All-Amurrican Apple Pie
Aside from football, keg parties, and seeing a woman fall off a Razor scooter last week on Fifth Avenue, there is nothing more American than apple pie. And because we all venture into the burbs’ apple orchards every fall to collect social media content and bushels of apples that we have absolutely no idea what to do with, here’s an all-Amurrican classic, piled high with your kindergarten teacher’s fruit of choice. Don’t skimp on the cinnamon, though. We could all use some extra spice in our lives. Just ask Sue Johanson (who’s actually Canadian, but I digress).
Ingredients
FOR THE WHITE CHEDDAR PIE DOUGH
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
- 6 tablespoons ice water
- 4 ounces extra-sharp white cheddar cheese grated (1 cup)
FOR THE APPLE FILLING
- 2 pounds Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
- 2 pounds Golden Delicious apples peeled, cored, and sliced ¼ inch thick
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed and chilled
- 1 egg white lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon white sanding sugar for sprinkling
- Vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- First make the white cheddar pie dough: In a food processor, combine the flour and salt and give it a quick pulse.
- Add the butter and pulse until the butter reaches pea-size pieces.
- Slowly add the water while pulsing.
- Add the cheese and pulse to combine.
- Divide the dough in half, form each half into a disk, and wrap with plastic wrap.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, make the apple filling: In a large bowl, combine the apples, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt.
- Mix to combine and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the cornstarch.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Grease a 9-inch pie dish with nonstick spray.
- Roll out one dough disk on a lightly floured surface to an approximately 12-inch circle and transfer the dough to the prepared pie dish, allowing the excess to hang over the sides.
- Add the filling, discarding any excess juices in the bowl.
- Dot with the butter cubes.
- Roll out the remaining disk of dough to a 12-inch round.
- Cut ten 1-inch-wide strips.
- To make a lattice top, lay strips of dough over the pie, leaving 1-inch gaps between each strip.
- Fold over alternating strips and place a new strip perpendicular to the ones on the pie.
- Unfold the strips and repeat, alternating the strips you fold back, until you have covered the pie and finished the lattice.
- Trim the excess dough from the ends of the strips hanging off the side of the pie and fold the ends of the strips under the bottom crust all around the pie.
- Crimp the crust.
- Brush the dough with the egg white and sprinkle with the sanding sugar.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake for another 45 minutes, tenting the pie with foil partway through if the crust is browning too quickly.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 3 hours before slicing.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
White cheddar in the crust might sound strange to you, but the combination of cheddar cheese and apple gives this pie an unexpected pop. Even noncrust lovers will scarf this down!
Leftover pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Leftover pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.