Preheat and Thaw. Preheat oven to 425°F/218°C. Remove frozen pie crust from freezer and thaw.
1 Frozen 9” Pie Crust
Make the Apple Filling. Peel, core, and cut apples. In a large bowl mix together apples (and optional blackberries), sugar, instant tapioca, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Let the filling stand for 15 minutes to allow the juices to thicken. While the filling stands to thicken, make the cookie crust.
8 Cups Apples, Peeled, Sliced, and Chopped, 1 Cup Blackberries, ½ Cup Sugar, ¼ Cup Instant Tapioca, 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon, 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Make Cookie Crust. Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla, and milk and beat well. Sift together flour and salt and add to the creamed mixture. Stir just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. Set dough aside.
½ Cup Butter, ¾ Cup Sugar, 1 Egg, 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 Tablespoons Milk or Cream, 2 ½ Cups Flour, 1 Teaspoon Salt
Make Pastry Wash. In a small bowl whisk together or beat with a fork, the egg and cream to make the pastry wash.
1 Large Egg, 2 Tablespoons Milk or Cream
Assemble the Pie. Place the defrosted pie shell on a baking sheet.
Add Filling. Spoon the apple filling into bottom crust pressing well into the pan. Mound apples in the center and taper to the sides of the pan.
Cut Cookie Crust. Roll out sweet cookie crust ¼ inch thick and cut with a decorative cutter. (My favorite is a 2-inch scalloped round biscuit/cookie cutter)
Add Top Crust. Starting at the pie’s edge, arrange cookies on top of apples decoratively. Scraps can be rerolled and cut as needed.
Add Pastry Wash and Sugar. Brush cookie crust with pastry wash and sprinkle generously with decorative white sugar.
¼ Cup White Sparkling Decorative Sugar
Bake. Cover the pie completely with a tent of aluminum foil and bake the pie for 55 minutes. Remove the aluminum tent and continue to bake for an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove the pie from the oven and cool it on a wire rack.