This bourbon cheddar apple pie is by far my favorite pie. It’s such a classic but with a really fun twist. There is bourbon and cheddar cheese baked right into the crust, giving it the taste of fancy cracker. It’s then filled with apples that have been marinated in honey, bourbon, and a bunch of delicious spices.
Pie Crust Science
The key to good pie crust is using really cold ingredients. For best results cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and freeze before mixing into the flour. I also chill my water and bourbon in the freezer before adding them into the dough.
Using high quality European butter is also a great idea and helps to create a flakier pie crust. You want a butter that has a high melting point so that it stays in your pastry while baking.
Mixing Pie Crust by hand vs by Food Processor
Mixing by hand will always give you a more accurate reading of how much water needs to be added to the flour mixture. However, when you don’t have time or just need it to be easy, use the food processor. Just add a little bit of water at a time and check the dough after each addition. You are looking for a mixture that holds together when squeezed in your palm, but that is still crumbly.
The Filling
The filling here is a tasty combination of bourbon, honey, and loads of spices. But the key here is to give the apples enough time to marinate in the bourbon and honey. You want them to really soak up all that delicious bourbon flavor. You can bake with any bourbon but for this one I used Woodford Reserve.
Baking Times
This bourbon cheddar apple pie takes a while to bake. You want to make sure that you give your pie crust enough time to bake the bottom thoroughly. No soggy bottoms here! Start baking it at 425 degrees for 20 minutes and then lower the temp to 375 and bake for about 80 more minutes. Start checking the pie at 60 minutes to make sure it doesn’t start to burn.
Bourbon Cheddar Apple Pie
Ingredients
Cheddar Pie Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup chilled butter
- 1/4 cup chilled water
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
Filling
- 4 granny smith apples
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup bourbon
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 2 tbsp corn starch
Instructions
Pie crust:
- By hand or in a food processor combine the flour and cold butter and mix until the butter reaches pea-sized crumbles.
- Add in the cold water, bourbon, and cheese and mix until just combined
- Pour the dough out on a lightly floured surface and lightly knead into a disk, split in two and wrap each piece in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
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While the dough is chilling make the pie filling
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Once the dough has been chilled, roll out one of the pieces in between two pieces of parchment until it reaches under 1/4 inch thick. Place in a 9-inch pie pan and chill.
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Roll out the second piece of dough same a before but once rolled out use a pie or mini cookie cutter in leaf shape and cut out about 60 pieces.
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Remove the chilled the pie pan from the refrigerator and pour in the apple mixture.
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Make an egg wash by mixing one egg with 2 tbsp of water. Arrange the cut out the leaves on top of the apples using the egg wash as a glue to keep each overlapping piece in place. Brush the egg wash over the top of the pie and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes and then lower the temperature to 375 and bake for about 80 minutes more.
For the filling:
- Core and thinly slice the apples. Toss with lemon juice to keep them from browning. Add in the bourbon, honey, cinnamon, ground, cloves, and allspice. Let sit and marinate for about an hour.
