—I have made this with Macintosh apples and it was great, but any tart apple (Macoun, Cortland, etc.) will do.
—One medium to large apple will give you about a cup of sliced apples. I like them sliced pretty thin.
—I like to use larger (coarsely chopped) pieces of pecan in the pie, so you can really taste them, and smaller (finely chopped) pieces in the topping so they mix with the other ingredients. But the distinction isn’t that great.
—I spread the crumble topping with my hand, the easiest way to get it even.
—Since I like to fill my pies with lots of fruit, they sometimes spill over. To protect your oven, place an old baking sheet or some aluminum foil on the bottom rack of the oven.