For a double-crust pie:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with a pastry blender just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea sized) lumps of butter. Drizzle ~5 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with pastry blender (or hands) until incorporated. (Note: It is important to use ice water.)
Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn't hold together, ad more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough. (Note: It is better to under-mix than to over-mix.)
Turn dough out onto a work surface. For a double-crust pie, divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one. For a double-crust pie, divide in half, and then flatten each into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (next time I would
probably use 4 – 5 tablespoons of flour)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (use one of those micro-planer things)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
splash of vanilla extract (not part of the original
recipe, but I like vanilla)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 10 wedges (the 2.5 lbs. is the amount of peeled, cored, and cut apples, not the starting weight. I used about 2 each of: granny smiths, red delicious, fuji, pink ladies, and golden delicious)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (squeezed from the lemon you just zested)
Basic Pastry Dough for a double-crust pie (see recipe above)
1 large egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
Put a large baking sheet on middle oven rack and preheat oven to 425F.
Whisk together flour, zest, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl. Gently toss by hand with apples and lemon juice (plus vanilla, if you want).
Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Refrigerate while you roll out dough for top crust.
Roll out remaining piece of dough on lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round.
Dump filling into shell, using a spatula to get all of the sugary stuff into the pie as well. Cover pie with pastry round and trim with kitchen shears, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together, then crimp decoratively. Lightly brush top of pie with egg and sprinkle all over with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and sprinkle some cinnamon on top. With a small sharp knife, cut 3 vents in top crust.
Bake Pie on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375F and continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more. Cool pie on a rack to warm or room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.