Apple Pie with a Lattice Crust
A double crust built from cold butter and a short chill, holding in a mound of macerated apples until the lattice bubbles over.
- Serves
- 8
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Written
Method
-
Pulse the flour, salt, and sugar, then cut in the cold butter until the largest pieces are pea-sized.
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Drizzle in the ice water, tossing just until the dough clumps when pressed between your fingers.
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Divide the dough in two, pat into disks, wrap, and chill at least 1 hour, until firm.
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Toss the apples with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice until every slice is coated and sitting in its own juice.
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Roll one disk into a 12-inch round and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming the overhang to an inch.
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Pile in the apples, mounding them at the center, and scatter the butter over the top.
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Roll the second disk, cut it into strips, and weave them into a lattice over the filling.
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Crimp the edges, brush the lattice with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and chill 15 minutes to firm the butter back up.
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Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes, then lower the oven to 375°F and continue until the juices bubble thick through the lattice and the crust is deep gold, about 35 minutes more.
-
Cool on a rack at least 3 hours before slicing, so the filling has time to set instead of running.
Notes
Cold butter is the whole trick — if it softens before it hits the oven, the crust bakes flat instead of flaky. Work fast, and if the kitchen’s warm, chill the rolled-out bottom crust for ten minutes before filling it.
Mix a tart apple like Granny Smith with a sweeter one like Honeycrisp; all of one or the other makes a filling that’s either sour enough to plaster or slack enough to weep. Serve it the way it always gets served, with vanilla ice cream going soft against a warm slice.