A Recipe for Apple Pie: Discovering Unlikely Hobbies in your Adulthood

As autumn settles in, you may be looking for a sweet treat to share with your friends and family. Warm, buttery, spiced, and caramelized: all hallmarks of the holiday season. Instead of heading to your local grocery store for a quick fix, bring out those mixing bowls and rolling pins for a holiday classic: apple pie.

It can be hard to bake as a college student. I was 18 when I moved to California to attend Vanguard University, and in this transitional period, I had trouble finding ways to fill my time. I had no direction, no kitchen, and certainly no baking supplies. In fact, I had no interest in baking at all— that was until one of my roommates and I had a late-night craving for some chocolate chip cookies.

That first batch was a disaster. Substituting yogurt for eggs and sugar for vanilla extract wasn’t exactly the best move for novice bakers, but we were determined to redeem ourselves.

Each week, we scrolled through TikTok and endless recipe blogs for a new dessert. It was a fun challenge for us, and at the end of the night, all of our roommates would crowd around the kitchen counter for a taste of our latest bake. We made everything from brownies to strawberry shortcake to cream cheese tarts, but our biggest success was apple pie.

Putting lattice work on an apple pie.

Handing out plates of crumbly dessert slices to the delight of our other roommates was always my favorite part of a bake. I loved spending time in the kitchen with my friends and making memories, something that the holiday season is all about.

The apple pie only lasted one night amongst me and my roommates, but it granted me a lifelong hobby that I can share with the people I love. Hopefully you can share this recipe with the people you love this fall.