Make the Dough

1. Cut your butter into 1/2 inch cubes, place on a small plate in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to keep firm (you want your butter cold before using in the dough).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together your flour and salt until combined. Add your cold, cubed butter to the flour and toss to coat. Working quickly, squish each piece of butter between two fingers to create flat little “shingles” of butter (you can alternate between this and rubbing the two together with both hands). Work until you’re left with a good mix of walnut half and pea-sized butter pieces.
3. Make a well in the center of your mixture and add about half of your ice water. Toss the two together until incorporated, adding your water a tablespoon at a time after that until a somewhat crumbly dough comes together (you want to err on the side of crumbly, yet still generally hold together—you don’t want it to be wet and sticky).
4. Split the dough in two, form each half into discs, wrap both tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. After that hour (working one disc at a time), on a lightly floured surface, roll out each disc into a large ~10 inch square. Then, fold it in half from top to bottom and then from left to right, so that you’re left with a smaller square. Repeat this entire process one more time (rolling and folding a total of 2 times), wrap it tightly in plastic, and chill in the fridge for 1 more hour before using. Repeat with the other disc of dough.

Make the Filling

1. After you’ve peeled, cored, and thinly sliced your apples—toss them with the lemon juice in a strainer set over a bowl. The lemon juice will help keep them from browning while you prep everything else.
2. In a large, deep skillet, melt your butter over medium heat. Add your apples, tossing to coat them in the melted butter. Then, add both sugars, all your spices, and salt, tossing to evenly coat the apples. Cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
3. Add your apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract, tossing to combine. Then add your flour and 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Cook for 3-5 minutes more until the mixture has thickened (if it hasn’t thickened enough, you can add another tablespoon of corn starch and cook for about another 2 minutes).
4. Take off the heat and let the mixture cool before using (you can spread it into an even layer on a large baking sheet to help cool down faster).

Assembling the Pie

1. While the apple filling cools down, prep your dough. Take one disc out of the fridge and on a lightly floured surface, roll out into a 12 inch circle about a 1/4 inch thick (if things get sticky: sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, gently flip it over, sprinkle some flour on top again and continue rolling).
   1. TIP: Rather than struggling to roll the dough into a perfect circle, roll it out until 1/4 inch thick, place your 9 inch pie pan upside down in the middle, and cut out a circle leaving an extra inch or two around the pie pan. That way you know you have plenty of overhang to work with and can use the scraps to make your leaf stamp cutouts on top if using.
2. Help the dough settle into the crevices of your pie pan, making sure you have about an inch or two of overhang around the outside. Place in the fridge to keep cold.
3. Take out your other disc of dough and if not doing a lattice, roll into another 12 inch circle and place in the fridge to keep cold until ready to use. For a lattice: roll into a large rectangle (~12×14 inches) and cut lengthwise into (12) 1 inch strips (if your filling still needs to cool, just place these on a baking sheet in the fridge to keep cold until ready to use).
4. Once your filling has cooled, gently pour it over your dough in the pan, evening out with a spatula. Then either lattice your pie for the top or just do a normal double crust (No Lattice: See notes below).
   1. Lattice: See the blog above or notes below for how to lattice your pie crust.
5. If your dough is starting to get a bit too loose/warm after assembling the lattice, pop it into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm back up before crimping (see the blog above or notes below for how to crimp your crust.)
6. Once your pie is completely assembled, place it in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking.

Baking the Pie

1. While your pie is in the freezer, preheat the oven to 400°F with your rack in the middle position. Lightly whisk your egg for the egg wash and have your sugar ready to sprinkle overtop.
2. Once it’s ready to bake, brush the top of your dough with the egg wash (I like to be generous for a darker crust) and then sprinkle your sugar overtop.
   1. Make sure to brush the entire top, including the sides of the crust.
3. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes on the center rack. Then, lower the temperature to 375°F and bake for another 15-20 minutes (covering the crust at any point with foil if it starts to brown too much).
4. Let it cool down for several hours before serving.