by Midge
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A&M's Testing Notes:
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3 pounds
apples, preferably a combo of Cortland and Honey Crisp, peeled and roughly chopped
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1/3 cup
granulated sugar
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3 tablespoons
dark brown sugar
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4 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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2 tablespoons
cornstarch
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2 tablespoons
water
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2 1/2 cups
AP flour
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3 tablespoons
semolina flour
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1 teaspoon
salt
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12 tablespoons
cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
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2 tablespoons
cold lard
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1/2 cup
grated sharp yellow cheddar
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small glass
ice water
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1
egg, beaten for egg wash
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Toss apples and sugars together in large bowl. Set aside for an hour to allow apples to break down.
Ask the hotline about this step!Sift flours and salt together by hand or in bowl of food processor.
Ask the hotline about this step!Add butter, along with the lard and cheese, to flour mixture. Pulse food processor (or cut into flour quickly by hand) just until fat and flours turn into a pebbly mixture.
Ask the hotline about this step!Remove blade from processor and sprinkle about 6 tablespoons of ice water on pebbly mixture. Using your hands, gently combine until the dough starts to hold together. Add more water as needed.
Ask the hotline about this step!Cut dough in half and form into disks, one a bit bigger than the other. Wrap with wax paper and chill for about 30 minutes.
Ask the hotline about this step!Roll out larger disk of dough on floured surface. Gently fit into pie dish, crimping the edges. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 400.
Ask the hotline about this step!Poke dough in pie dish with fork to ventilate. Line with parchment or foil and add pie weights (or beans and/or rice). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes until pie shell starts to look dry-ish on the bottom. Cool.
Ask the hotline about this step!Meanwhile, onto the filling: Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over med-high heat. Swirl until the foam subsides and the butter turns a nut brown color. Watch closely - this can burn quickly. Toss with apples.
Ask the hotline about this step!Dissolve the cornstarch in the 2 tablespoons of water and toss into apple mixture.
Ask the hotline about this step!Roll out second disk of dough on floured surface to fit the top of your pie.
Ask the hotline about this step!Fill par-baked pie shell with apple mixture. Gently fit top over the filling, crimping the edges. With a sharp knife, cut slits or poke with fork to vent.
Ask the hotline about this step!Beat egg with one tablespoon of water. Brush egg wash on top of pie.
Ask the hotline about this step!Bake at 350 for about 50-60 minutes, until filling is bubbly.
Ask the hotline about this step!Midge that is one gorgeous pie! All these amazing pies submitted. Really fantastic!
Thanks so much. The pie contest really yielded a ton of great recipes.
Sounds like a good dinner to me. I think the next apple pie I make though will be yours!
Beautiful Pie!
Made this for our town library's pie sale, and received the ultimate compliment....librarian bought it the night before and didn't even put it in the sale!!! Happily I made a second one for us to have at home and it was truly delicious, especially for breakfast. Great recipe!
I love it! Thanks so much for your note. I'm thrilled you liked it. Love pie for breakfast.
Just getting around to perusing this recipe, and I can't wait to make it! I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I tend to not really love apple pie b/c of the spices in the filling—so this is perfect. Plus the cheddar crust...yes, please!
Thanks ThinChef. I'm totally with you on the spices, same reason I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie. Hope you try it. And congrats on your cauliflower win!
Congrats on being the runner-up, what an exciting few days this has been, shared with you and your delicious pie - which I definitely look forward to trying very soon; Honey Crisps are my fave and I believe from my state! My offer stands; look me up if you come back out to the PacNW, so that we can cook something up!
Hi Midge, FYI...I just made your pie it is delicious and was fun to make! Thanks for the recipe...
What an awesome pie! The brown butter move is inspired! As an - apparently - fellow JPite, I might just figure out where you live and come knocking at the door the next time I smell anything baking ;).
Thanks fiveandspice! Actually live in Rozi, but come on over anytime!
I made this on Sunday afternoon. Fantastic way to spend a lazy fall day - truly delicious results. I swapped Gala's for the Cortlands because Cortlands aren't available in my area yet. I don't think the pie suffered for this. When I spoke of it to my family they agreed it reminded them of my great grandmother, who I'm told used to say "Apple pie without cheese is like a hug with out a squeeze." :o) Many thanks for sharing this recipe.
What a great saying, and so true! I'm so happy you liked it. Love baking on Sunday afternoons too.
Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau’s Once Upon a Tart cookbook is definetely one of my favourite books.
Congratulations on being a finalist and on the twist on the recipe.
I love a wedge of cheddar with an apple, or an apple pie; can't wait to try it in a crust, which it seems would lend itself wonderfully to all sorts of other fillings! Got my vote!
I love the mix of browned butter,cheddar and apples in the fall. I have some fresh picked Cortlands that are all ready for some piemaking!
congratulations, Midge! I cannot wait to try you recipe this weekend.
This gets my vote! Both look good, but something about cheddar crust reminds me of my childhood.
This is a must try! Apple pie with browned butter is a fantastic idea. Congratulations on being a finalist :)
Congrads on a great recipe and a nomination!!! I will be making this after we go apple picking!
Thanks TiggyBee! Have saved your raspberry and pear pie to my recipes.
Congrats Midge!! Your pie looks wonderful. Love cheese in my pie crusts now, and this is a great combo with the apples!
Midge, What a SMALL WORLD this is!!! I was born, raised and graduated from high school in Port Townsend, and yes, it is such a beautiful area! Let me know if you ever come back this way...and we can make pies!!!!
I had a feeling this one would be a finalist! Looks delish! Congrats!
Congratulations on being a finalist!! I am looking forward to trying this - this sounds fantastic.
Congratulations Midge, I am honored to be a finalist with you...love your pie combo esp. browned butter; as I commented 10 days ago!
Likewise lapadia! I noticed you live in Gig Harbor. I lived in Port Townsend for a year, so beautiful out there!
I'm about 10 minutes from pulling this pie out of the oven and the house smells just heavenly!!!! I'm gonna eat a slice, even if the hour will be ridiculously late....
Congrats, Midge!! I'm going apple picking this weekend. Might have to try this mighty fine pie! What's a Honey Crisp similar to?
Thanks so much mrslarkin. Not sure what a honeycrisp is similar to; they are super crispy and great for eating. I was pleasantly surprised with how well they worked in the pie.
Wow, thanks! That was some seriously steep pie competition. I feel so honored!
Lovely pie!! And I'm on a brown butter kick this week. Kismet?
I love the butter and lard combo- I do that a lot when I make crust...
This looks spectacular. I just picked up a bunch of honeycrisp apples from my fav local apple farm and hope to make this over the weekend ;)
Thank you. Honeycrisps are my favorite, though golden delicious are right up there.
Congrats on being a finalist - your pie looks terrific!
Gorgeous, delicious sounding pie--congratulations on being a finalist!
Looking forward to making this for my husband, apple pie and cheddar is one of his favorite combinations.
Or I can make it for you when I visit you and MI baby in a couple weeks. Can't wait!
Thanks so much for the nice comments everyone. I see a lot of pie in my future with all these amazing recipes.
Mmmm...this sounds so so good, apples and cheddar are one of my favorite pairings. I agree with you, I can imagine eating pie for the rest of the year with all of these fabulous offerings (including this one!!).
I love browned butter and apples! Wonderful combination of flavors allowing the apples to remain the star. And I love cheese in a crust.
This looks fabulous!
Nice! Like your choice of ingredients to combine with these beautiful apples.
Like the silky texture lard gives to a crust, like nothing else. Looks like a great pie.
Midge, this looks and sounds glorious. Love cheddar with my slice o pie.
Marion is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU and the author of several books on food policy, including Safe Food and What To Eat.
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Cutting the ends off the apples makes them easier to peel.
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And a melon baller converts beautifully to an apple corer!
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Amanda starts on the dough, adding semolina flour to regular flour. We love food processor doughs.
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There are three delicious fats in here: butter, lard and cheddar cheese, all as cold as can be.
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When the mixture looked pebbly, we added the ice water, just a little bit at a time.
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The finished dough was smooth and beautifully, with little chunks of butter running through it. Once the dough is made, it needs to go in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
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We used a mix of Cortland and Honey Crisp apples -- both at their peak.
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A little brown sugar and white sugar, and then the apples sit and "juice" for an hour.
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Merrill used Amanda's technique to roll out the chilled dough for the bottom crust of the pie: put it between two sheets of floured plastic wrap. No sticking!
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A heart-stopping moment.
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Whew!
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After pressing the dough gently into the pie pan (we used a deep dish because of all the apples), you crimp it around the edges and put it back in the fridge for another half hour.
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Pricking it with a fork keeps the base from puffing up as you blind-bake the crust.
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And pie weights provide extra insurance.
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Blind baking ensures that you don't have an apple pie with a soggy bottom!
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Next, we made the brown butter, which gives the apples a nutty, rich flavor.
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A cornstarch a water "slurry" will help to thicken the juices as they bake without making them taste floury.
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Sticking out one's tongue is crucial when rolling dough.
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In Amanda's absence (she had a meeting), Kristen helps Merrill get all those apples into the pan!
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And she provides moral support during the trimming of the top crust.
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(Those are also Kristen's fingers on the right, helping Merrill crimp the top crust.)
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A few vents, so the crust doesn't steam from the inside.
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And a quick egg wash, and the pie goes back into the oven until it's brown and bubbly!
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Midge, I made this pie over the weekend and it is perfection. A perfect balance of savory and sweet and the pie crust... fabulous! Thank you for sharing!