Ingredients

• Crust

  • 2 1/2 cups pastry flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup butter, chilled
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

  Filling

  • 4 Granny Smith apples
  • 4 Golden Delicious apples
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt

  Pre-Bake Prep

  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Directions

• Make the Crust
  Add the dry ingredients -- flour, sugar, salt and baking powder -- to the cup of a food processor. Pulse four or five times to mix everything together.

  Cut the butter into cubes and add to the dry mixture.

  Process the butter and dry mixture in the food processor for 5 to 10 seconds to form coarse crumbles no bigger than pea size. Freeze the mixture in the food processor cup for about 5 minutes. Empty the chilled contents into a mixing bowl.

  Add 4 tablespoons of water to the crumbly mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring gently with a fork with each 1-tablespoon addition. Squeeze a bit of the dough in your hands to form a ball. If the ball crumbles, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time -- up to 8 total tablespoons -- just until the ball holds together. The dough should not be sticky or wet.

  Divide the mixture by half. Form each half into a ball with your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about 20 minutes.

  Dust a work surface with flour. Roll dough ball into a circle roughly 14 inches in diameter with a lightly floured rolling pin. Alternate directions with each pass of the rolling pin so the dough spreads evenly in a uniform circle. Lay the dough inside a 9-inch pie pan greased well with butter. Chill the crust until ready to add the filling.

  Prepare the Filling

  Wash and peel the Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples. Cut the apples into thin, even slices. Add the apple slices to a large mixing bowl and toss with the lemon juice to prevent oxidizing.

  Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Toss the mixture in with the apples until evenly coated.

  Add the sliced apples to the prepared pie crust in a mound -- the apples should fit compactly in the crust, but piled high above the rim of the pie pan.

  Roll out the second dough ball to 14 inches in diameter. Unroll the crust over the mound of apples. Tuck the loose edges under the edges of the bottom crust. Crimp the edges together with your fingers or fork tines to make a neat edge.

  Bake the Pie

  Beat the egg and milk together to create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over the top crust. Sprinkle granulated sugar over the crust.

  Cut four to six evenly spaced slits around the top, center of the crust to allow steam to vent. Cover the crust edges with aluminum foil or pie crust bands to prevent them from burning while the pie bakes.

  Place the pie in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven with a baking sheet placed on the rack below. Bake the apple pie for 60 minutes or until the top crust is nearly golden brown. Remove the pie from the oven.

  Remove the foil from the crust edges. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Tips

• Cold butter is key to creating pockets of fat-encased flour that layer with the gluten in flour to make a flaky crust. With warm butter, the flour and fat combine too much, resulting in an undesirable, flat, shortbreadlike crust. For best results, keep the butter and dry ingredients chilled, placing them in the freezer occasionally if necessary. Additionally, work with chilled tools and equipment to keep the butter cold.

  The egg wash is optional, but helps create a glossy, golden brown top crust.

  A food processor makes it quick and easy to combine pie crust ingredients, but is not necessary. Use a pastry blender or two forks as an alternative to cut in the butter.

A Word on Apples

• Granny Smith apples are tart and hold their shape very well when baking, while Golden Delicious work well for their sweetness and ability to hold shape. You can bake an apple pie with just one type of apples, but combining multiple varieties results in a pie with all the flavor and texture benefits of each type. Other apples that work well include Cortland, Braeburn and Gala apples. Red Delicious and McIntosh don't make great pie apples because they turn to mush when cooked.