Gruyere and apple pies

These are the sweetest and cutest pies to make for holiday parties. Shaped a bit like dumplings, they are filled with spiced apple filling which plays off of the slightly savory, cheesy crust.

You’ll need:

For the dough:

• 11 T cold butter
• 2 cups AP flour
• pinch of salt
• approx 5 T ice cold water
• 1/2 cup grated gruyere
• 1 egg (for egg wash)

For the filling:

• 2 apples
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 t lemon juice
• 1/3 cup raw sugar + more for sprinkling
• 1 t nutmeg

1. Make the dough first since it will need to chill for at least an hour. You know the drill – ice cold water and ice cold butter, diced into small pieces. Combine the salt, flour, cheese, and butter and work in until you reach a crumbly texture. Add in the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Knead lightly – it may be easier to wrap the dough in plastic wrap first – and form into a ball. Refrigerate for an hour.

2. In the meantime, make the filling. Wash, core, peel, and dice the apples into small pieces – they don’t have to be even, but should be pretty small because you will want to fit in as much filling into each pie as you can. In a bowl, mix the apples with sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and nutmeg.

3. Preheat oven to 390F. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface. Using a cookie cutter or a glass, cut out rounds about 4 inches in diameter.

4. Spoon filling in the middle of each round, seal off the edges like you would for a dumpling or a ravioli and brush with the egg wash. Repeat this until you use up all of the dough. Sprinkle each pie with sugar before baking.

5. Bake on parchment on a silpat for about 25 minutes until golden.

I was thinking that in the summer, these would be fantastic with rhubarb and strawberries too.