Your Best Autumn Pie

Lemon, honey (we used raspberry honey), blackberries, butter, flour and granulated tapioca.

As much as we like getting our hands dirty at food52, we love the ease of food processor crusts.

Cold butter is key here.

Pulse to cut the butter into the flour, till you see pea-sized clumps.

Then drizzle in ice water tablespoon by tablespoon, until it looks like...

...this!

Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and let it chill for at least 30 minutes.

Assembling the filling ingredients is a snap.

We used raspberry honey, but any honey will do.

Lapadia calls for instant tapioca as a thickener, but you can use granulated tapioca (like us) in a pinch.

It's a standoff -- who will roll?

Amanda it is!

Make sure the dough is large enough to generously hang over the edges.

And flop it into the pie pan -- we used 9".

No room left in the fridge for the bottom crust to chill, guess we'll have to drink this.

Our favorite method for crust rolling -- between two floured layers of plastic wrap. Even, clean, tear-free every time.

Dotting with butter.

Ta-da!

Scissors are the best trimming tools here.

To crimp, Amanda just tucked the excess under. Very rustic and pretty, we think.

Merrill applies a wash of cream (which we thinned with a splash of milk to make it more wash-like).

Amanda spinkles on some sugar for sparkle.

Vents let the steam from the simmering berries escape, and make for a pretty pie too.

Cutting the ends off the apples makes them easier to peel.

And a melon baller converts beautifully to an apple corer!

Amanda starts on the dough, adding semolina flour to regular flour. We love food processor doughs.

There are three delicious fats in here: butter, lard and cheddar cheese, all as cold as can be.

When the mixture looked pebbly, we added the ice water, just a little bit at a time.

The finished dough was smooth and beautifully, with little chunks of butter running through it. Once the dough is made, it needs to go in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

We used a mix of Cortland and Honey Crisp apples -- both at their peak.

A little brown sugar and white sugar, and then the apples sit and "juice" for an hour.

Merrill used Amanda's technique to roll out the chilled dough for the bottom crust of the pie: put it between two sheets of floured plastic wrap. No sticking!

A heart-stopping moment.

Whew!

After pressing the dough gently into the pie pan (we used a deep dish because of all the apples), you crimp it around the edges and put it back in the fridge for another half hour.

Pricking it with a fork keeps the base from puffing up as you blind-bake the crust.

And pie weights provide extra insurance.

Blind baking ensures that you don't have an apple pie with a soggy bottom!

Next, we made the brown butter, which gives the apples a nutty, rich flavor.

A cornstarch a water "slurry" will help to thicken the juices as they bake without making them taste floury.

Sticking out one's tongue is crucial when rolling dough.

In Amanda's absence (she had a meeting), Kristen helps Merrill get all those apples into the pan!

And she provides moral support during the trimming of the top crust.

(Those are also Kristen's fingers on the right, helping Merrill crimp the top crust.)

A few vents, so the crust doesn't steam from the inside.

And a quick egg wash, and the pie goes back into the oven until it's brown and bubbly!