taste

FIRST AUTUMN APPLE PIE WITH CINNAMON PASTRY

Makes a 9- or 10-inch two-crusted pie, serving 6 to 8.

Take the recipe a step at a time and you'll have an outstanding pie. Don't skip sugaring the apples ahead. This trick from baking pro Rose Levy Beranbaum ensures there'll be no soupy pie filling. Freezing the pastry ingredients for 20 minutes helps with a flaky crust. Make the crust first. As it chills, prepare the apples and set them aside. Then roll out the crust, give it a rest, fill and bake.

Pie crust:

• 21/3 c. flour

• 2 tbsp. sugar

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

•¹/₄tsp. salt

• 2 sticks (1 c.) unsalted butter, each cut into 4 or 5 pieces

• 1 tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar

• 5 to 7 tbsp. ice water or iced apple juice

Filling:

• 6 large Granny Smith apples (or other tart apple), peeled, cored and sliced about 1/2-in. thick

• Juice of 1 large lemon

•¹/₂to²/₃c. tightly packed dark brown sugar

•¹/₈tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

•¹/₂tsp. allspice