Remove one disc from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface (I find parchment paper to be the best option). Gently roll the dough into a 12” (for a 9” pie shell). This is one of the scarier parts of pie making, even for me. It can take practice, and it’s ok if you don’t roll out a perfect circle. Try to keep an even pressure on the dough as you roll, and try to roll around the disk not in an up-down motion.

Gently roll the dough onto your rolling pin and carefully place in the pie pan. Lightly press the dough into the sides and edges. Trim excess dough to a ½” overhang and chill shell in the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).

Remove the other disc and roll it out as you did with the bottom crust. Transfer the rolled out dough onto parchment paper on a baking sheet, and chill with the shell. This is where the parchment paper comes in handy – if you rolled it onto paper, you can just transfer the whole piece of paper with the rolled out dough on top to the baking sheet without disrupting the dough at all.

Whisk together egg yolk and heavy cream and set aside

If you haven’t already, peel and core, and slice your apples, and grind your nutmeg. Fresh ground nutmeg seems an extravagance but it only takes a minute, and the flavor is significantly better than pre-ground. You can use the leftover later to enhance all sorts of autumnal pies, notably Pumpkin.

Toss apples with flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, nutmeg, salt, and sugar. At this point, my kitchen usually looks like a bomb went off in it, and I tidy up a bit while I let the apples sit and the flavors meld.

Pull your chilled shell out and lay the apples inside. Pile them slightly in the middle. Dot the top with the small butter bits. About halfway through this step, you will say to yourself “there are so many apples, how on earth will I fit them all into one pie shell?” And the answer is, just keep piling them on. Fit them in crevices, pile them on top of each other, keep shoving them in there. They’ll fit, I promise.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edge of the crust with the egg/cream mix. Place the second piece of dough on top and lightly press the edges together. Trim the top piece to about a 1 inch overhang and tuck the dough under. Crimp the edges how you prefer (I just did a simple edge here, but you can get very creative if you are so inclined.)

Brush the entire surface with the egg wash. Sprinkle all over with sanding (or granulated) sugar. Cut air vents for steam to escape (I used the cutouts seen above), and put in the freezer for about 30 minutes (or until firm).

As the pie freezes, preheat the oven to 400ºF (put the rack in the lower 3rd part of the oven)

Place pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until the crust begins to turn golden (about 20 minutes).

Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF, and continue baking (rotate the baking sheet halfway through) until the crust is a deep golden brown and juices are bubbling and thickened (approximately 40-45 minutes).

Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Best served the day of, but can be kept wrapped in plastic for up to 2 days.