I need to make an apple pie several days in advance of serving. Best way to preserve it?

I freeze fruit pies in the summer and pull them out in December and January. I partially bake them and then finish them when I want to serve them by putting them directly in the oven. It works perfectly.

I wouldn't freeze the baked pie. But definitely freeze an assembled, unbaked one. I would make sure to cook the apples or at least macerate them in sugar before assembling the pie - this way they will excrete some of their moisture and you won't be left with a wet mess after freezing and baking. Its also not a bad idea when freezing a pie to a bit of extra thickener (cornstarch, flour, etc) to your filling. You could defrost the pie in the fridge before baking ( not on the counter - you want everything to stay cold!) or you could bake straight from the freezer - I've done this before with great results! Bake the pie at whatever temp you normally bake at, but expect to add an extra 15 minutes or so to your baking time.

I would think thawing out a baked, frozen pie would come out a little soggy and wet.
Make your dough, roll it out, and line your pie shell. Freeze it.
Separately i would cook the filling in a pan or pot. This can be stored in the fridge for a few days.
When ready to bake, pour the filling in the frozen shell, put the lid on and bake as usual.
The plus to this is no filling shrinkage and a really flaky pie dough as it is cooked from frozen.

Definitely Freeze the unbaked assembled apple pie and bake when it is needed. That way it is super fresh and at its best! Here are some great tips and pointers from ehow!

http://www.ehow.com/how_5527018_bake-frozen-fruit-pie.html

Good luck Apple Pie Baker,

-@Ricky_Webster

Frozen after baking:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place frozen pie still on baking sheet in oven for 50-60 minutes.

Fresh:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pie on baking sheet in oven for 8-10 minutes.