When it comes to comfort food, are you Team Store-Bought Apple Pie or Team Homemade Apple Pie? Would your answer change if, let’s say, the world is ending à la Don’t Look Up? Tough call when a comet is about to pulverize us all, right?

Well, thanks to chef Claire Saffitz, you don’t have to choose! Her apple pie recipe lets us have the best of both worlds — even if this world is doomed. 

The inspiration for this pie came from the “specific moment [when Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio’s characters are] talking around the table about pie.” Saffitz explains, “It’s all about how we seek comfort, so I decided to re-create that pie. It is my like-store-bought-but-homemade-apple pie.” 

Watching Saffitz make a “store-bought” apple pie from scratch — complete with natural pectin, glossy filling and a perfectly crimped handmade crust — is a visual weighted blanket, so soothing you’ll forget that humanity is on the edge of certain destruction. And there’s a reason for that.

Claire Saffitz Recreates Apocalypse Apple Pie from ‘Don’t Look Up’

“Comfort food is about re-experiencing the flavors of your childhood,” Saffitz says. “Apple pie is just something that a lot of us grew up with, even if it was once a year at Thanksgiving.”

While there’s no comet currently on a collision course with Earth, it’s still a good time to try to make a “store-bought” apple pie of your own before your next round of doom-scrolling.

As Saffitz says, “I’m pretty sure if I thought about my last moments on Earth, I’d want to be eating a little bit of pie.” So let’s have another cup o’ coffee, and let’s have another piece o’ pie... while we still can.

Claire Saffitz’s Recipe for Like-Store-Bought-but-Homemade Apple Pie

Serves 8 Special equipment: 10-inch aluminum pie plate, cheesecloth, rolling pin, pizza cutter, pastry brush

Ingredients

For Apple Pectin Concentrate 2 pounds organic green apples, quartered lengthwise (do not peel or core) 4 cups water

Caramel Apple Pie Filling 3 pounds Pink Lady apples, peeled, cored, cut into ½-inch pieces 2 tablespoons lemon juice ¾ cup unsweetened apple cider 1 teaspoon molasses ½ cup plus ⅓ cup granulated sugar 1 cinnamon stick 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Pinch of kosher salt

Pastry Crust 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 ¾ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt 2 sticks unsalted butter, thinly sliced crosswise, chilled

For Assembly All-purpose flour, for rolling 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, chilled 1 large egg, beaten Whipped cream from a can

Preparation

Make the apple pectin concentrate: Combine the green apples and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, skimming any foam from the surface and trying not to agitate the apples, until the liquid is reduced by about half, 60 to 75 minutes. Use a spider to remove the apples from the saucepan, allowing the liquid to drip back inside the saucepan and trying not to break up the pieces, then strain the liquid through a double layer of damp cheesecloth set inside a mesh strainer. Discard the solids and reserve the translucent liquid, which is rich with natural pectin. You should have about 2 cups.

Assemble the filling: Toss the apples and lemon juice in a large bowl and set aside. Stir together the apple cider and molasses in a heatproof measuring cup until the molasses is dissolved, then warm the mixture in the microwave until it’s hot and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine ½ cup of the sugar and 3 tablespoons of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring with a heatproof spatula until the sugar is dissolved. When the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring and cook, occasionally swirling the saucepan to encourage even cooking. Brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush to dissolve any stuck-on sugar crystals until the mixture turns light golden, then amber, then deep amber, and you see wisps of smoke, about 5 minutes. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly stream in the warm cider mixture, stirring constantly with the heatproof spatula. (Be careful, it will sputter.)

When all of the cider mixture is added and you have a smooth, liquid caramel, add the cinnamon stick, vanilla, salt, and remaining ⅓ cup of sugar. Add 1 cup of the reserved pectin concentrate and stir to combine, then add the apples.

Cook the filling: Bring the apple mixture to boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, gently stirring the apples occasionally, until the pieces are translucent and completely tender, 12 to 18 minutes. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the apples to a medium bowl, leaving the liquid in the saucepan and allowing the apples to drain for a few seconds, then set aside. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil the liquid until it’s thick and reduced and registers 221 F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the liquid over the apples. Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use (you can pack the filling into a quart-sized jar, if desired). You should have about 4 cups of filling.

Assemble the pastry crust: Prepare about 1 cup of ice water and set aside. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and toss, separating the pieces to coat in the flour mixture. Use your fingertips to quickly smash the pieces of butter into the flour, breaking them into smaller bits (it’s okay to leave some of the butter in large pieces — you’ll break it up more later on). Make a well in the center of the bowl and add ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon of ice water. Toss with a fork to distribute the water until you have a clumpy mixture with some dry spots.

Bring the dough together on the work surface: Tip the contents of the bowl out onto a clean, un-floured work surface. Use the flat side of a bench or bowl scraper to chop up the mixture directly on the surface, breaking up the clumps of dough and pieces of butter and frequently using the scraper to toss and push the mixture back into a neat pile. Continue with this motion until the mixture is broken down into uniformly small bits and the butter pieces are no larger than lentils.

Wrap and chill the pastry: Divide the dough roughly in half, making one slightly larger than the other, and use your hands to press each half into a solid mound. Then use a floured rolling pin to flatten the mound into a ¾-inch-thick round, patting the edges with your hands to compact. Wrap both halves tightly in plastic and refrigerate until cold and firm, about 2 hours.

Prepare the pan and preheat the oven: Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 425 F.

Assemble and chill the pie: Remove the larger piece of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch round. Transfer the round to a 10-inch aluminum pie plate, centering it, and press it into the bottom and firmly up the sides. Use a scissors to trim away the ragged edges of dough, leaving a ½-inch overhang.

Remove the filling from the refrigerator and scrape into the lined pie plate. Arrange the apples in an even layer, pressing gently to compact, then arrange the pieces of butter over the filling. Transfer the pie plate to the refrigerator. Roll out the second piece of dough just as you did the first, rolling it to an 11-inch round. Trim around it with a pizza cutter to form an even 10-inch round. Remove the pie from the refrigerator and use a pastry brush to paint around the exposed edge of dough with the egg wash. Place the 10-inch round of dough over top and press gently so it adheres to the bottom layer of dough. Brush the edges of the round with more egg, then fold the lower overhang of dough up and over the top round of dough, pressing firmly to adhere. Crimp the edges, then brush the entire surface with a thin, even layer of the egg. Transfer the pie to the freezer and chill until the crust is very firm, 10 to 15 minutes.

Bake: Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet and cut 4 evenly spaced slits in the surface. Transfer the pie to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 F and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown, another 60 to 70 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for at least 12 hours to allow the filling to fully set. Slice and serve the pie with canned whipped cream and hot coffee.

Fancy Coffee with Milk

Serves 1 Special equipment: Coffee mill, 12-ounce French press, kettle, milk frother, scale

Ingredients

1 ½ cups, minus 1 ½ teaspoons filtered water 2 ½ tablespoons, minus ½ teaspoon whole roasted coffee beans, preferably “The Daily” from Joe Coffee ½ cup whole milk

Preparation

Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, coarsely grind the coffee beans and place in the bottom of the French press. Gently pour about ¼ cup of water into the French press and stir with a chopstick to hydrate the grinds, then allow the coffee to bloom in the water for about 30 seconds. Pour in the rest of the water, place the lid on top, and steep for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, froth the milk in the milk frother. Push the plunger down and pour the coffee into a mug, then add the hot milk.