Cheddar Apple Pie

Even though I'm not an apple pie fanatic (funny, because there's already an apple pie recipe on this site), the internets and the glossies told me to make a Cheddar apple pie. First, I bookmarked a recipe for cheese straws, a staple Southern party snack, where a commenter mentioned using cheese straw dough as pie crust, which I thought was quite clever. Then, the September issue of Gourmet featured a recipe for essentially the same idea, an apple pie with a cheddar crust.

And, so, I listened to the hints and made an apple pie with Cheddar crust.
Wanna know how to make a pie off-the-charts fattening? Add a block of cheese! (I plugged the recipe into a calculator, and you don't even want to know.)

Gourmet's recipe calls for white Cheddar, but I went with orange because I wanted the eater (that would be me!) to really know that Cheddar was in the crust. While baking, the crust heats up and cheesy goodness wafts through the kitchen, so I was prepared for a cheese assault, but, really, with a forkful of apple and crust together, apple overpowers the crust. But nibble on the crust alone, and it tastes like a cheese cracker.

This would be a great pie for lovers of melted Cheddar on top of apple pie. But I would still melt a slice of Cheddar on top for ultimate cheesiness. And to meet your daily requirement for fat in one go.
Cheddar Apple Pie
adapted from Gourmet
serves 6-8

I found the dough was prone to cracking when rolling it out, so had to do lots of pinching to mend it back together. I blame the cheese. I also added more salt to the crust to make it more cracker-like.

Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated
1 stick cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
6-8 tablespoons ice water

Filling
6-8 large apples (mixture of sweet and tart, although I like all tart), peeled, cored, and sliced
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, cut into bits

• Stir together flour, salt, and cheese in a large bowl, or pulse in a food processor. Add butter and shortening and blend with your fingers, or food processor, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour 6 tablespoons over mixture and stir or pulse until incorporated. Squeeze a handful of dough to see if it holds together. If not, add more water.
• Divide dough in half, then form each half into flat 5-inch disks. Individually wrap the dough disks, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Toss apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt until evenly coated.
• Roll out one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Repeat with the other piece of dough.
• Line a pie pan with one of the dough rounds, then fill the shell with the apple filling. Dot with pieces of butter, then cover with the remaining pie dough. Trim edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then press edges to seal and fold under. Cut vents in top of pie.
  
• Bake on a hot baking sheet in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375 degrees and bake until crust is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving.