Have you guys ever seen that show "Pushing Daisies"? It was this really awesome show on ABC about a pie maker who can bring people back from the dead for 1 minute, but if he doesn't re-kill them before the minute is over, then someone else dies instead. Unfortunately, it joined some of its fellow great shows (see: Arrested Development) in the tv afterlife. There was one episode in Pushing Daisies where a dead girl adds cheese to the crust of a pie for her aunts (who don't know she's out of her grave) because she knows they love cheese. Since seeing that episode (here comes my point), I wanted to make an apple pie with a cheddar crust. And make an apple pie with a cheddar crust I did (twice).
The recipe I used for this pie called for half of a pound of extra-sharp cheddar in the crust, but I felt like I was eating gold fish (as in the cracker, not the living creature) encrusted apple filling. Now, I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but I'm not saying it's a good thing either... So when my dear mother requested this to serve to my kindergarten teacher (turned family friend), I opted for regularly-sharp cheddar, no "extra"s to be found. The mellower cheese really helped the apples shine without being overpowering and out of place, and it didn't taste like a fancy version of a kid's after-school snack. Next Thanksgiving, I highly recommend adding cheese to your apple pie to take it up a couple levels. The First Thanksgiving feasters would approve.
Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust
For crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb sharp cheddar, grated
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
1 tablespoon milk
For filling:
2 medium Gala apples
3 large Granny Smith apples
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Make crust:
Stir together flour, salt, and cheese in a large bowl. Add butter and shortening and blend with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size lumps. Drizzle 6 tbsp ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful; If the dough doesn’t hold together, add more ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, stirring until incorporated. (Be careful not to over-stir the dough or it will become tough.) Turn dough out onto a work surface and divide in half, then form each half into a 5-inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
Make filling and bake pie:
Peel and core apples, then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Toss with sugar, flour, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg until evenly coated.
Put a foil-lined baking sheet in the middle of your oven and preheat to 450°F.
Roll out 1 piece of the dough (keep the remaining disk chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit into a 9-inch pie dish. Roll out the remaining piece of dough into an 11-inch round.
Transfer the filling to the pie dish and dot with the 2 tbsp butter, then cover with the top crust. Press edges together and trim off overhang. Lightly brush the top crust with milk, then cut 5 (1-inch-long) vents.
Bake on the hot baking sheet for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375°F and bake until crust is golden-brown and filling is bubbling, about 40 more minutes. Cool long enough to eat without scalding your taste buds, then serve.
As you can maybe tell from my picture, I decided to do a lattice top crust because I think it looks cool. If you concur, check out this excellent how-to, which has pictures showing how to make a lattice top (it's really, really easy, I promise!). I tried to find a video demonstration, but most of them were annoying right from the start or used rulers to measure the dough strips, which I absolutely will not stand for! No rulers in baking, that's my rule #2. (Rule #1 is don't stress, because I tend to do that and a flat cookie is just not the end of the world.) What was I talking about? Oh right, pie. Go make this pie just so you can eat it warm a la mode. And then go watch Pushing Daisies or Arrested Development or something.
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