Tried and True: Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie

I had quite the baking doozy over the holidays. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and make Anne Thornton’s Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie from scratch. Not many people know this but my favorite way to eat apples is with a bit of sharp cheddar – the flavors just work SO well together.

So, I took my spiffy new Emile Henry Artisan Ruffled Pie Dish out of it’s safe nook in the cupboard, prepped my ingredients, broke out my lovely marble pastry board and rolling pin and decided that even I could master the impossible – a flaky pie crust. Well – after following the instructions to a “T”, I realized that I need to start baking in training wheels because I messed that crust up to within an inch of its flour dusted life. I couldn’t understand where the hell I went wrong until one of my dear friends Bec – who is a baking goddess – asked me “Did you put too much flour on the board? You know flour dries out dough, right?” I think I used every colorful word in my vocabulary when I realized my oops.

Well, I hope the baking powers that be don’t kick my proverbial stiletto-wearing behind because I did the unthinkable and used the premade pie crusts as I didn’t have the luxury to start all over again. I was on a tight deadline and had to transport that pie up to my mother’s house for the holidays. Well, can I say this pie ROCKED – even with my stupid oops – and I have to attempt this again, but I promise to watch the flour dusting. Oh – and to watch my mouth next time I make such a stupid mistake as over dusting that pastry board. Clearly, I have much to learn about baking.

Anne Thornton's Cheddar Cheese Apple Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust:

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 sticks of cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons of ice water (more if needed)

Note: Or if you screw up with me, two store bought pie crusts with the cheddar cheese (I used Pillsbury)

For the Filling:

1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
6 Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/'2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
pinch of fine sea salt
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, chilled and diced
Tablespoon of turbinado sugar for dusting

Directions

For the Crust:

In the food processor, mix the flour, sugar, sea salt and pulse for 5 seconds.
Add the chilled butter and pulse until the dough looks like fine meal.
Add the cheddar cheese and pulse for 5 seconds.
Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl and add the ice water slowly, fluffing with a fork until moist clumps form. If the dough becomes too dry, add ice water, one tablespoon at a time.
Form the dough into a ball and divide in half.
Flatten each half into a disk, wrap with cling wrap and place in fridge for at least an hour.

For the Filling:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix the cornstarch and the sugar in a large bowl, making sure that there are no lumps in the cornstarch.
Add the apples, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt.

Assembly:

On a large LIGHTLY floured workspace, roll out one of the disks to a 13-inch round. (Key term – lightly).
Transfer the dough to a 9-inch deep pie plate and brush the dough hanging over the edge with water.
Pour the filling into the dough-lined dish and dot it with the 2 tablespoons of butter.
On the same LIGHTLY floured surface, roll out the second disk into a 12-inch round. (Really can't stress the lightly enough).
Place the dough on top of the filling and press the dough overhang from the bottom and top pieces to seal.
Cut the overhang to 1/2 an inch.
Fold the overhang over and crimp decoratively.
Cut a small decorative "X" in the center and fold corners back to allow the steam to escape.
Lightly brush the top of the pie with ice water and dust lightly with the turbinado sugar.
Bake until the pie is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Cover the crust edge with foil and turn the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Bake the pie until the filling bubbles thickly in the center, about 30 minutes.
Cool pie on rack for an hour.