Ingredients
- 1 recipe SB Pie Dough (recipe follows)
- 2 pears, cored and chopped
- 3 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
- 1 cup apple cider
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 pound sausage (I use Stripling’s Sage Sausage), cooked and drained
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Ingredients for Pie Dough
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
Directions:
Serves 8
1. Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle. Place into a 9-inch pie plate and flute; partially bake the dough.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Combine the pears, apples, cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, thyme and salt in a bowl. Place mixture in a large skillet at saute over medium-low heat until the apples are tender enough to pierce with a fork.
Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples and pears to a bowl and set aside. There should be about 1 cup of liquid left in the skillet. Cook the liquid on medium heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
4. Combine the sausage with the apples and pears. Add the reduced liquid and stir to combine. Pour into pie crust and sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Bake for 40 minutes.
SOUTHERN BAKED PIE DOUGH
Makes Dough for 1 single crust 9-inch pie
1. Cut the butter into small cubes. Combine butter and flour in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour. Add the salt and sugar. Continue to work the butter into the flour until the mixture has a consistency of course-ground cornmeal. The cubes of butter should now be smaller than the size of a green pea.
2. Add the water, all at once. Continue to work the dough until the dough begins to come together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and press into the shape of a disk. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to chill.
3. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out to desired size on a lightly floured surface.
4. Tip: The trick to making delicious pie dough is using cold ingredients. I even chill my flour, salt, and sugar. Starting with very cold butter and ice cold water will make a world of difference when it comes to the texture of the dough.