The idea for cheddar and apple pastries came to me one night when I was craving spiced apples in anticipation of the start of fall. I had made an apple pie a couple months ago for Thanksgiving and it turned out well. This time around though, I wanted to do something different, so I thought about making a cheddar apple pie. Instead of combining the cheese and apple within the pie, I wanted to incorporate the cheese into the pie dough, so I can get a distinctly savory cheddar flavor in every bite while maintaining the delicious spiced apple filling. The first time I made this combination, it was in the form of a pie. The pie was great to serve at home, but I wanted to create a more portable version to bring to work. This led me to create the cheddar apple pastries. The result turned out even better than expected. The outside of the pastry has a sharp cheddar flavor, while the inside of the pastry has the spiced apple filling. These pastries were exactly what I had hoped for. I already wrapped each piece in aluminum foil to bring to work a couple times this week.
Cheddar Apple Pastries
Pie Dough:
· 1½ cups all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
· ½ cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
· ½ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
· ¼ cup cold water
Egg wash:
· 1 large egg
· 1 tablespoon water
Spiced Apple Filling:
· 1 Fuji apple, some skin removed and cored, sliced into small pieces
· 1 Granny Smith apple, some skin removed and cored, sliced into small pieces
· 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
· 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ lemon, zested
· ½ lemon, juiced
· ½ teaspoon pumpkin or apple spice
· 1 teaspoon cornstarch
· granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Directions:
1) To make the dough, combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse for 3 seconds. Add the cheddar cheese. Pulse for another 3 seconds. Add in the butter. Pulse for 3 seconds. Add in the water. Pulse until the dough starts to come together, about 5-10 seconds.
2) Pour the dough onto a floured surface. Separate the dough in half and form into two discs. Wrap each disc of dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit for 30 minutes before rolling out the dough to make the cheddar apple pastries.
3) Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
4) To make the filling, combine the apple pieces, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, pumpkin or apple spice, and corn starch. Stir a couple times to combine.
5) To make the egg wash, whisk together the egg and water until combined.
6) Roll out both pieces of the dough and cute into twelve total rectangles. Fill six of the rectangles with spiced apple filling. Make sure you leave some space around the edges of the rectangles. Use the egg wash to brush the edges of the rectangles. Top with another rectangle piece of dough. Press the seams together. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the pastry on all sides. Repeat with the other five pastries.
7) Place the pastries on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of each pastry with egg wash. Sprinkle the top of each pastry with sugar. Use a knife to cut some slits on the top of the pastries for ventilation. Place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove pastries from the oven and let the pastries cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Takeaways: I used both a Fuji apple and Granny Smith apple in my filling because I love the combination of sweetness and tartness. I had some filling leftover, so I cooked in down in a small saucepan to serve alongside the cheddar apple pastries. You can also cook the spiced apple filling and let cool before adding the filling to the pastries. This way, you can jam more filling into the pastries.