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1
To make pie dough: In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Add butter and shortening, tossing gently until all pieces are coated with flour. With a pastry blender, cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, drizzling over flour mixture and tossing with a fork just until dough begins to hold together. Turn dough out onto a smooth surface and gather into a ball. Wrap in plastic; flatten into a disk. Refrigerate 1 hour.
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2
To make salted pecan crumble: In a food processor, combine flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon, and 1/3 cup pecans; process until pecans are ground. Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Transfer crumble to a medium bowl; add remaining 1/3 cup pecans and, using your hands, crumble and squeeze mixture to form larger clumps. Refrigerate until ready to use.
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3
On a lightly floured surface or between 2 sheets of waxed paper, roll out dough into an 1/8-inch-thick 12-inch round. Fold in half and ease gently into a 9-inch pie pan. Unfold dough, letting pastry overhang edge. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold under and flute or crimp edge. Refrigerate shell. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
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4
To make apple filling: In a large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, and nutmeg until blended. Add apples and zest; toss until apples are evenly coated. Remove pie shell from refrigerator and spoon apple filling into it, mounding filling in center of pie. Sprinkle crumble evenly over top of pie, gently pressing into place; place pie on a baking sheet.
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5
Bake 1 1/2 hours, or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Dust top of pie with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Serve with vanilla whipped cream.
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6
To make vanilla whipped cream: In a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, and the scraped seeds from 1/2 split vanilla bean until soft billowy peaks form.
