Real A-mur-ican apple pie

So I was inspired today. And considering I had the time I thought I'd bake a bit. What did I make? Real apple pie. Now I say "real" with emphasis because when I grew up this is how apple pie was. If you've ever had the opportunity to get across this great country a bit, some places out in the beautiful Midwest have what I can only describe as "Pie" diners, each place has at least 5 pies and each is a "house" specialty. The one I love the most? Yep, apple pie with aged white cheddar cheese baked on top of the apple filling beneath the lattice work top served warm with a hot cup of black coffee. So today I set out to re-create said pie.
Step one simple pie crust.  I found this recipe on (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_pie_crust/) its great and simple to make, I also added a touch of my own with some buttermilk just to take it up a bit. watch the water content as it will change with the addition of the buttermilk.

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies (Pâte Brisée)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons Cultured Buttermilk
• 6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

Method

1 Cut the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to an hour (the longer the better) so that they become thoroughly chilled.

Dough is ready to shape.
2 Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.

3 Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape into 2 discs. Knead the dough just enough to form the discs, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky. Sprinkle a little flour around the discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.
4 Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes in order to soften just enough to make rolling out a bit easier. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. If necessary, add a few sprinkles of flour under the dough to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish.
5 Add filling to the pie.

Filling Recipe:
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 3/4 pounds of 1/4-inch thick diced Breaburn apples.I like these guys because they are local and bake very well with a good sugar content for sweetness and proper starch for texture.
1 Bourbon (we authentic right?)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter for sauteing

You will also need 1/2 pound of sliced aged white cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a saute pan  then add apples, flour and sugar, stir or toss to coat the apples. Then add spices and vanilla,again toss or stir and finally add bourbon reduce the heat a touch not burn or over cook the apples, let some of the booze cook off. Should be a slightly thick combination of apples spices, bourbon and flour. Not thin liquid but smooth and creamy almost. Let it cool then add it to the first crust.


6 Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Again I deviate from the recipe here, once the top is rolled I cut it into long strips to make a lattice top. Place your aged white cheddar on top of the filling now. Lay strip after strip creating a lattice top and pinch together top and bottom dough firmly together. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. Fold the edge of the top piece of dough over and under the edge of the bottom piece of dough, pressing together. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork. Brush with egg wash and bake. At 350 degrees in a conventional oven for about 45 minutes or when the crust has browned evenly and cheese is melted.

And then you have a beautiful finished "Real A-mur-ican Apple Pie"

I forgot the finished pie picture but once we got through it I remembered.

 The cheese I used could have been a bit dryer, it really melted through the apples, but you still get the great flavor combination of sweet apples with aged white cheddar. I also could have used a touch more flour probably another tablespoon as you can see the liquid build up. Still tasted great the crust was crisp and delicious. Give it a try let me know if you have any suggestions. Happy cooking!