The big difference between a pandowdy and traditional apple pie is that it uses only a top crust. Use any style crust that you like though I think an all-butter flaky crust works best.
You slice up your apples in the traditional way but the pie is topped with the rolled out dough cut into squares put over the apples in a triangle pattern so it looks sort of haphazard. But it’s anything but. Make sure there is a bit of space between the pie squares so as to allow the juices to bubble up freely over the crust. In some versions of pandowdy you gently push down the pastry into the filling halfway through the baking time so that the juices come about one-quarter of the way over the pastry. Sometimes I do this and other times I just leave it as it is, pushing the pastry dough just a touch when you pull the pie out of the oven. Experiment and see which way you like since I think you’ll make this over and over again.
