I still think about an apple pie I ate three years ago. It was a windy day in November, and my friends and I were celebrating Friendsgiving. It was cold outside — the kind of cold that makes you want nothing more than to be inside a cozy apartment eating a warm slice of pie. A good apple pie is like a comforting hug. To me, it’s much more than just the quintessential fall dessert, but something to be enjoyed with company. If you’re planning on bringing an apple pie to your Friendsgiving potluck this year, here are some tips to make it great.

Keep your ingredients cold

Pastries don’t do well in warm environments. A great pie crust is flaky and crisp. To get that texture, you need to have pockets of cold butter dotted throughout your dough. As you bake your pie, the butter will melt, leaving a perfect, flaky consistency. Try sticking the butter in the freezer for half an hour before you start baking and use a cheese grater to get little bits of cold butter to mix into the dough. As you mix, try to work as quickly as possible in order for the ingredients to remain cold.

Use vodka

Pie dough consists of three main components: flour, fat and liquid. If you struggle with your pie crust always turning out too soggy or dense, try substituting the liquid in your dough with vodka. Vodka is about 60% water and 40% ethanol, meaning that only 60% of it is actually aiding the crust’s gluten development. By using vodka instead of water, you have the freedom to add more liquid to your dough without making the consistency tough. As the pie bakes, most of the ethanol will evaporate, leaving a tender crust.

Choose the right apples and pre-cook the filling

For a good pie, you want to go with a firm and tart apple, since you don’t want to end up with a mushy filling. Granny Smith apples are my favorite to bake with — their bright flavor balances out the sweetness of the sugar. Pre-cooking the filling for a few minutes in a saucepan before cooling it and adding it into the pie dough will help the flavors develop and deepen. 

Use a baking stone

A trick I use to ensure the bottom of the crust gets as crispy as the top is to flip a baking sheet upside down and place it in the oven before preheating. The sheet acts as a baking stone, helping to distribute heat directly to the bottom of the dish and create a beautiful golden crust. It will also help catch any overflow from the filling and prevent your pie from burning at the bottom of the oven!

Cover the crust

Keep a close eye on your pie in the oven. As soon as you see the top start to brown, cover it entirely with a sheet of tinfoil to prevent burning. The edges of the pie will cook more quickly than the filling since they are thin and more exposed to the heat. The last thing you want is an undercooked filing and an overcooked crust. By using the foil as a shield, you can control the level of browning on your pie.

Rest the pie

Sometimes when I follow a recipe, I take the resting time as more of a suggestion than a requirement. But with pies, the resting time can make or break the consistency. You want to leave the pie to cool completely before serving so that the filling has time to set and doesn’t become a soupy mess. Make sure to allot time for this — it can sometimes take as long as four hours!

Apple pie recipe

Ingredients:

For pie crust:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), chilled
• ½ cup ice water (or vodka), plus more if needed

For apple filling:

• 10 cups apple slices (about 8 apples)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Instructions:

Prepare the pie dough:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Grate in the chilled butter. With a fork or pastry cutter, cut into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal. The butter should not be fully mixed in; there should still be small pieces throughout. 
2. Slowly add the cold water over the mixture one spoonful at a time just until the dough begins to form a ball and sticks together. 
3. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a disc shape. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours before rolling.
4. On a floured surface, roll out one of the pie dough halves until you have a circle about a foot in diameter. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie dish. Place the shell in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Make the filling:

1. In a large bowl, combine the apple slices, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. 
2. Add the filling into a large saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat. Stir gently for 3-5 minutes until the apples begin to soften. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Assemble the pie:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a flipped baking tray on the middle rack.
2. Add the filling into the pie crust shell, packing it in as tightly as possible.
3. Remove the other pie dough disk from the refrigerator and roll it out into a circle until it is about a foot in diameter. Cut strips of dough about an inch wide. Weave the strips of dough over the pie to create a lattice pattern. Cut the excess pie dough around the dish and fold the remaining overhang over the center of the pie, pinching the edges to seal the top and bottom crusts together. If desired, flute or crimp the edges.
4. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Bake the pie for 25 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Add a pie crust tinfoil shield to prevent the edges from burning. Bake for another 40-50 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. 
6. Remove the pie from the oven and cool for at least three hours before serving.