Fall apples’ essence, American-style crust

COME on. It’s Thanksgiving -- you’ve got to have pie. Pumpkin is the pie of the season, of course, but apple comes next in the hit parade: a toasty brown crust bursting with fall apples, sweet and aromatic with a hint of spices. It’s a great counterpoint to all that Thanksgiving richness.

Ironically, the apple pie of the heart’s desire isn’t so easy to find -- in bakeries, anyway. But a number of great ones are out there. What makes them great? You can vary the top crust -- go streusel or crumble -- but somewhere in that pie there has to be a layer of American-style flaky crust, and that’s something that can’t be accomplished with shortcuts.

Most important, the character of the apples has to come through, and the filling can’t be too cloyingly sweet.

We’ve found four excellent examples, each within the grand tradition while showing a distinctive flair. It’s too late to order ahead for Thanksgiving, of course, but these bakeries are stocking holiday pies for pickup on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mile-high pie: This massive pie is so loaded with apples it looks poised to explode out of its high-rise flaky crust. Tender wedges of mildly tart Granny Smiths are set off with a bit of sweet, cidery sauce and a hint of cinnamon.

$28 at Susina Bakery, 7122 Beverly Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 934-7900. Open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. today, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thanksgiving.

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Buttery crumble: Less sweet than many, this tangy pie is made with Granny Smith apples in a lightly spiced compote with plenty of buttery streusel topping.

$16 at La Brea Bakery, 624 S. La Brea Ave., Hollywood, (323) 939-6813. Open 8 a.m to 6 p.m. today, 8 a.m. to noon Thanksgiving.

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Southern style: If you like a really juicy filling, why not forget about the bottom pie crust and have a cobbler? Here’s a wonderfully old-fashioned, Pippin-apple filling with a tasteful, very lightly sweetened syrup fragrant with allspice.

$13.95 for regular (9-inch), $29.95 for large (13-by-10-inch) at the Cobbler Lady, 3854 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 298-2144. Open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today; closed Thanksgiving.

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Fresh find: The crust is ultra-flaky, the topping is a crunchy brown-sugar crumble, but the real star here is the memorable filling, which tastes more like a fresh apple than any other pie filling we’ve ever had.

$24.95 at SusieCakes, 11708 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, (310) 442-2253. Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today; closed Thanksgiving.