Whether you go apple picking at an orchard or pluck a few of your favorite varieties from the farmers market, it’s the peak season for all things using the delicious fall fruit.

New York Times Cooking supervising producer Vaughn Vreeland joined “Good Morning America” on Saturday to share his best tips and a recipe for apple pie filling from cookbook author Erin Jeanne McDowell.

Vreeland suggested other ways to utilize the seasonal stewed filling that goes beyond the typical pie crust.

Check out the full recipe from New York Times Cooking below.

Apple pie filling

Ingredients

Yield: 6 cups (enough for 1 9-inch pie)

4 tablespoons or 55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick)

6 to 8 medium apples, such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith or Gala, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch dice (about 6½ cups/1 kilogram)

2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup/220 grams light or dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup/100 grams granulated sugar

1/3 cup/45 grams all-purpose flour

Directions

In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples, tossing to coat in the butter. Add lemon juice, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt and stir to combine. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the apples start to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together granulated sugar and flour. Add to the pot and stir well to combine. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.

Let the filling cool completely before using. (You can speed this process up by spreading it into an even layer on a baking sheet.) The filling will keep, refrigerated, for up to three days.

Recipe by Erin Jeanne McDowell reprinted with permission courtesy of New York Times Cooking.