With Veteran’s Day on Wednesday, celebrate those who served our nation with something very American — apple pie. Using both sweet and tart apples in the pie filling creates a perfect balance between sweet and tart. I used Fuji and Granny Smith apples and couldn’t imagine a tastier filling. I also added a couple handfuls of fresh cranberries to the filling, which added a pop of color and tartness.

Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-sized) lumps of butter. Drizzle 4 tablespoons ice water evening over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.

Turn dough out onto a work surface. Divide dough into 8 portions. With the heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one. Divide dough in half, form each half into a ball, and then flatten each into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour.

Make the Pie Filling

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 10 wedges
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Basic Pastry Dough for a double-crust pie
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash

Put a large baking sheet on middle oven rack and preheat oven to 425*F.

Whisk together flour, zest, cinnamon, allspice, salt and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl. Gently toss with apples and lemon juice.

Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Refrigerate shell while you roll out dough for top crust.

Roll out remaining piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round.

Spoon filling into shell. Cover pie with pastry round and trim with kitchen shears, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together, then crimp decoratively. Lightly brush top of pie with egg and sprinkle all over with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. With a small sharp knife, cut 3 steam vents in top crust.

Bake pie on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375*F and continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more. Cool pie on a rack to warm or room temperature, 2 to 3 hours.

Recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook.