apple pie

Does anything smell better than an apple pie baking in the oven? Lauren Chattman from Pillsbury shows how to make the perfect apple pie. It's so good you don't even need the ice cream (but we'll understand if you have some anyway).

Recipe: How to make apple pie

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Roll one refrigerated pie crust into a 9 inch glass pie plate.

2. Mix 6 cups of thinly sliced apples, preferably a firm variety like Granny Smith, 3/4 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, a tablespoon of lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt. Pour entire mixture into the pie shell.

3. Take the second pie crust and roll it right on top of the apples. There should be a little bit of the pie crust hanging over the pie plate. Tuck the edges under for a thick crust.

4. To finish the crust with a scalloped edge, place your index finger and thumb on a section of the outside edge of the pie crust. With your index finger on the other hand press into that section from the inside of the pie crust to make a scalloped edge all the way around.

5. Cut four to six slits in the top of the pie for ventilation. This lets the moisture escape and ensures your apple pie has a crisper top crust.

6. Place a pie shield, or aluminum foil strips, over the pie crust edges to prevent burning.

7. Bake the apple pie for 40 to 45 minutes. About 15 minutes before the pie is finished, take the pie shield off to let the edge brown up.

8. After baking, the apple pie should cool for two hours so the juices are reabsorbed into the apples. Your willpower will pay off because you'll be able to cut beautiful, neat slices.

Pillsubry's apple pie recipe serves 6-8.