It's that time of year again!

You know, that time of year when the leaves are just beginning to change colour, the evening air is crisp, and you are grasping onto any fragment of summery goodness. Nothing puts me in the mood for apple pie more than the promise of fall on the horizon. I snagged a copy of Kraft's "What's Cooking" publication from a co-worker, and they had a multitude of drool-worthy recipes, including a sinfully delightful dutch apple pie recipe. Add that to the fact that one of my 12 goals before 2012 is to bake a pie from scratch, and you have the perfect conditions for a bake-athon. 

Here's how it went down:

The stars of this recipe. I know I have 5 apples out, and the recipe only calls for 4, but I thought since some were smaller I might need to compensate. Turns out I only needed 4, but you'll just have to adjust that according to your apples. 

I'm lucky enough to have a mom who freezes her homemade pie dough. I know I wanted to make my pie dough too, but in my defence, I have made it before, and technically this crust is still homemade!

Roll out the pie dough and place it in your pie dish. This is where I had to call in the big guns (Mom)- I caved! I just wanted to make sure that nothing would seep out of cracks. After one failed attempt, I had a semi-decent pie crust. 

 Pie crust with crimped edges. You can really do any type of "edge" with your pie crust though.  

Beat the softened cream cheese and add granulated sugar.

Add an egg and vanilla extract.

Spread the cream cheese filling over the pie crust.

Peel and thinly slice the apples. Mix them with a couple tablespoons of flour, some granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Pour the apples over the cream cheese layer. 

To make the crumbly topping, add oats, brown sugar, and cut in margarine. The recipe calls for butter, but I try to avoid fatty butter when possible- it turned out just fine with margarine.

Fresh outta the oven! Still bubbling- see that?!

First slice of heaven. 

There ya have it. While the three-part recipe is kind of tedious, it is de-lish, and it looks so rustic and is perfect for an autumn afternoon. Not only did I satisfy my apple pie craving, but I can also cross off another item from my 12 Before 2012 list! booyah!