All American Apple Pie

The quintessential apple pie. Period.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 1 9" pie

Ingredients

• 8  cups apples, peeled and sliced (Jona-Gold, Jazz, or Tentation)
• 1  tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3  tablespoons heavy cream, divided
• 2  tablespoons  coarse sugar (I used gold sanding sugar) or 2  tablespoons  sanding sugar (I used gold sanding sugar)
•  pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425* and place oven rack in lowest position.
2. Place apples in large mixing bowl. Toss with vinegar. Mix together all dry ingredients and toss well into apples.
3. Roll one half of pastry into a 12″ circle, and place in the bottom of a 9″ pie pan. Pour filling in, making sure filling is tightly packed and higher in the center. Drizzle 2 T cream over the apples. Roll second dough into 12″ circle and place over filling. Tuck the edges of the top crust under the bottom crust, and seal (crimp, pinch, etc.). Cut slits in top to vent steam. Bake at 425* for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with remaining heavy cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Return to oven and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and juices are thick and bubbly. Cool 3-4 hours before cutting.
4. Variations:
5. Dutch Apple Pie–omit the second crust. Crush 1 sleeve of buttery round crackers into heavy crumbs. Mix with 1/4 cup sugar and 4 T softened butter, to form crumbles. After 30 minutes baking, sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of filling and finish baking.