Apple Cider Pie with Cheddar Crust

Cooking Instructions

Have a 9-inch pie plate ready.

To make pastry in food processor: Process flour, salt, butter and shortening with short pulses until mixture resembles small peas. Add cheese and water and pulse just until water is blended. Remove blade, then dough. Press together with hands or a rubber spatula. By hand: Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. Using a fork, gently stir in cheese, then water just until dough clumps together.

Divide pastry in half. Gather each half into a ball, then press into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate about 1 hour until firm enough to roll out.

Filling: Mix sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a medium saucepan, then stir in cider. Bring to a boil over medium heat and, stirring constantly, boil 1 minute until thickened and translucent. Put apples into a large bowl, add cider mixture and gently turn apples with a rubber spatula to coat well.

Position 1 oven rack in middle of oven and other rack just below it. Place a sheet of foil on lower rack to catch drips. Heat oven to 400°F.

To assemble: On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out half the pastry into a 13-inch circle. Fit into pie plate. Add filling, mounding it in center. Pour any liquid remaining in bowl evenly over apples and dot with butter.

Roll remaining pastry into a 13-inch circle. Moisten edge of bottom crust with water. Place top crust over filling. Press edge to seal. Trim overhang to 1 inch, turn under and crimp or flute. Cut slits in top crust for steam to escape.

Bake pie in middle of oven 50 to 55 minutes until crust is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced through a slit. (If crust browns too quickly, cover pie loosely with foil.) Cool on wire rack.