Apple Cider Pepper Pie
First place winner in the Apple Pie Category at Farmview Market’s 2017 Flavors of Fall Festival. Our delicious recipe uses Georgia Grown apples, Unicoi Preserves Apple Cider Pepper Spread and is baked in a paper grocery bag! The crust comes together quickly in the food processor and uses Cabot Farmhouse Reserve Cheddar. This recipe is inspired by recipes from Martha Stewart and King Arthur Flour.
Servings Prep Time
8slices 30minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
60minutes 30minutes
Servings Prep Time
8slices 30minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
60minutes 30minutes
Ingredients
Cheddar cheese pie crust
  • 1 1/4cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup Cabot Farmhouse Reserve Cheddar
  • 1/4cup cold water
Apple Pie Filling
  • 8cups Georgia Grown golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced.
  • 3/4cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1/4teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 2tablespoons lemon juice
  • 3tablespoons Unicoi Preserves Apple Cider Pepper Spread
  • 1dash cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
Streusel topping
  • 1/2cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cold, cut into slices
Instructions
Cabot Cheddar Pie Crust
  1. Add flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add cold butter and pulse until the dough looks like coarse meal.
  2. Slowly add the cold water and pulse until mixture just begins to hold together. Add additional cold water by the teaspoon if necessary to get the mixture to the desired consistency. Dough should not be wet or sticky.
  3. Add cheese and pulse until combined.
  4. Pour dough on to plastic wrap and form a round disk. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight. Do ahead tip: Dough can be frozen up to 1 month, just thaw before using.
Pie Filling
  1. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine the apple slices and all pie filling ingredients except flour. Microwave the filling, uncovered, for 5 minutes. This will help soften the apples and get their juices flowing a bit. Stir lightly to combine.
  2. Mix 1/4 cup flour in to the apple and spice mixture.
Streusel topping
  1. In a separate bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Using a pastry blender, cut 1 stick of cold butter into the flour mixture until it’s crumbly and resembles small pebbles.
To assemble pie:
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a rack centered in the middle of the oven and the top rack removed to make room for the paper grocery bag. Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator. If the dough has been chilling longer than 30 minutes, let it warm up about 10 minutes and roll into a 12-13 inch circle.
  2. Place the crust in to a 9-inch pie pan and let it settle gently in the pan without stretching it, as this could cause the crust to shrink as it bakes. Crimp the top edges of the dough to make it look pretty.
  3. Spoon the apple filling and juice into the pie crust, then spread the streusel topping over the filling.
  4. Place the apple pie in a brown paper grocery bag, laid on its side and set on a baking sheet. Baking in the bag will prevent any bubbling juice from making a big mess and smoking. Fold the bag and staple it in three or four places to close the bag.
  5. Bake for 50 minutes. Carefully remove the pie from the bag and place it back on the baking sheet. Cover the crust with foil and bake 10-15 more minutes to brown the streusel topping.
  6. When the topping is browned to your liking, remove and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, longer is better.