- HubPages»
- Food and Cooking»
- Dessert Recipes»
- Pies & Tarts
Easy Apple Pie: Apple-Cheese Casserole
Apple Pie Recipes
If you’re an American cook, you probably have several apple pie recipes. You know – as American as apple pie and all that. I’m pretty sure, however, that apple pie is enjoyed in other nations around the globe, too, and there are tons of variations on the apple pie theme. That’s especially true if you use the term “apple pie” loosely. If it has sweet apple filling and some type of crust, it qualifies, as far as I’m concerned. That leads me to today’s topic: a different sort of apple pie. Yes, it has a sweet apple filling and a pastry crust, but it’s not your traditional apple pie recipe. For one thing, it’s a heck of a lot easier to make. And for another, one of the ingredients is one you don’t usually find in an apple pie recipe!
Quick and Easy Apple Pie
You’ve all heard the old saying, “Easy as apple pie.” I’ve always wondered who came up with that saying. I think it had to have been someone who had never made a homemade apple pie from scratch. I, on the other hand, have created apple pies from scratch, and it ain’t all that easy! You have to peel, core, and slice the apples. You have to make the pie crust and roll it out to just the right thickness. Then you have to trim it to fit the pie plate. And you’re still not done.
Traditional apple pie also has a top crust or a lattice, so you have to make that, too. Well, my friends, forget all that complicated stuff. You don’t have to do any of it to make this yummy apple pie. My quick and easy apple pie recipe really is as easy as pie! You can have this quick dessert on the table and ready to devour in less than thirty minutes – from start to finish.
Apple Pie Filling
Do you make your apple pie filling from scratch, or do you use canned pie filling? To be honest, I do both. It depends on what type of pie I’m making and on how much time I have to devote to baking a pie. Even when I use canned apple pie filling, however, I always have to “doctor it up” a little. I usually add some butter, some cinnamon, and some ground cloves. Sometimes I have to add more sugar, and sometimes the canned filling needs just a pinch of salt.
When I make homemade apple pie filling from scratch, I like to use Granny Smith apples. In a pinch, I’ve used other apple varieties, including Jonathan and Gala, but the results weren’t quite as good as the flavors I get from Granny Smith apples.
Apples and Cheese
When I was a kid, I’d sometimes see adults melting a slice of cheese on their apple pie. I didn’t get it. In fact, I thought it was pretty weird. Apple pie was supposed to be topped with ice cream or whipped cream – not cheese. As I grew older, my taste buds became a little more adventurous. Now I love the flavor combination of apples and cheese. To tell you the truth, now I’d rather have cheese on my apple pie instead of ice cream. That’s if I had to choose between the two. Since I don’t, I can have both: cheese and ice cream.
With this apple pie recipe, you don’t have to melt a slice of cheese on top of your slice of apple pie. The cheese is already melted into the apple pie recipe! The type of cheese you use is totally up to you, but I prefer sharp cheddar. The salty, savory flavor of the cheese is wonderful with the sweet, slightly tart flavor of the apples. Of course, everyone is different, so you might prefer using mild cheddar. Another interesting choice is Colby, or a blend of Colby and cheddar.
The amount of cheese you use in the casserole is up to you, too. you might like the apple pie filling to have just a kiss of cheesiness, or you might like the filling to be ooey gooey cheesy on top.
Rate my Apple and Cheese Pie recipe! Thanks!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- butter-flavored cooking spray
- 2 packages (8 oz. each) refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cans (20 oz. each) apple pie filling
- 1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 - 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with butter-flavored cooking spray.
- Open one package of crescent roll dough and unroll the triangles. Use them to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Pinch seams together and press them with your fingers to smooth them. Open the other roll of dough and use half of it for lining the sides of the casserole dish. Again, pinch and smooth the seams together.
- Bake the empty pastry shell for about seven minutes, just until the dough begins to get puffy and starts to slightly brown on the edges. Remove casserole dish from oven.
- While the dough shell is baking, make the filling. In a large plastic or glass bowl, place the butter. Microwave the butter until it melts. Stir in the canned apple pie filling, the brown sugar, the cinnamon, and the cloves. Spoon the filling into the partially baked shell. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the apple pie filling.
- Use remaining crescent roll dough to make strips for adding to the top of the casserole/pie. I use four long strips and five shorter strips. An easy way to make the dough strips is to roll a portion of dough into a long rope and then flatten the rope. Arrange strips of dough over top of casserole, pressing them lightly against the other part of the crust. Return casserole dish to oven. Bake for about twelve minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
- Allow your apple pie to cool slightly once you’ve removed it from the oven. Like most apple pie recipes, the apple-cheddar casserole is wonderful topped with vanilla ice cream…or whipped cream...or both! To give it a little more kick, I sometimes sprinkle a pinch of ground cinnamon or ground ginger on top of my ice cream, whipped cream, or non-dairy whipped topping. If you can get your hands on some cinnamon-flavored ice cream, don’t pass it up. It’s great with this dessert! If you don’t have any ice cream or whipped cream, no problem. This apple pie recipe is yummy enough to stand on its own.
