Cheesy Apple Pie with Rum Raisin Sauce

By RoketJSquerl

A perfect deep-dish pie consists of evenly cooked apples coated (not drenched) in syrupy juice sitting on a well-browned (not soggy) bottom crust. This one uses a flavorful cheddar cheese crust and a smooth American cheese apple filling for that one-of-a-kind-taste. Use a combination of tart and sweet apples for this pie. Good choices for tart are Granny Smiths; for sweet, use Golden Delicious.

Ingredients

• *Cheddar Crust*
• 2 1/4 Cups All-purpose Flour, plus additional flour for work surface
• 3/4 Teaspoon Table Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen for 10 min.
• 1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening, cold, cut into small pieces
• 1 3/4 Cups Extra-sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1/3 Cup Ice Water, or more if needed
• 1 Egg White, beaten lightly
• *APPLE, FILLING*
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar, , plus 1 teaspoon
• 1/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon Table Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Teaspoon Grated Lemon Zest
• 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 2 1/2 Pounds Tart Apples (firm), about 5 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slice
• 2 1/2 Pounds Sweet Apples (firm), about 5 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slice
• 1 Pkg Velveeta, Extra Thick cheese slices
• *RUM, RAISIN SAUCE*
• 1/3 Cup Raisins
• 1/4 Cup Dark Rum
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Orange Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 2 Tsp. Cornstarch

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

1. For Pastry: Process flour, salt, and sugar together with a pastry blender, cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in cheese. Stir in ice water a little at a time until dough holds together and forms a ball. Knead dough until smooth, then divide in half, with one half slightly smaller than the other. Press into 2 flat discs, about 4" in dia; wrap with plastic wrap and chill 30 min. to 1 hr. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let thoroughly chilled dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.) 2. For Pie: Mix the granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, lemon zest, nutmeg and cinnamon in large bowl; add apples and toss to combine. Transfer apples to Dutch oven (do not wash bowl) and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until apples are tender when poked with fork but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. (Apples and juices should gently simmer during cooking.) Transfer apples and juices to rimmed baking sheet and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. While apples cool, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place empty rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. 3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. (If dough becomes soft and/or sticky, return to refrigerator until firm.) Remove parchment from one side of dough and flip onto 9-inch pie plate; peel off second layer of parchment. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Layer Velveeta slices on top of the bottom dough layer, including up the sides. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, roll second disk of dough between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 16-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate, leaving dough between parchment sheets, until firm, about 30 minutes. 5. Set large colander over now-empty bowl; transfer cooled apples to colander. Shake colander to drain off as much juice as possible (cooked apples should measure about 8 cups); discard juice. Transfer one-half of the apples to the cheese/dough-lined pie plate; sprinkle with lemon juice. Place a second layer of Velveeta slices on top of the apples, then transfer the rest of the apples on top of the cheese; sprinkle with lemon juice. 6. Remove parchment from one side of remaining dough and flip dough onto apples; peel off second piece of parchment. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang, then fold both edges of dough under each other so that the edge of the fold is flush with the outer rim of the pie plate. Seal edges of dough by fluting edges by using thumb and forefinger or with the tines of a fork. Cut four 2-inch slits in top of dough. Brush surface with beaten egg white and sprinkle evenly with remaining teaspoon sugar. 7. Set pie on preheated baking sheet; bake until crust is golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Use foil on outer edge of pie to prevent overbrowning of the crust. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool at least 1 1/2 hours. Cut into wedges and serve with rum-raisin sauce. 8. While the pie is baking, prepare the rum-raisin sauce. Combine raisins and rum in a small bowl and let stand 20 minutes. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine sugar and 1/4 cup water and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 5 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in rum and raisin mixture, orange juice, butter and cornstarch. Return mixture to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. (All alcohol is removed by cooking) Remove from heat and cool until warm. Spoon over slightly cooled cut pie wedges, allowing to overflow into the bottom of the serving dish.