Sausage and Apple Pie

Directions

1. Make the Cheddar Cheese Dough: Combine all ingredients but the ice water in a large bowl. With clean hands or a pastry cutter, blend the mixture together until it looks like coarse meal with some lumps in it.
2. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons ice water over the mixture and stir lightly with a fork.
3. Squeeze a handful of dough together. Mix in a bit more water as needed.
4. Divide the dough in half and make two chubby discs about 5 inches (12 centimeters) across. Wrap the discs separately in plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
5. To make the Sausage and Apple Pie: Place the apples, salt, juice or cider, brown sugar, thyme, rosemary, and allspice in a sauté or fry pan and cook on medium-low heat until you can just start to put a fork into the apples. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside. Reserve the juice.
6. Pour the juice into a small saucepan. If you have less than a cup, add more juice or cider to make 1 cup, then turn the heat to low and cook until the juice has reduced in amount to about one-quarter its amount and has nearly caramelized. Be careful not to let it burn. This will take about 10 to 12 minutes.
7. Spoon the sausage into the apple mixture, pour over the reduced cider, and mix well.
8. Adjust the salt to taste and let the filling cool.
9. Roll out the bottom crust and place in your pie pan. Add the filling.
10. Roll out the upper crust and place it on top. Seal the edges, crimp, and vent.
11. Make an egg wash by beating together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water with a fork. Brush the pie with egg wash.
12. Bake at 400° F (205° C) for 40 minutes. Give the pie two more egg washes at 10-minute intervals during the first 20 minutes of the bake.
13. Let the pie cool for 15 minutes or more before serving.