Tuesday, May 21, 2013

apple hand pies with cheddar crust

This recipe is a variation on this recipe. I made it recently for a book gathering.
Cheddar Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup (firmly packed) coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut butter into small pieces and work into flour mixture with your hands or a pastry cutter until the flour looks and feels like wet sand. Mix in cheese in the same manner. Start by adding three tablespoons of water and mixing the dough. Add the last two one at a time so the dough holds together but is not too wet. Pour it out on a cutting board (you will still have some dry pieces) and fold it over on itself five or six times, just until it comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least thirty minutes.

Apple Mixture:
4-6 Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
pinch of salt
1/4t cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
butter
Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. You want the apple pieces to be about a half inch square so they will easily fit in the muffin tins. Combine sugars, salt, and cinnamon and toss with apples. Add lemon juice and toss again.

Divide the crust in half and roll out to about an 1/8 of an inch thickness and cut with biscuit cutter about the size of the muffin tin. You should be able to get twelve. (you may have to re-roll the scraps for the last couple.) With your hands, press the disc out so it fits in the bottom of the muffin tin and comes up the sides almost even with the top. Fill each crust with enough of the apple mixture that it mounds above the muffin tin, then dot the top of each one with butter. Then roll out the other half of the crust and cut twelve more rounds and place them on top of the apples. Press then down to form the top of the pie, but you don’t have to make sure they are sealed; they are more like little lids. Brush the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake in a 350 oven for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool before trying to remove from muffin tins.

Peace,
Milton


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