Thanks, PJ, your timing is perfect. I've spent my summer with high-summer, luscious fruit pies and I'm ready to take on Apple. Two tips I'll pass along. First, mix cake flour with the AP for a more tender crust. I use 2/3 AP and 1/3 cake. Second, if you can find it, use leaf lard instead of vegetable shortening. It's expensive and hard to find, but it makes the flakiest crust ever. Here's what you end up with after eating the last bite of pie: a plate scattered with tiny flakes of crust, the ones you pick up by licking the end of your index finger and pressing on them. They melt on your tongue like snowflakes. D

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