Zack isn’t really a cake person.

Can you even imagine? I certainly can’t.

At any rate, when I found out that his favorite dessert was apple pie, I knew I had to make him one for the first Christmas we spent together.

The problem was, I had never made a pie other than the occasional lemon icebox pie, which was made mostly with canned and boxed ingredients. So I doubted my ability, to put it mildly.

Did I mention that Zack and I were newly dating? As in, we had only met one another in mid-November? And that we were both single parents? And that it was last-minute car trouble that brought him to my parents’ house that Christmas in the first place?

What I’m saying is this: time was of the essence, and the pressure was on.

So when my sweet 12-year-old nephew, Andrew, offered to help me with the pie, I quickly accepted. I asked him to use a leaf-shaped cookie cutter to cut vent holes in the top pie crust. (I knew that the traditional lattice top was a goal too lofty for me to attempt.)

I left Andrew with the cutter and went back to peeling, coring, and slicing half a dozen apples. The next thing I knew, my sister was exclaiming, “Andrew! What did you do?”

What Andrew had done was attempt to get the maximum number of cutouts from the dough. He had made Christmas cookies with his parents several times and knew he needed to punch out shapes as close together as possible to minimize the number of times the dough had to be re-rolled.

So instead of my vision of a top crust with a couple of lovely leaf cutouts, I had a lacy, barely-there top crust and a couple dozen leaf shapes. Stores were closed, I had no other pie crusts, and I lacked the skills to make my own. What to do?

Well, punt. That’s what I had to do. Story of my life.

We draped the lacy crust across the top and arranged the leaves over top. It was actually quite pretty.

Was Zack wowed? I don’t really know. But he did marry me, so I have kept using this recipe.

He prefers it with Granny Smith apples, though this year we had the chance to pick fresh apples on a u-pick farm. I am not totally sure what varieties we got, but those mystery apples made a delicious pie.

APPLE PIE (FROM THE ULTIMATE SOUTHERN LIVING COOKBOOK)

Ingredients
Two pie crusts (make your own or buy the refrigerated kind)
6 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apple (Granny Smith or freshly picked; use more if you like a very tall apple pie)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
■ Place one pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate. Place racks in oven so that one is in the center and one is a rung or two below the center rack. Place a foil-lined cookie sheet on the bottom rack (stop arguing with me and just do it). Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
■ Place apple slices and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add both sugars, flour and spices. Toss these dry ingredients in with apple slices. Pour filling into crust. Dot with butter (or don’t. I have literally never remembered to add the butter in the whole history of ever).
■ If you have a seasonal cookie cutter, cut one or two shapes into the middle of the second crust. Drape second pie crust over top of the apples. Fold edges under and crimp. If you used cookie cutters, place the cutouts over the holes, sliding them just a quarter inch or so to one side so that you end up with a 3-dimensional look and vent holes. If you did not use cookie cutters, cut slits in top crust to vent.
■ If desired, brush pastry with egg yolk and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon and sugar. (I have literally never desired. I feel like processing the apples is enough work.)
■ Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 50 more minutes. If edges begin to brown excessively, cut the center out of a square of tin foil and mold the foil around the pie’s edge.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.