Reduced fruit juice makes a wonderful caramel-like sauce. The process is very similar to making traditional caramel, though a great deal of water must evaporate in order for the juice to reduce to mostly sugar. You may be tempted to make the cider caramel ahead of time, and you can, with one caveat. Because apples are so high in pectin, the caramel will firm up—whether left at room temperature or chilled—and make a sort of clumpy sauce resembling jelly. To use it, rewarm it in the microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring occasionally, just until fluid. It shouldn't be hot when you add it to the apples, but a bit warm is OK. The pie can be baked up to 1 day ahead (any longer, and the crisp texture of the crust suffers because it absorbs too much moisture from the filling) and stored, loosely covered, at room temperature. The tightly wrapped disk(s) of dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Wrapped in plastic and then in aluminum foil, the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Manipulated properly, four simple ingredients—flour, fat, salt, and water—make a dough that's crisp and tender. The key takeaways: Keep everything cold; don't be afraid to leave the butter in large pieces; and don't overmix. And, come baking time, don't be afraid of the high temperature, which turns this dough into all it can be through the magic of moisture evaporation and steam! I prefer mixing my dough by hand, but it can be made in the food processor. Start by cutting the butter into 3/4-inch cubes instead of 1/2 inch. Toss the butter in the flour to coat before adding both to the food processor, then pulse in 3-second bursts until the pieces of butter are the desired size, depending on whether you want a flaky (walnut size) or mealy (pea size) crust. I find 10 to 15 pulses usually do the trick. Even when using the food processor, it's best to add the water by hand to prevent overmixing.