Mix vanilla wafer crumbs, butter, sugar, and salt until combined. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate about 15 minutes, or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes, or until crust is golden. Let cool slightly.

Using a food processor, grind cookies to a fine powder. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sugar. Pour the butter over the mixture and mix until well combined.

Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Put the crust in the refrigerator.

Place butter and sugar in a food processor. Pulse about 15 times until sugar disappears. Add flour and salt and pulse again about 15 times until butter is no larger than small peas.

Stir together egg yolk and cream. Add to the food processor and pulse about 8 times, just until incorporated. The dough should be in crumbly pieces. Transfer dough to a platic bag and press from the outside just until it holds together.

Transfer dough to a large piece of plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, knead the dough a few times until it becomes one smooth piece. Flatten into a 6-inch disc. Wrap well and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes until firm enough to put into the tart pan.

Roll dough between lightly floured sheets of plastic wrap into an 1/8-inch-thick circle. Work quickly so that dough does not soften. If it becomes too soft, place it (in the plastic wrap) on a baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze until firm.

Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. For a 9 & 1/2- by 1-inch tart pan, cut dough to an 11-inch circle. Lift the dough using the plastic wrap. Invert the dough and drape it evenly into the tart pan. Remove plastic wrap and press dough into the sides of the pan. The dough should come about 1/8 inch above the rim of the pan because it will fall during baking.

Bake at 425° for 5 minutes. When the dough starts to puff, prick it lightly with a fork. Then bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes.

Baked crust will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and cream to make an egg wash. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Arrange apples in pie shell. Dot with butter.

Brush the rim of the pie shell with egg wash. Cut out rolled-out pie crust into desired shapes. Arrange cut-outs on top of apples to cover well but with some spaces for venting. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Freeze about 30 minutes or until firm.

Preheat oven to 400°, with the rack positioned in the lower third of the oven. Place pie on a lined baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes, until crust begins to turn golden.

Reduce oven to 350°. Bake about 40 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Crust should be a deep golden brown and the juices should be bubbling and have thickened. Cool on a wire rack.

Thoroughly mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and place into refrigerator. Soften 1/2 stick of butter to room temperature. Chop the remaining 1 1/2 sticks of butter and return to the refrigerator.

In a food processor, mix the dry ingredients with the 1/2 stick of softened butter until the butter is completely integrated (no more lumps visible). Remove the chopped butter from the refrigerator and add half to the food processor. Pulse the food processor ten times for about one second each time. The goal is to chop the first half of the butter into pea-sized chunks. Add the other half of the butter and pulse about four times to achieve larger chunks of butter.

Mix apple juice concentrate and cold water in a spray bottle. Spray the surface of the dough in the food processor bowl until there is a sheen of moisture, then fold the dough with a rubber spatula. Repeat this procedure until about 3 Tbsp of the liquid has been added. The dough mixture should be dry to the touch, but stay together when squeezed. If the dough does not hold together, continue adding moisture in the manner above. Remove the dough from the processor bowl and form into a ball. Rest the dough in the refrigerator wrapped in wax or parchment paper for at least 20 minutes.

This recipe makes enough dough for two bottom-only crusts or one full top and bottom pie crust. To prepare, divide the dough in half and roll out to a 1/4″ disk on a floured surface.