up eating pies made from the recipes on the back of the Kraft Minute Tapioca box and, even after tasting fancier and more sophisticated fillings, I still think they are the Platonic ideal of pies. So here is the recipe for apple pie from the box (with a topping invented by my mom) in case you’re craving fall pastry, too.

Pie:

  • Unbaked 8- or 9-inch pie shell (I’ve switched from Crisco pie crust to pate brisee; don’t tell my inner Midwesterner)

Filling:

  • 6 c sliced apples
  • 3/4 c sugar
  • 2 T Minute Tapioca
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/4 t nutmeg

Crumbly Crust:

  • 1 stick butter (chilled)
  • 1 c flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

To make Crumbly Crust, mix flour and brown sugar and then cut in butter until streusel-y in texture.

To make pie, mix ingredients for the filling, pour into the pie shell, and top with the Crumbly Crust. Bake at 400 for about 50 minutes, or until you can see lava-like bubbles of thickened apple juice in between the streusel topping.