Winter Apple and Dried-Fruit Pie

Ingredients

• One recipe Easy Pie Dough, one half shaped and chilled in a pie plate, the other rolled out flat and chilled on a floured sheet pan
• 8 medium Golden Delicious, Braeburn, or other baking apples peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 10 ounces dried fruits
• 1 tablespoon zest from one lemon
• 6 ounces granulated sugar
• 1/2 ounce cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch grated nutmeg
• 1 whole egg, lightly beaten
• Sanding sugar for top, optional

Directions

1. Set a rack in the lower part of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the sliced apples in a large bowl or pot, then pour boiling water over them. Cover and leave them at room temperature for 10 minutes. Drain the apples thoroughly and move them to a large bowl. Let them cool for 20 minutes, tossing them from time to time. Transfer them to a large bowl and mix in the dried fruit. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, starch, and spices together, then add that mixture to the apples. Toss until everything is evenly coated.
2. Spoon the filling into the chilled pie shell. Add the top crust by either slicing the chilled dough into strips and weaving a lattice, or by laying the full crust over the pie. Crimp the edges, then refrigerate the pie for 15 – 20 minutes.
3. When the pie is ready for the oven, brush the top with the beaten egg and scatter sanding sugar over it. If you used a full top crust, make slits in the dough. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and continue baking: about 40 minutes for a pie with a full top crust, or about 50 minutes for a lattice, rotating the pie halfway through. Look for a golden brown crust and bubbling filling. If any areas of crust are browning too quickly, shield those spots with small pieces of foil. Cool the pie completely before cutting. This pie can be made in advance, though it is at its best on the day it is baked.