Salted Apple Cider Pie with Cheddar Pastry
This isn't your average apple pie. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples are cooked with concentrated apple cider and baked inside an incredibly flaky extra-sharp cheddar crust before being finished with flaky salt. A showstopping fall baking recipe with the perfect sweet, tart and savory balance.
Equipment
- 9 inch pie dish
- Large Mixing Bowl
- pastry cutter optional
- Large saucepan or wide pot
- Large skillet or pot for the filling
- Heat-safe liquid measuring cup
- Apple peeler or vegetable peeler
- Apple corer or paring knife
- Pastry Brush
- Metal sheet pan
- Wire cooling rack
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
Cheddar Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese freshly and finely grated from a block
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup ice water as needed
Apple Cider Reduction
- 6 cups apple cider
Apple Filling
- 4 Granny Smith apples
- 4 Honeycrisp apples
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup prepared apple cider reduction
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Assembly
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling
- Flaky salt for finishing
Instructions
Make the Cheddar Pie Dough
- Combine the dry ingredients.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar and kosher salt. Finely grate the sharp cheddar directly into the mixture and toss until evenly distributed. Grating the cheese finely helps it disperse throughout the dough rather than leaving large pockets of cheese in the finished pastry.
- Cut in the butter. Add the cold cubed butter. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until you have a combination of smaller pieces and larger flat pieces of butter.
- Don't try to make the mixture completely uniform. Those larger visible pieces of cold butter are going to help create flaky layers.
- Add the ice water. Add 1/3 cup ice water a little at a time, gently tossing the mixture with a fork after each addition.
- Squeeze a handful of dough in your palm. If it holds together, stop adding water. If it immediately falls apart and you still have lots of completely dry flour, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. (You may not need the full 1/2 cup.)
- The dough should look shaggy rather than wet or completely smooth.
- Fold the dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently bring it together.
- Press it into a rough rectangle. Fold one third toward the center, then fold the opposite third over it like you're folding a letter.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees, gently flatten it back into a rectangle and repeat the fold once more. Don't knead the dough!
- Divide and chill. Divide the dough approximately 55/45, leaving the slightly larger portion for the bottom crust.
- Shape each portion into a disk, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The dough can also be made the day before and refrigerated overnight.)
Make the Apple Cider Reduction
- Reduce the cider. Pour 6 cups apple cider into a wide saucepan or pot.
- Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat enough to maintain a steady simmer.
- Continue cooking until the cider has reduced all the way to 3/4 cup.
- As it reduces, the cider will become darker and increasingly syrupy. Keep a particularly close eye on it toward the end because the volume can decrease quickly.
- Don't rely solely on time. Carefully measure the cider as you get close. If you have more than 3/4 cup, return it to the pan and continue reducing.
- Once you have exactly 3/4 cup, remove it from the heat.
Prepare the Apple Filling
- Prep the apples. Peel and core all 8 apples.
- Slice them approximately 1/4-inch thick, then cut the slices in half crosswise to create shorter pieces.
- Begin cooking the filling. Place the prepared apples in a large skillet or pot with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, kosher salt and lemon juice.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring gently, for approximately 6–8 minutes, until the apples have started to soften and release some of their juices but still have plenty of structure.
- Add the cider and thicken. Add the full 3/4 cup apple cider reduction and sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the apples while stirring.
- Continue cooking for another 1–3 minutes, stirring gently, until the liquid becomes glossy and noticeably thickens enough to coat the apples.
- The apples should not be completely soft. Remember, they're going to continue cooking for more than an hour in the oven.
- Finish the filling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Set the filling aside and allow it to cool before assembling the pie.
Assemble the Pie
- Preheat the oven. Place a metal sheet pan in the oven and preheat to 425°F.
- Heating the sheet pan along with the oven gives the bottom of the pie an immediate blast of heat and helps the bottom crust bake through.
- Roll the bottom crust. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin.
- Roll the larger disk of chilled dough into a circle approximately 12 inches across, or large enough to fit your 9-inch pie dish with some overhang.
- Rotate the dough periodically while rolling to make sure it isn't sticking.
- Gently transfer the dough to your pie dish. Let it fall naturally into the corners rather than stretching it to fit.
- Add the filling. Spoon the cooled apple filling into the crust, including all of that thickened cider mixture.
- Spread the apples into an even layer.
- Add the top crust. Roll out the second disk of dough and carefully place it over the apples.
- Trim the excess pastry, leaving enough to seal the two crusts together.
- Press the edges together and crimp as desired.
- Cut several vents in the center of the top crust so steam can escape.
- Chill again. Place the assembled pie in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes.
- Don't skip this final chill. It firms the butter back up after rolling and assembling the pastry.
Bake
- Add the egg wash. Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush a thin, even layer over the top crust. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Start at 425°F. Carefully place the pie onto the preheated metal sheet pan.
- Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes.
- Lower the temperature. Without removing the pie from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
- Continue baking for approximately 45–60 minutes, until the crust is deeply golden brown and the apple filling is visibly bubbling through the vents.
- If the outer crust is browning too quickly, loosely cover the edges with aluminum foil while allowing the center to continue baking.
- Don't remove the pie based on crust color alone. You want to see the filling bubbling. That's an important sign that the filling has gotten hot enough for the cornstarch to fully thicken.
Cool and Finish
- Cool completely. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let it cool at room temperature for at least 3–4 hours before slicing.
- This cooling period is part of the recipe. The filling continues to thicken and set as its temperature comes down.
- During my test, I let the pie cool for approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes in a 67°F kitchen, and it sliced beautifully.
- Finish with flaky salt. Just before serving, sprinkle the top with flaky salt.
- Slice and serve as-is or with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Apple cider: Use apple cider rather than apple juice for the deepest flavor. The exact reduction time will vary depending on the size of your pot and your stove, so measure by final volume rather than relying on a timer.
Apples: I tested this recipe with exactly 4 Granny Smith and 4 Honeycrisp apples. Using both gives the filling the balance of tartness, sweetness and structure I was looking for.
Cheddar: I tested this recipe using Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese from a block. Grate it yourself using the fine side of your grater rather than using pre-shredded cheese. Finely grating the cheddar helps it distribute throughout the pastry, and block cheese doesn't contain the anti-caking ingredients commonly found on pre-shredded cheese.
Water in the pastry: The 1/3–1/2 cup is intentionally a range. Add only as much as your dough needs to hold together.
Keeping the dough cold: If your pastry becomes sticky, soft or greasy at any point, refrigerate it for 10–15 minutes before continuing.
How I Decorated the Pie
I finished this pie with a lattice crust and used the remaining scraps of cheddar pie dough to cut out small decorative leaves. This part is completely optional, so don't let the design stop you from making the recipe. You can create a simple lattice, cover the filling with a full top crust and cut vents into it, or decorate it however you'd like. If you do add decorative pieces, keep the dough cold while you're working. If it starts becoming too soft to cut cleanly, refrigerate it for 10–15 minutes before continuing. Cooling: Don't rush the cooling period. Cutting a fruit pie while it's very hot can make even a properly thickened filling appear runny.Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 726.6kcalCarbohydrates: 104.25gProtein: 9.05gFat: 32.23gSaturated Fat: 19.45gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1.58gMonounsaturated Fat: 8.01gTrans Fat: 1.05gCholesterol: 103.17mgSodium: 806.25mgPotassium: 484.15mgFiber: 6.16gSugar: 61.32gVitamin A: 1070.54IUVitamin C: 12.14mgCalcium: 156.96mgIron: 2.54mg
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