In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar.

Add the cold, cubed butter and cut into the flour using a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some pea-sized lumps of butter remaining in the flour and butter mixture.

Gradually add the ice water, about one tablespoon at a time, and mix until the dough just comes together.

*You can do this in a food processor, which is what my mother does. Instead of blending it, you just use the “pulse” button until the dough just begins to come together and forms a shaggy dough. Be careful not to overwork the dough at this stage, or it will become tough.

Divide the dough into two equal parts, and shape each piece of pie dough into a disk.

Wrap each pie dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour while you prepare the apple pie filling.

In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, corn starch, salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

Toss until the apples are well coated.

Let the apple pie filling mixture sit for about ten minutes to let the flavors meld together.

When you are ready to assemble the pie, preheat your oven to 425F.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one disk of the refrigerated dough to fit your pie dish with a slight overhang when draped over the edges.

*Keep your top crust piece of pie dough in the fridge while you roll out and work with the bottom crust.

Transfer the bottom pie crust to your pie dish.

Carefully adjust the pie dough to cover the bottom and sides of the pie dish, trying to avoid any air pockets.

Spoon the apple mixture you prepared earlier on top of the bottom pie crust, piling the apples up slightly higher in the center compared to the edges.

Dot the apple filling with the cubed butter.

Roll out the second disk of pie dough, and drape over the filling.

Trim the excess dough off the top pie crust, and crimp the edges of the bottom and top crust together to seal the pie.

Cut slits in the top crust with a knife, or poke holes in the top crust with a fork, in order to allow the steam to escape while baking.

Brush the top crust with the egg wash, then sprinkle with a bit of additional white granulated sugar.

Place the pie dish with the assembled pie on a sheet tray.

*The sheet tray is just there to catch any filling that might escape from the pie while baking.

Bake for 20 minutes at 425F, and then reduce the oven temperature down to 350F.

Continue to bake at 350F for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden-brown and the filling is hot and bubbly.

*If the edges of the pie are browning too quickly, you can cover them with a bit of aluminum foil.

Let the pie cool for at least an hour before slicing, to allow the filling to set.

Serve with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.