maeve I suspect what makes them impressive (to me) is probably your choice of apple, here in the UK they frequently use Bramleys!! (YeChhhh) which are fine for apple sauce , but in a pie the go sludgy and mushy and are sort of fluid slop fillings and are too sweet also. Last time I made apple pie I used a mixture Coxs orange pippins and Granny Smiths (at the green tart stage)it was closer to the kind of firmness of filling and tartness of taste that I crave in apple pie more like the German Apfelkuchen with firm chunks of apple.