Autumn Apple Pie

To make crust, mix flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and toss lightly with your hands to coat the butter. Blend together with short pulses until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, with pea-sized butter bits. Drizzle in the water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing continually, until the dough comes together. Be careful not to overmix.

Divide dough in half, form into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. In the meantime, heat oven to 375 degrees (F).

In a large bowl, sprinkle apple slices with lemon juice. In a small bowl, toss together sugars, flour, and cinnamon, and then toss into apples until the fruit is coated. Set aside.

Prepare egg wash (1 egg yolk and 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream or milk). In a small bowl, whisk the yolk and cream together. Set aside.

After dough has chilled, flour a work surface and the top of each pastry disk and roll out so that when you place the pie plate upside down on the dough, the pastry extends at least 2 inches all around. Use a rolling pin to roll dough up and transfer to pie plate. Unroll and press lightly into pie plate. Fill with apple mixture. Top with second crust and trim edges of the crust to about 1/2-inch overhang. Crimp edges with your fingers or a fork. *OR don’t worry about trimming and just roll extra crust under for a more rustic look.

Cut six 1-inch vents in the top crust. Lightly brush crust with egg wash. Cover edges with foil to prevent over-browning. Bake for 25 minutes, uncover, and bake 25 minutes more, or until top is golden.