Recipe by Jill Van Cleave
Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients
For the crust
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold rendered leaf lard, cut into pieces
1/3 cup ice water

For the filling
6 medium-sized apples, peeled, cored, 1/4-inch slices *
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
Zest of 1 small lemon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces

*use at least four apple varieties

Method
Make the crust
Whisk flour and salt together in bowl. Cut in butter and lard with pastry blender until evenly crumbly. Add just enough ice water to form dough. Push dough into a flattened disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.

Make the filling
Combine sliced apples with sugars, lemon zest, ginger and nutmeg. Add flour and stir well. (Use 3 tablespoons flour for slightly thicker filling.)

Assemble and bake
Heat oven to 400°F. Roll out two-thirds of the dough on lightly floured surface and fit into 9 x 1 1/2-inch deep pie plate (glass preferred). Fill with apple mixture. Arrange butter pieces atop apples. Roll out remaining dough for top crust and fit over apples. Trim excess dough; roll and crimp edges to seal. Brush top lightly with milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse or granulated sugar. Cut slits in dough to release steam during baking. Set pan on baking sheet and place on lowest rack in oven. Bake 55 to 60 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Cool pie on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.