2 ½poundsabout 5 firm tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick (I use Granny Smith)
2 ½poundsabout 5 firm, sweet apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick (I use Honeycrisp)
½cupplus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼cuppacked light brown sugar
½teaspoongrated fresh lemon zest
¼teaspoonsalt
⅛teaspoonground cinnamon
2teaspoonsfresh lemon juice
1egg white, beaten lightly
Instructions
Roll out one half of the pie dough and place in a 9-inch pie plate (how-to on rolling out pie dough here). Trim the crust to the edge of the pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Toss the apples, 1/2 cup of the sugar, brown sugar, zest, salt, and cinnamon together in a large large pot or Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender when poked with a fork but are not mushy, about 10-12 minutes. Don’t over cook in this step as the apples will finish cooking and softening up in the oven.
Transfer the apples and their juice in an even layer to a rimmed baking sheet and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drain the cooled apples thoroughly in a colander, reserving 1/4 cup of the juice. Stir the lemon juice into the reserved 1/4 cup of apple juice.
Spread the apples into the dough-lined pie plate, mounding them slightly in the middle, and drizzle with the lemon juice mixture.
Roll out the second piece of dough and drape it over the pie. Trim the top crust so there is about a 1/4-inch or slightly longer overhang all the way around the pie. Tuck this overhang under the bottom crust (see details here) so the pie is sealed. Crimp the edges (how-to here or here).
Cut four gashes in the top of the pie with a sharp paring knife for venting. Brush the crust lightly with the egg white and sprinkle with the remaining one tablespoon sugar.
Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until the juices are bubbling and the crust is deep golden brown, about 25-30 minutes longer.
Let the pie cool on a wire rack until the filling has set, about 2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Pie Crust: my favorite homemade pie crust is this sour cream pie crust. A double batch of the sour cream pie dough works great for this recipe.Original Recipe: if you are looking for the original crust recipe included with this post, here it is: 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 cup Crisco shortening (butter-flavored or regular, I prefer regular). Mix the pie ingredients with your hands to form a uniform mixture. Add 1/3 cup ice water. Dip your hands in flour so they won’t get too sticky (although it will still be messy). Mix the ice water in to the shortening/flour mixture with your hands. Roll into a round ball (the dough will resemble a sugar cookie dough). Divide in half and on a lightly floured surface roll into two circles. Bake according to pie directions.Make-Ahead: the pie dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for several days or frozen for up to a month or so. Storing: also, the pie, once baked and cooled, can be covered with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to one day. Serving: to serve warm, reheat the pie in a 300-degree oven for about 15 minutes.