Ingredients
For Flaky Flagship Dough:
13 oz. (or 2 and 2/3 cup) of all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon of Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 oz. butter, cut into cubes, frozen
6 oz. Beecher's Flagship cheese, cubed
1.5 teaspoons cider vinegar
½ cup of ice water
For the Apple Filling:
2 ¾ lb Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples (or your favorite baking apples from the farmer’s market), partially peeled, cored, sliced less than ¼-inch thick.
¼ cup brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ¼ teaspoons freshly minced ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
For Flaky Flagship Dough:
- Add dry ingredients to food processor and pulse quickly to incorporate.
- Add cheese and pulse until the mixture resembles peas.
- Add butter and pulse 6-8 times until butter resembles the size of peas.
- Combine vinegar and water and blend until the mixture almost comes together.
- Remove from the food processor onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough comes together (additional flour or ice water can be added if needed).
- Divide dough into two equal disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling.
- Lay the disk of dough on a lightly floured counter or between two large sheets of plastic. Roll the dough outward from the center into a 12-inch circle. Turn the dough a quarter turn every few rolls to help keep it circular.
- Dust with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, then gently unroll it over the pie plate (9-inch).
- Gently press and lift the dough into the pie plate, letting the excess hang over the plate. If there is more than 1 inch of overhang, trim. Repeat rolling out the second disk to 12 inches and refrigerate flat until it’s time to assemble the pie.
For the Apple Filling:
- Toss apples with sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice, and zest. Let sit for at least 45 minutes.
- Strain off juices into a pan with the butter, cook until reduced by half and syrupy (1/4 cup).
- Pour over apples that have been tossed with the cornstarch.
- Follow instructions above to make flaky Flagship dough. You can make the dough a few days in advance and store it in the refrigerator or freeze it until ready.
- Pile apples into 9-inch pie pan lined with Flagship dough.
- Cover with remaining round of dough, tucking the overhanging dough under the bottom crust edges and press down all around to seal together. Crimp the dough with your fingers or a fork.
- Cut 4 or 5 vent holes in the top to let steam escape.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour before baking. This will help prevent the crust from shrinking and help with flakiness.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees 20 minutes before baking.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (to catch drips and make for easy clean up) and bake for approx. 1 to 1¼ hours.
- After 30 minutes, cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent over-browning.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotate the pan, and continue to bake until the juices are bubbling and the crust is deep golden brown.
- Let the pie cool on a wire rack until the filling has set, about 3 hours; serve slightly warm.