Yay for September and all the amazing apples it bestows upon us so that we may make apple pie with a *rustic cheddar cheese crust.
Sugar, salt, fat … yumm.
Our neighbours recently purchased a property that has a orchard on it! Seriously? A dream I tell ya … but anyway … I shouldn’t complain since I’ve become the lucky recipient of the overflow … and not only do I love the apples, I love the leaves that come with them.
So what’s the first thing you do when someone gives you apples … well you take photos of course!
The following photo is so jam packed with goodness. Take a gander at that cupboard! It was my Mom’s … and it’s probably over 80 years old. She used it for diapers, baby powder, etc. so it’s always been known as The Diaper Cabinet. The Diaper Cabinet now sits proudly in my kitchen.
As well as holding important papers, and a few crafty items, it’s also a station for charging iPads and phones … Mom would have been amazed at the latter. We cut a tiny hole in the back for cords (I’m sure she wouldn’t have minded.)
The blue bowl is Medalta, and the vase is from Anthropologie (a gift from my daughter). And then there’s Sunday Suppers … sigh. But I digress! On to the pie:
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I used my standard “never fail” crust and simply rolled some grated cheddar cheese into it …
… then I sprinkled some on top of the apples …
… done …
… done …
… and done!
… absolutely delicious!
These apples were tiny, so I simply cut them into quarters and removed the centre. I left the peel on since it was tender and would add extra fibre. As I worked, I sprinkled the apples with lemon juice to prevent browning.
For the pie filling:
- 3 cups unpeeled apples, quartered (sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning)
- 3/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon flour and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
I’ve raved about my pie crust before, but for those that haven’t heard about the best pie crust ever, here it is again:
- 1 pound lard
- 5 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vinegar in water
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 egg, well beaten
- Mix dry ingredients together and cut into lard.
- Mix vinegar, water, egg and beat until fluffy.
- Blend together until dough starts to stick together nicely – sometimes I don’t use all the water, but if you did, I don’t think it would make a difference.
- Form into 5 or 6 discs and chill for 1/2 hour.
- Roll out the barrel, er dough, and make your pies!!
- **This dough will freeze beautifully (forever actually). Just take it out and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before rolling it.
*Remember to add about 1 cup grated cheddar cheese to the dough and to sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on top of the apples before covering with the crust. Chewy, cheesy, goodness!
For my pie today, I did not make a bottom crust … i.e.: bottomless apple pie … sounds good right? Let me tell you, it was … .
If you haven’t been photo-bombed enough, and are craving a few more images, check out my Steller Story … so fun!
