This recipe uses the basic flaky crust recipe. Pay attention to chilling the dough! The twist here is to precook the apples, which gives the filling a satisfying texture. Brushing the top of the crust with egg white and sprinkling with sugar before baking makes a beautiful pie.

1 recipe for double-crust pie dough
2 ½ lb Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick
2 ½ lb Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick
½ cup plus 1 T (100 g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
½ t lemon zest plus 1 T juice
¼ t salt
1/8 t ground cinnamon
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Divide the pastry dough in two. Roll one disk of dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured counter. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin and gently unroll it on top of a 9-inch pie plate, letting the excess dough hang over the edge. Ease the dough into the plate by gently lifting the edge of the dough with your hand while pressing it into the plate bottom with your other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs in place. Wrap the dough-lined pie plate in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the other disk of dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Toss the apples, ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest, salt, and cinnamon together in a Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until apples are tender when poked with a fork, but still hold their shape, 15-20 minutes. Transfer the apples and their juices to a rimmed baking sheet. Let them cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 425 F. If you have a pizza stone, put it on the rack before preheating the oven. Drain the cooled apples in a colander, reserving ¼ cup of liquid. Add the lemon juice to the reserved liquid.

Spread the apples onto the dough-lined pie plate, mounding them slightly in the middle, and drizzle with the lemon juice mixture. Loosely roll the remaining dough around the rolling pin and gently unroll it onto the filling. Trim the overhang to ½-inch beyond the lip of the pie plate. Pinch the edges of the top and the bottom pieces of dough firmly together. Tuck the overhang under itself. The folded edge should be flush with the edge of the pie plate. Crimp the dough evenly around the edge of the pie with your fingers. Cut four 2-inch slits in the top of the dough. Brush with the top of the crust with the egg white and sprinkle the remaining 1 T sugar over the top.

Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust is a light, golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 F, rotate the sheet, and continue baking until the juices are bubbling and the crust is a deep, golden brown, 30-40 minutes longer. Let the pie cool on a wire rack until the filling has set, about 2 hours.

Source: Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book