Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9-inch pie plate (glass or ceramic)
• •Pastry blender or two knives
• •Rolling pin
• •Rimmed baking sheet
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the dough

   Whisk together the flour, one tablespoon sugar, and one teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add your cold fat, whether lard or butter. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the fat into the flour until you have a mix of pea-sized and almond-sized pieces. This unevenness is deliberate. Those larger pieces will create the flaky layers you're after.

   If using butter, freeze it for fifteen minutes before cutting. Lard can come straight from the refrigerator. The goal is fat cold enough to stay solid while you work.
2. 2

   Add water carefully

   Drizzle six tablespoons of ice water over the flour mixture. Toss with a fork until the dough begins to clump together. Grab a handful and squeeze. If it holds together without crumbling, you have enough water. If it falls apart, add another tablespoon and test again. The dough should look shaggy and rough, not smooth.

3. 3

   Shape and chill

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gather it into a rough mass, then divide in two, making one portion slightly larger than the other. The larger piece becomes your bottom crust. Flatten each into a disk about an inch thick, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight. Cold dough rolls easier and bakes flakier.

   Dough can rest in the refrigerator for up to three days. If it firms too much, let it sit at room temperature for ten minutes before rolling.
4. 4

   Prepare the apples

   Peel, core, and slice your Honeycrisps into pieces about a quarter-inch thick. Uniformity matters here because you want even cooking. Some slices tender, some crunchy, is not what we're after. Place them in a large bowl as you work.

5. 5

   Season the filling

   In a small bowl, whisk together the three-quarters cup sugar, two tablespoons flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and a pinch of salt. Pour this mixture over the apples along with the lemon juice and vanilla. Toss thoroughly with your hands, ensuring every slice gets coated. Let this sit for fifteen minutes while you roll the dough. The sugar draws out moisture that will become your pie's syrupy sauce.

6. 6

   Roll the bottom crust

   On a floured surface, roll the larger dough disk into a circle about twelve inches across, rotating a quarter turn after each pass to prevent sticking. The dough should be about an eighth of an inch thick. Drape it over your rolling pin and transfer to a nine-inch pie plate. Ease it into the corners without stretching. Stretched dough shrinks when baked. Trim edges to leave a one-inch overhang. Refrigerate while you roll the top.

7. 7

   Roll the top crust

   Roll the smaller disk to about eleven inches across. You can leave it whole for a traditional top, or cut it into strips for a lattice. A lattice allows steam to escape and lets you see that gorgeous filling bubbling. Either approach is honest. Set aside on a parchment-lined sheet and refrigerate if the kitchen is warm.

8. 8

   Fill the pie

   Pour the apple mixture into the chilled bottom crust, mounding it slightly higher in the center. The apples will settle as they cook. Dot the surface with the two tablespoons of cold butter pieces. These melt into the filling and add richness that sugar alone cannot provide.

9. 9

   Top and seal

   Drape the top crust over the filling, or weave your lattice if you've chosen that path. Trim excess, leaving a half-inch border. Fold the overhang under itself to create a thick edge resting on the rim of the pie plate. Crimp with your fingers or press with fork tines. The seal matters. It keeps juices inside where they belong.

10. 10

    Prepare for the oven

    Whisk the egg with the cream to make an egg wash. Brush this generously over the entire top crust, getting into the crimped edges. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over everything. The large crystals catch light and add crunch. If using a solid top crust, cut four or five vents with a sharp knife to let steam escape. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips.

11. 11

    Bake in stages

    Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Bake the pie for twenty minutes at this high temperature. The heat sets the crust quickly, building structure before the butter melts completely. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue baking for forty to fifty minutes more, until the crust is deep golden brown and you can see thick juices bubbling through the vents or lattice.

    If the edges brown too quickly, shield them with strips of aluminum foil or a pie crust shield. Start checking at the thirty-minute mark.
12. 12

    Rest before slicing

    This is the hardest instruction. Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before cutting. The filling needs time to set. Cut too soon and you'll have delicious apple soup in a crust. Cut at the right moment and you'll have slices that hold their shape while remaining juicy. Patience rewards.

Chef Tips

• •If you can find leaf lard, rendered from the fat around a pig's kidneys, use it. It produces the flakiest crust imaginable and has almost no pork flavor. Regular lard works well. Butter makes a delicious pie with a slightly different character, more flavorful but less shatteringly crisp.
• •Honeycrisps are sweeter than traditional pie apples. Taste your fruit before adding sugar. If the apples are particularly sweet, reduce sugar to half a cup. The lemon juice provides necessary acid to balance, so don't skip it.
• •The flour and cornstarch together create a filling that thickens without becoming gluey. Flour alone can taste starchy. Cornstarch alone can make the juices too slick. Together they're perfect.
• •Serve with sharp cheddar cheese, as they do in the Upper Midwest. The salt and tang of good aged cheddar against sweet spiced apples is a revelation. Vanilla ice cream is the expected accompaniment, but cheese is the traditional one.

Advance Preparation

• •Pie dough can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
• •The assembled unbaked pie can be frozen for up to two months. Bake directly from frozen, adding fifteen to twenty minutes to the total baking time. Do not thaw first.
• •Baked pie keeps at room temperature, loosely covered, for two days. Refrigerate after that, and rewarm slices in a 350-degree oven for ten minutes to revive the crust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)