All-Season Apple Pie

NOTE: This dough has more fat than most recipes, giving the crust a crumbly texture that is delicious but not well suited to decorative edging or neat slicing. This pie serves eight.

Flaky Pie Dough

Apple Filling

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. For dough, pulse flour, salt, and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with flour. Pulse machine 5 times in 1-second bursts. Add shortening and continue pulsing until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than small peas, 4 to 6 more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl. If you do not have food processor, grate frozen butter and shortening into flour mixture and mix with your hands for 1 minute, rubbing flour and shortening between your fingers. Flour should turn very pale yellow and become coarser in texture.

2. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, gradually adding up to 2 more tablespoons of ice water if it will not come together. Shape into ball with hands, divide the dough into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Dust lightly with flour, wrap separately in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Dough can be refrigerated overnight or wrapped again in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month.)

3. Remove dough from refrigerator. The dough is ready to be rolled when it is still cool to touch but you can push your finger halfway down through center. (If the dough has been chilled for more than 1 hour, it may have to sit on the counter for 10 to 20 minutes to soften.) Adjust oven rack to bottom position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

4. Roll larger dough disk on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer and fit dough into 9-inch Pyrex pie pan, leaving dough that overhangs lip in place. Refrigerate dough while rolling second disk and preparing fruit.

5. Roll smaller disk on lightly floured surface into 11-inch circle. Transfer to back of baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use.

6. Peel, quarter, and core apples. Slice each quarter into thirds, about ¹/₂-inch thick (see figure 27). Toss with sugar, lemon zest and juice, spices, and salt.

7. Turn fruit mixture, including any juices, into pie shell. Lay top pastry over filling. Trim top and bottom edges to ¹/₂ inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Press dough with fork tines to seal. Cut four slits at right angles on dough top to allow steam to escape. Brush egg white on top of crust and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over top.

8. Place pie on bottom rack. Bake until crust is lightly golden, 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. The bottom crust should be golden and juices from pie bubbling.

9. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool to room temperature. Pie is best eaten after it has completely cooled, even the next day.

VARIATIONS:

Crystallized Ginger Apple Pie

Add 3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger to apple filling.

Apple Pie with Dried Fruit

Soak 1 cup raisins, dried cherries, or dried cranberries (chopped coarse if fruit is large) in mixture of 1¹/₂ tablespoons lemon and 1 tablespoon Apple Jack, brandy, or Cognac for at least 30 minutes. Prepare apple filling, omitting lemon juice. Add fruit and soaking liquid to filling.

Cranberry Apple Pie

Add 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries to apple filling and increase sugar to 1 cup.