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Cheddar Thyme Apple Pie

The crust is from Bubby's Homemade Pies, by Ron Silver and Jen Bervin. I doubled the recipe to make a top and bottom crust.

Ingredients

Cheddar crust

  • 1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter cold, cubed
  • 3/4 c grated extra-sharp cheddar (Bubby's recommends farmhouse-style cheddar. My grocery store carried Cabot Farmhouse Cheddar for a reasonable price.)
  • 3 Tbsp water ice cold

Apple Thyme filling

  • 7 apples I used a mix of Gala and Ginger Gold.
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 3 Tbsp flour
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 3/8 tsp nutmeg ground
  • 1/8 tsp cloves ground
  • Several twists freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preparing the crust

  1. To start the crust, combine flour, salt, and cayenne pepper in the food processor, then pulse a few times to mix. 

  2. Cut cold butter into small cubes, toss it into the chilled flour, and pulse until the largest pieces of butter are the size of peas.

  3. Then, add the grated cheddar and pulse a few more times.

  4. Finally, add ice-cold water. Pulse until the dough starts to thicken, climbing the sides of your food processor, and the moisture is evenly mixed throughout.

  5. Remove, shape into a ball, and flatten with your palm into a flat disk. Wrap it in plastic and let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If you’re making each crust separately, run through these steps again to make a second crust.

  6. Once the disks have chilled, roll them out between two sheets of parchment paper to a 1/8” thickness, maintaining a circle shape. Fit one crust into the bottom of your pie dish. Return both crusts to the fridge while you make the filling.

    Preheat the oven to 450° F.

Adding the filling

  1. Add the lemon juice to your mixing bowl. 

  2. Peel, core, and slice your apples to about ¼ - 3/8” thick, then toss the slices in the lemon juice to prevent browning.

    When all the slices are in the bowl, add sugar, flour, and spices. Toss to mix. Taste-test and adjust sweetness and spices as you wish! Add the slices to the bottom of your pie dish, nudging them around so they fit neatly together (and you avoid taking up extra space with air).

  3. Fit your top crust over the filling. This dough holds up well if you want to try a lattice or shaped cookie cutters. Crimp the edges in your favorite style and cut vents in the top if you’ve kept it solid.

  4. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and put it in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 375° and bake at least an additional 30 minutes. (I generally keep mine in the oven another 40-50 minutes, watching for the juices inside to thicken and bubble slowly.) If the top of the crust begins to brown too quickly, put aluminum foil over the pie.

  5. Finally, remove pie from the oven and let cool at least an hour or two (if you can stand it!) before cutting. Serve at room temperature. Store uncovered up to 3 days.