New England Apple Pie

I love apple pie. Just love it.  I have made this recipe about 30 times total, and not even exaggerating.  My cousin Colleen gave me the cookbook,  maybe 5 - 6 years ago, and we have only really tried the apple pie.  I've made it so many times that the cook book automatically opens up to page 599, for the only apple pie recipe you'll ever need, Apple Pie with Cheddar-Brown Sugar Crumb Crust.  Its really like a little piece of New England in your mouth ... apples, cheddar, apples .... mmmm, amazing.

I did learn a very good lesson over the past week.  Last weekend Jacob and I went to our local apple orchard, Bolton Spring Farm for two bushels of apples, and of course a half dozen apple cider donuts.  Side note, apple cider donuts are little gifts from God, they bring a tear of happiness to my eyes (and Jacob's too ... he was quite the fan!)    I went strictly off of memory on how to make the pie, and thought it called for 6 lbs of apples.  The pie was undercooked, watery and all around gross.  (A gross apple pie? Yes, in deed ... it was horrible and went uneaten in our refrigerator until our Sunday afternoon clean-out).  After I refused to admit defeat, I went to make the pie again this weekend trying to figure out what I did wrong.  The recipe actually calls for 6 cups of apples, CUPS, which equals to about 2 lbs of apples.  Big oops, on my part.  But 'old faithful pulled through and we enjoyed a yummy apple pie just as we have 29 other times in the past. 

I use the Cooks Illustrated Vodka pie crust to make my pies.  After getting frustrated with working with pie crusts that would be dry, bland and would crack when trying to roll it out, we tried the Vodka crust.  It only takes 2 tablespoons of Vodka (which cooks out and has no flavor), this crust is the easiest pie crust you'll ever work with.  The crust tends to sometimes be to wet, so you'll use up to 1/4 cup flour when rolling out the crust.

Pie Crust
Ingredients 

1 1/4	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
1/2	teaspoon table salt
1	tablespoon sugar
6	tablespoons cold unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4	cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 2 pieces
2	tablespoons vodka , cold
2	tablespoons cold water

Instructions

1. Process 3/4 cups flour, salt, and sugar together in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds with some very small pieces of butter remaining, but there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
3. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to ¼ cup) work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of pie plate. Fold overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of pie plate. Flute dough or press the tines of a fork against dough to flatten it against rim of pie plate. Freeze dough-lined plate until firm, about 30 minutes. I typically put this in the freezer when I'm preparing the apples. 
   

Apple Pie
For the crumbs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 shredded sharp cheddar cheese (use real cheddar cheese here, that you shred yourself)

For the filling
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, preferable freshly grated
3 cups peeled, cored and thinly sliced tart crisp apples, such as Granny Smith (about 1 lb)
3 cups peeled, cored and thinly sliced sweet apples, such as McIntosh (about 1 lb)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. To make the crumbs, pulse the flour and brown sugar in a food processor until no large lumps of sugar remain.  Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas.  Add the cheese and pulse briefly, just until the entire mixture is the texture of rolled oats.  Refridgerate in a covered container for up to 3 days

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

3. Bake the frozen pie shell until pale golden brown, 14 minutes.  If the pastry starts to puff up, press the bottom gently with a large spoon or oven-mittened hand to flatten.  Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes.  (The crust can be baked 1 day ahead.  Cover and store at room temperature).  Reduce the oven temerature to 375 degrees.

4. To make the filling, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.  Add the apples and lemon juice, toss to combine, and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes, until the apples begin to soften.

5. Spoon the apples into the prebaked pie shell.  Sprinkle with the crumb mixture, making sure to cover the apples thoroughly and filling up and gaps and holes where the apples have sunk.  Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is soft and bubbly, 50 to 60 minutes.  Coll on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. 

6. Serve warm or at room temperature.