Cheddar Apple Pie

Vermont Apple Pie

from Pie it Forward

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Quick puff pastry*
• 10 tart apples
• 1/2 cup Vermont maple sugar, or brown sugar
• 4 tbs all purpose flour
• 1/2 teas salt
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tbs water for eggwash

Preparation:

Cut the dough in half, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap the smaller section in plastic wrap and return to fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to an 11″ round. Carefully transfer to a 9″ pie plate and press into the plate. Don’t trim the over hang. Refrigerate 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the maple sugar, flour, and salt.

Meanwhile, core the apples and dice them into 1/2″ cubes. Toss in the bowl with the sugar mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or your hands to coat. Pour the apples into the prepared pie shell. Pile the extras in the center.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll the second piece of dough into a 10 or 11″ round. Remember, you have to cover the top with the pile of apples and pinch.

Cover the top of the pie and crimp as desired. Slice a hole to vent in the center.

Brush the dough with the eggwash and place pie on a baking sheet.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Quick Puff Pastry

At the beginning of the quick puff pastry, there is a note stating that the recipe can be substituted for an all butter or part butter pie dough. I am very glad I didn’t just jump on they excuse to make an easier dough. Tackling this one was worth it.

Also, I halved this from the original recipe knowing I didn’t need a ton of extra puff pastry at the moment.

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1/ teas salt
• 1 lbs butter, chilled
• 2/3 cup water

Preparation:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Dice the butter into small cubes and toss into the flour. Pour flour mixture into the bowl of your food processor and pulse 10 times. Pour back into bowl.

Add the water and swirl around the bowl. Using your hands, mix the water into the flour mixture and knead until dough just comes together. Turn out onto a large clean work surface that has been dusted with flour. At this point, the dough is not pretty. It is a clumpy mess that isn’t sticking together. Form into a rectangle and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap and sprinkle dough and rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 12×20″. Don’t worry about making the edges pretty, there’s still a bit of rolling to do. Starting with one short side, fold like you would a paper going into an envelope, towards the center (see image below). Fold the other side over it. Turn 90 degrees and roll out again. Fold and repeat steps two more times.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest in fridge for at least 20 minutes before using.