Apple pie is a classic for a reason. The sweet, supple texture of well-cooked sweet-tart apples, along with the flaky bite of a proper pastry crust made with TLC, leaves very little to be desired. Save for a melty mouthful of vanilla bean ice cream to contrast the gentle warming spices, of course.
Notice that nowhere in that description does it say anything about "enough apple pie spice to feed a football team." That's because overseasoning is probably tied with overcooking the apples as the number one mistake people make when baking an apple pie. Or using the canned stuff — ew.
And those mistakes have one thing in common: They're ruining the star of the apple pie show. If you're making an apple pie, you should experience the apples first and foremost. The warming spices are just part of the supporting cast — even your favorites are just there to help tell the apple's story.
Why overseasoning ruins your pie and how to stop When you first start making apple pies, you're probably trying to capture something of whatever your favorite apple pie is: Your grandmother's, Aunt Patsy's, or your fancy neighbor Jennifer from Canada who never met a baked good she can't conquer. And when yours doesn't work, you wonder which spice you mismeasured. Unless you're me.
When I started recreating my apple pie mentor's pastry, it tasted different, maybe better. It was only after making it four times that I realized that misreading the directions on the bottle of apple pie spice she swore by m.