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apple pie with a cheddar crust

My contribution to this year's Thanksgiving celebration was an apple pie. Instead of reaching for the store-bought crust as I usually do (confession!), I decided to make this cheesy pie crust from scratch. If no one has ever told you this before, making a pie crust from scratch is a lot of work! Geh. It's all fairly straightforward, but a lot more time-intensive than, say, unrolling a pre-made crust into your pie plate. I followed this recipe and used these tips for guidance.

Apple Pie with a Cheddar Crust
(adapted from here & here)

For crust:
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour, plus more for rolling
1 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (make sure it's cold, I stuck mine in the freezer for a few hours first)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp chedda
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

For filling:

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 pounds Granny Smith apples
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Make the crust (from scratch!) In a food processor, briefly pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter and cheddar; pulse until mixture is coarse, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, add up to 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Don't overmix. Actually, I think I may have overmixed but it turned out ok.
Divide dough in two and shape each into a 1-inch thick disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
Once dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll each disk of dough to a 14-inch round with a floured rolling pin. Transfer one round to a baking sheet for top crust and put back in the refrigerator. Transfer the second crust to a greased 9-inch pie plate. Brush the bottom crust with egg white to avoid it getting soggy. (Tip: Save the egg yolk and remaining egg white for step 5.)
Make the filling! Place lemon juice in a large bowl. Peel, quarter, and core apples and thinly slice crosswise, tossing with lemon juice as you work. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt to bowl and toss to combine.
Fill bottom crust with apple mixture and lightly brush edge of crust with water. Place top crust over filling and press all around the edge to seal. Using kitchen shears, trim to a 1-inch overhang and fold the crust under itself to form a rim. Brush the top of the pie with a beaten whole egg.
With a paring knife, cut a few small slits in the center of pie and place pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees and then reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 45 minutes more, or until crust is golden brown. If the edge browns too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Let cool completely on a wire rack, at least 4 hours (or up to overnight) before serving.

(Cross-posted at http://unspeakablevisions.blogspot.com/2010/11/apple-pie-with-chedd....)

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Comment by Geraldine McIntosh on November 15, 2011 at 3:56pm: Beautiful pie! I'm ashamed to say that I've never had apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese, but I've heard so many great things it must be good. Your crust turned out great! I made an apple pie for the first time this year. Nothing beats homemade apple pie (or any homemade pie for that matter) with a homemade crust. It takes a little longer but is definitely worth it.

Comment by pelenaka on December 2, 2010 at 9:53pm: I am always surprised at how many people have never tried apple pie with a slice of cheddar cheese. It is a great combination. Will really enjoy this recipe, thank you for posting.

Comment by Cara Rosaen on December 1, 2010 at 2:45pm: This recipe helped Real Time Farms team - get a record breaking win at Ann Arbor MI's SELMA's breakfast salon this Spring - the crust was absolutely fabulous...and the whole recipe was so easy! We did it without the pie pan, as a galette.

http://www.repastspresentandfuture.org/real-time-farms182record-sma...