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Brown Butter Apple Pie

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Ingredients
  

For the Double Crust Pie Dough:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp. coarse salt
  • 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tbsp. ice water, plus more if needed
  • 1 tbsp. distilled white vinegar 

For the Pie Filling:

  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter
  • 6 -7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light-brown sugar, packed
  • 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • Water, for brushing
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions
 

To prepare the pie dough:

  • Place flour and salt in a food processor.
  • Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some blueberry-size clumps.
  • Beat together egg, ice water, and vinegar in a small bowl.
  • Add to flour mixture and pulse just until incorporated, about 10 times more.
  • Squeeze a small amount of dough to make sure it holds together.
  • If dough is too dry, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
  • Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, forming each into 1 disk.
  • Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

To prepare the pie:

  • In a small saucepan, melt butter, over medium-low heat, and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until butter is golden brown and fragrant, about 8 minutes; let cool.
  • Toss together apples and lemon juice in a large bowl.
  • Combine flour, salt, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla-bean seeds in another bowl, breaking up clumps and combining with a fork or fingers.
  • Add browned butter to apples.
  • Stir in flour mixture.
  • Rollout 1 disk of dough to just under ¼-inch thick on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch glass pie plate.
  • Rollout remaining disk of dough to a 13-inch round.
  • Rolled-out dough can be refrigerated up to 8 hours.
  • Be sure to let the 13-inch round sit at room temperature until pliable before topping pie, or it will break.
  • Place apples in pie shell, brush edges with water, and cover pie with top crust.
  • Trim excess, leaving a 1-inch overhang.
  • Fold top edge over bottom crust to seal, and crimp as desired.
  • Cut steam vents in top crust.
  • Freeze pie 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile ,pre-heat oven to 425°F with rack in lowest position.
  • Brush pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
  • Place a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on floor of oven to catch any drips.
  • Bake pie on lowest rack 15 minutes.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake until well browned, about 1 hour.
  • Tent pie with foil and continue to bake until bubbling through vents, about 20 minutes more.
  • Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack, at least 6 hours.
  • Pie can be made 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature.

Notes

Dough can be frozen up to 1 month.