My first attempt at pie crust came out quite light, halfway between crumbly and flaky with an oiliness that put me off slightly. Recipe tips from Cook's Illustrated: The New Best Recipe, lead me to believe that I over heated my fats (working by hand here) and underworked my dough a bit, causing the pie to shrink back from the pan. The applesauce filling was cannibalized from various web sources.

3 tbsp butter
3/4 cup granulated or brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce 
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
2 eggs

2 tbsp all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon salt

I will likely reduce the sugar slightly and add more flour, maybe 1/4 cup, and an extra egg next time. Subjectively, the heavy spice was ok with me, though some of the apple flavor gets lost. Alternatively, some recipes use flour, up to a cup, with leavening: 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda. Others call for milk, evaporated milk, or sour cream - like a custard. With the addition of lemon zest and juice, this turns out to be an Apple Chess Pie. A very, very sweet type of southern dessert, this type of pie can sometimes include a tbsp of vinegar to rectify the sugar overload. I'm guessing the consistency should be somewhere between a pecan and pumpkin pie, though the Food Timeline says "chess" may also refer to the texture of Cheese.