Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Let me just preface this by saying I have never made a pie before, but we were having a fall-themed party and I thought I would give this delicious apple pie a go. The original recipe can be found here. I had most of these ingredients in my kitchen already, so I only had to buy apples, cheese, sugar, butter, and a lemon (~$12). Not bad! 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups packed grated extra sharp Cheddar (about 5 ounces)
• 4 tablespoons ice water, or more as needed

Apple Filling:

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (I used several different kinds for a varied flavor)
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon (Juice it first, then zest)
• Pinch fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 1 beaten egg, for brushing

Directions

For the crust: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cold butter and grated cheese. After mixed, add the ice water to the mixture. Roll it into a ball. Divide the ball into two halves and shape each half into a disk. Cover with Saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the filling: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar, making sure there are no lumps in the cornstarch. Mix in the apples slices, lemon juice and zest and pinch of salt. Toss to coat the apples completely in the mixture.

Here's the challenging part. The dough, when baked, will be flaky and delicious, but unfortunately, the dough itself is quite temperamental. It is unlike bread dough and is not stretchy, so rolling it successfully is a task. I would recommend rolling it on a floured surface like a large cutting board. I didn't have a big enough cutting board so I used a plate. If you don't have a rolling pin, look for something else in the kitchen that can be used as a substitute (i.e., a double shot glass like me). Roll one of the disks out into about a 13in round disk and VERY CAREFULLY place in the 9in pie pan (I ended up putting the pie pan on top of my plate and flipping it over to get it in there right).

Pour the filling into the pan and throw in the diced butter on top.

For the top crust, roll out the second dough disk on the same lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round, slightly smaller than the bottom crust. Carefully place the dough over the mound of apples. Press the overhang of the bottom and top dough pieces together to seal. Cut the excess dough to 1/2 inch and fold under. Crimp the dough under and pinch together. Cut 3 (2-inch) slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape.  Brush with the beaten egg and bake.

Bake the pie until golden brown, about 30 minutes. If the edge of the crust browns too quickly, place an edge guard or craft your own out of aluminum foil and place on the pie edge. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake the pie until the apple filling starts to bubble up in the center and has thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and cool the pie on a rack for 1 hour.

I hope you love this pie as much as me. I love the how subtly the cheese complements the sweet and tart of the apples. (My personal apple mix was one of each: Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Gala, Red Delicious, and Fuji). Enjoy!