Easy as pie

Skillet apple cranberry pie is delicious — and easy to make

Just because nothing’s more American than apple pie — and few desserts more delicious — doesn’t mean that making one is easy.

On the contrary, the standard recipes can be pretty involved. But this recipe is for a pie with only one crust, not two, and with everything cooked in the same skillet.

There’s just one sheet of dough to roll out, and because there’s no crust on the bottom, you spend no time crimping it together with the crust on top. In short, Skillet Apple Cranberry Pie is the ideal recipe for someone unsure of his or her baking skills.

To start, you’re going to precook the apples. Apples tend to shrink as they bake, opening up a large gap between the apple filling and the upper crust. I’ve read recipes that suggest precooking the apples, then dumping off the liquid that’s generated while they cook. That makes no sense. The liquid is rich in apple flavor. You just need to remove the precooked apples from the pan, then simmer the liquid to cook off the excess water. What’s left is apple

All the apples are piled into a 10inch skillet.

syrup. Add a little fresh cider to it and you’ve really intensified the apple-ness.

All the apples are piled into a 10-inch skillet. You may wonder if they’ll cook evenly, given how crowded together they are. The answer is yes. Just be sure to stir them frequently as they cook.

Once the filling is prepared and has cooled off, take the pre-rolled dough, place it over the apples, tuck in the edges and bake the pie. Because the apples have been precooked and the pie has a single crust, it bakes much more quickly than a more conventional apple pie. The cream and granulated sugar brushed on top make the crust sweet and crunchy.

Sara Moulton is host of public television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows,

SARA MOULTON VIA AP Skillet apple cranberry pie