Brown Butter Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Bubbling apple pie topped with a lattice crust in a small pie plate.

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Brown Butter Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust

Apples sautéed in browned butter and raisins, and tucked into a cheddar cheese crust for the best apple pie you've ever had.

Prep Time50

Cook Time50

Refrigerator chill time30

Total Time2 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple pie with cheddar crust, homemade apple pie

Servings:

Calories: 627kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Equipment

Kitchen scale
Food Processor
box grater
Wax paper
rolling pin
9-inch pie plate
Pizza Cutter
Chef's knife
Small skillet
Cooling rack

Ingredients

Cheddar Pie Crust

10 ounces all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
2 ounces cheddar cheese grated
8 ounces unsalted butter cold
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 - 3 tablespoons ice water or enough that the dough holds together when you pinch it
2 tablespoons whole milk optional
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar optional

Brown Butter and Apple Filling

8 apples, peeled, cored and slices Fuji and Honeycrisp apples work great
½ cup agave nectar or ⅔ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch salt
½ cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons rum
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ounce cheddar cheese grated (optional)

Instructions

Cheddar Pie Crust

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, pepper and cheddar cheese together the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Pulse a few times to evenly disperse everything through the flour.
Slice the butter into thin slabs and add all at once to the food processor bowl. Pulse until the consistency is about the size of peas (about 10-12 pulses). A great way to check the consistency is by scooping up some of it with a fork.
Add the cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of ice water and pulse 8 - 10 times, until the dough just starts to hold together when you pinch it between your fingers.
If the dough doesn't hold together, add additional ice water in small amounts. Pour the contents of the food processor bowl out onto the counter or other work space and knead the dough until it starts to hold together and forms into a ball.
Divide the dough into double the number of pies / tarts you plan to make. So if you plan to make one big pie, divide the dough in two and form into discs.
One disc should be larger than the other as you will need more dough for the pie bottom and sides than for the lattice.
Wrap the discs in wax paper and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you make the pie filling.
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Roll out the discs: there are a few ways to do this, but here's the easiest one I've ever found.
Place a fresh sheet of wax paper on your work space. Place one of the discs on it and roll it out a few times. Cover it with another fresh sheet of wax paper and roll the dough to the desired thickness.
After every few rolls, you may want to peel off one or both pieces of wax paper. Lay the wax paper back down on the dough and continue rolling.
This method of rolling the dough between wax paper makes rolling quick work! And the less work you put on the dough, the more tender it will be in the end.
For details and photos on this process, check out my post on making a buttery flaky crust.
Once the dough is ⅛" thickness thick, peel off the wax paper from one side, flip the dough over the pie plate and gently peel off the wax paper on the other side.
Tuck the dough down into the pie plate, taking care not to stretch it. Allow the dough to drape over the pie plate and cut off the excess with scissors or a knife.
Shape the edges into flutes and pop the pie plate and dough into the freezer for 15 minutes while you make the lattice top.
Freezing pie crust before baking helps to keep the fluted shape.
Now roll out the smaller disc of dough into a rectangle using the same wax paper process explained above. With a pizza slicer or a knife, slice into strips to be used for the lattice tops.
Fill the pie with the Brown Butter and Apple Filling (recipe below) and lay down the strips, pressing the strip ends into the dough forming the bottoms and sides.
Optional: Lightly baste the dough with whole milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar over the top of the entire pie. Basting the dough promotes a browning of the crust while it bakes.
Bake for 50 minutes, or until the apple slices soften and the filling is bubbling.
Check the browning of the pie crust after 25 minutes to determine if you need to cover it with foil for the balance of the baking.
Allow to cool on a cooling rack.

Brown Butter and Apple Filling

Combine the apples, agave nectar, brown sugar, salt and lemon juice together in a large bowl and macerate for 30 minutes, or long enough that the apple slices begin to soften. Toss occasionally.
Soak the raisins in the rum until softened and plump, about 30 minutes. Add the raisins and residual rum to the apples.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam and slowly begin to brown. Once it begins to brown, it can quickly darken and start to burn, so be sure to watch it.
Once the butter turns a nut-brown, pour it over the apples. Add the additional cheddar cheese to the apples if you're using, and toss the mixture thoroughly with your hands, being careful not to break up the apple slices.
Pile the apple slices in the pie shell heaping them up, as they will collapse quite a bit as they cook. Be sure to add the liquid from the apples!

Notes

Nutrition