Fall means apple-picking season, which honestly means one thing to me: apple pie. And not just any apple pie, but one with a gooey, caramelized apple filling and a solid crust-to-filling ratio. That calls for a latticeLattice crusts seem simple in theory, but it’s easy to trip them up as you start weaving all of those loose threads of pie dough together. At least that’s what happens to me. Before I know it, the dough’s a little slick and gooey from resting on the apples, and it’s fused together in weird ways, and—oh!—I missed that over-under maneuver in the third row.

Before I know it, the crust’s a jumbled mess. Ah well.

Nate, however, is a lattice-crust pro, and once he broke down the technique for me, everything became crystal clear.

Here’s How to Create an Easy Lattice Crust for Your Apple Pie:

Premade, pre-rolled-out pie crust works just as well as (and, in some cases, better than) homemade crust, so don’t feel like you have to do everything from scratch. If you’re just starting out, I recommend this shortcut—particularly using Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust, which is stretchy (not crumbly) and fairly foolproof to use.

How to Make a Lattice Crust, Step by Step:

1. Place the bottom crust on the pie plate and top with the filling, leaving about 1/4-inch of crust around the edge.
2. Take the top crust and slice it into 1/2-inch strips. Take half and place them in vertical stripes atop the pie. Then, peel back every other one and lay a strip of pie crust horizontally across the bottom of the pie (the end closest to you). Flip the peeled-back vertical stripes back across the pie.
3. Now, grab the vertical stripes you didn’t peel back last time and peel those back. Lay a strip of pie crust horizontally across the pie, leaving a little space between it and the previous horizontal stripe. Flip the peeled-back vertical strips of pie dough back across the top of the pie.
4. Go back to the first set of vertical strips you peeled back, and peel them back just enough so they expose the top half of the pie (and are resting, folded over, atop the horizontal strips you’ve just added). Add a horizontal strip of dough, and flip the peeled-back strips over it.
5. Repeat this process until you’ve reached the top of the pie—you may have to adjust your spacing, if you put them too close together early on—and when done, crimp the edges of the pie to seal everything together.
6. Brush the lattice with an egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can start experimenting with more complex designs, like when Nate schooled me with this five-point lattice pattern (faaancy).

What’s the Best Apple Pie Recipe to Go With a Lattice Crust?

If you’re going to put in the effort to make lattice-crust pie, you’ve got to make Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie. I add a little cinnamon to my version of the recipe, but either way, it creates a caramelized crust that will have people raving. Even store-bought crusts suddenly seem blue ribbon-worthy. Promise.

Note: This article originally ran in October 2015, but it has since been updated to ensure its accuracy. Nine years later, the tutorial holds up—even if my Pinterest pin’s fonts are (admittedly) a little dated.