Fall is a time that many people look forward to, but it is also a season that opens an annual challenging journey: Pinterest recipes.

There is a familiar type of person commonly associated with Pinterest. They’re the people who have everything together. They’re overly organized and always plan things days in advance, and their fashion is debatably tasteful. But what Pinteresters are most known for is their cooking abilities.

In this article, we will find out if Pinterest is realistic or just a hoax. Using the search term “Fall baked goods,” I selected one recipe and put it to the test. Now Presenting: the French Apple Tart.

Difficulty: 3/5 Was not the hardest to do, but took a lot of time and energy, which for busy people, is already hard to come by. 

Worth it: 5/5  Looks fantastic at the end, tastes decent enough, and has the whole house smelling like your own custom made Bath and Body Works scent. 

Preparation: 4/5  Slicing all the apples was very tedious, and counter space is a necessity. 

The baked good has “French” in the name, and the entire recipe was also in French. Like, the entire thing. Google Translate quickly became a friend as quickly as the baking anxiety started. 

The recipe required softened butter and sugar to be mixed as the base. Just sugar and butter, nothing else. It tasted exactly as it sounds, and after being baked, it still tasted like nothing. 

5 apples were needed to be cut into “petal-like shapes” and organized from the outside of the pan, inward. How do you cut apples like this? Simple answer you don’t. Just thinly cut the apple and the curve of the apple will get you the desired shape naturally. The cinnamon sugar was supposed to be put on top as a sprinkle. However, some apples were dipped in it to give each layer a chance to stand out. This step was not required but was a choice to make, solely for the look and aesthetic of fall. 

Before the apples turned brown, using quick thinking, I placed them into a bowl of lemon juice and water. A very big bowl was needed to do this, as well as a pan for the pre-made pie crust, a bowl for butter, and a bowl for the rest of the ingredients. If you have the kitchen space, it was a nice treat for a fall night in. For smaller kitchen spaces, however, this is not a friendly recipe. The recipes also called for apricot jam as a glaze. This simply felt unnecessary in the end. It smelled good and looked good, so no need to over do the taste.

Overall, this treat was tasty and certainly brought the coziness of fall into the kitchen. However, it was harder on the preparation side. Whatever fall brings you in this beautiful season, I applaud you for your efforts. Remember, do not be easily discouraged with these recipes. When cooking with this type of recipe, your mindset quickly begins to turn to Queen’s wise words, “is this the real life or is this just fantasy.” If there are any recipes for Christmas time you would love to see here, give us a comment. We love hearing from our readers.