Apple Pie Pops with Cheddar Crust
These Mini Apple Pie Pops on a Stick are a fun bite-sized dessert! The crust has cheddar in it, which is a delicious savory compliment to the apples.
Have you ever eaten a pie and thought, this could really use more crust?
You know, I’m talking about those single crust pies…it’s totally not enough, and such a tease for the crust lover.
If this is you, then today is your day!
These apple pie pops are a new way to eat your pie, and they have a higher ratio of crust to filling.
I mean, the filling is really just an excuse to eat a bunch of buttery, flaky goodness, isn’t it? Not that the filling isn’t important too. 😉
Despite seeing everyone’s Instagrams blow up with photos of berry pies during the July 4th holiday, all I have wanted since then is an apple pie. Don’t ask me why. I know apples tend to be associated with fall, but I always seem to get cravings for unseasonal recipes. In the wintertime, I’ll get a craving for ice cream. In the spring, I’ll get a craving for beef stew. And though it’s still summer, I want apple pie. Good thing Granny Smiths are available year round!
Regardless, whether you make these now or bookmark them for the fall, these pie pops are definitely worth making!
But are you skeptical of this cheddar crust?
It’s hard not to be skeptical if you’ve never tried it before, but now I can’t imagine eating apple pies without it.
The crust doesn’t necessarily taste cheesy, if you know what I mean, but rather the sharp cheddar enhances everything else that is there. Apples and cheddar really have a strong affinity for each other, and it’s very apparent once you’ve had a cheddar crust apple pie.
To get started, you’re going to make a regular pie crust, but you’re going to mix in some grated cheddar cheese in with the flour:
Since the crust only has five ingredients…flour, cheddar, butter, sugar, and water, please make sure to use a good quality cheddar cheese.
Pulse the flour, cheddar, sugar, and cold butter cubes together until the butter is broken down into small pea-sized crumbs, then dump the contents out into a bowl:
The food processor/bowl combo is one of my secrets for making amazing pie crust. You want to use the food processor to quickly and efficiently cut the butter, but you want to add the liquid to the mixture in a bowl by drizzling it over and tossing everything around to moisten evenly. This lets the ingredients bind together nicely, with little gluten development. You’ll see what I mean if you watch my pie crust video.
Form the cheddar pie crust into a disk and let it chill for at least one hour, and move on to the filling.
Chop up the apples and place it in a pan with sugar and lemon juice:
Add some cinnamon and lemon zest, and cook it for 10 minutes to soften the apples and turn it into a chunky apple sauce. Use a fork to mash it up slightly, but still leave some chunks:
Roll the chilled cheddar crust out on a floured surface and cut out circles:
Then dollop a spoonful of the apple pie filling on top of a circle and lay your lollipop stick down:
Press another dough circle on top and crimp it well:
Brush the tops with egg white to give it a glossy look (or use a whole egg if you want it to look more golden brown):
Bake for 20 minutes and they’ll come out golden and beautiful!
And that’s it! They’re ready to eat.
P.S. If you’re not digging the pie pop thing, this would work as hand pies as well. Just cut the dough into squares, fill them, crimp, and bake.
Apple Tarte Tatin, Caramel Apple Crisp, and Crockpot Applesauce are a few more of my favorite apple recipes. Enjoy!
Apple Pie Pops with Cheddar Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 12.5 oz all purpose flour, by weight (2.5 cups, measured)
- 4 oz grated Cracker Barrel sharp cheddar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 20 tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup ice water + more as needed
- 2 lbs granny smith apples peeled, cored, and chopped
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- zest of 1 lemon 2 tbsp spiced rum
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Egg white or egg yolk
Instructions
- Start with the crust by combining the flour, cheese, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine the ingredients. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse about ten times to cut up the butter into small pea sized pieces. Dump the contents out into a very large bowl, and drizzle in the ice water while using a spatula to toss the ingredients around. You should see the ingredients start to form clumps as the water moistens the flour. Add more water if needed, 1 tbsp at a time, until there is no more loose flour particles in the bowl. Form the dough into a disk and chill for at least one hour.
- To make the apple pie filling, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and lemon in a big skillet. Cook on medium high for 10 minutes until the apples soften, then mash with a fork. Leave some chunks in there for a nice texture. Mix the rum and cornstarch together until the cornstarch has dissolved, and mix it into the apple mixture. Apple pie filling is done!
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the cheddar pie dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles out with a cutter, and place a spoonful of the apple pie filling and a lollipop stick on one circle, and cover it with another. Crimp with a fork of the lollipop stick to close well. Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling. If you’d like, brush the pie pops with egg white or a whole egg for a glossy finish. Bake the pie pops for about 20 minutes until lightly golden brown and puffed. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
263 Comments on “Apple Pie Pops with Cheddar Crust”
Who knew cheddar with apple pie could be so good?
It is so intriguing! I can’t wait to try this. I’ll follow and try to do it at the weekend.
P.S. If you’re not digging the pie pop thing, this would work as hand pies as well. Just cut the dough into squares, fill them, crimp, and bake. Enjoy!
How many pie pops will this recipe make?
Great step by step! It’s going to get apple pie crazy in a few weeks. Thanks PS: shared it on my twitter