Vermont Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust
A butter crust with grated sharp Vermont cheddar folded in, filled with sliced apples, sugar, maple syrup and apple pie spice, layered with thin slices of more cheddar under the top crust and baked at 375°F until browned. Vermont's 1999 state pie law names cheddar as one way to serve it.
Apple pie is the state pie of Vermont by law. The Vermont statutes read simply that the State Pie shall be apple pie, added by Act 15 of 1999, and the next section makes the apple the State Fruit (and). The act went further than the statute book shows. Vermont Public's Brave Little State (October 30, 2025) read its second section aloud: when serving apple pie in Vermont, a "good faith" effort shall be made to serve it with a glass of cold milk, a slice of cheddar weighing at least half an ounce, or a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, any one of the three. The sponsor, Ed Paquin, said the idea of a state pie came from a grade school class and that other lawmakers added the milk, cheese and ice cream; Vermont Public also quotes a former state representative, Phil Angell, saying the clause has no force beyond giving people something to talk about.
Cheese with apple pie is older than Vermont. Wikipedia says the pairing began in 17th-century England, with sharp cheddar or Wensleydale, and that Yorkshire still eats a Wilfa apple cake topped with Wensleydale. Yankee Magazine's Vermont apple pie serves slices of aged cheddar on the side. This recipe puts the cheese inside: it comes from Beth Kennett of Liberty Hill Farm in Rochester, Vermont, published by Cabot Creamery, the farmer-owned cheese cooperative, with cheddar in the crust and on the apples.
🇺🇸 This one is American
A butter crust with grated sharp Vermont cheddar folded in, filled with sliced apples, sugar, maple syrup and apple pie spice, layered with thin slices of more cheddar under the top crust and baked at 375°F until browned. Vermont's 1999 state pie law names cheddar as one way to serve it.
🇬🇧 The original
England baked apple pies centuries before America: a short pastry crust filled with apples, sugar and spice, the line that settlers carried across the Atlantic. See the English Apple Pie (Cooking Apples Under a Pastry Lid) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Cheese in the dough
Grated sharp cheddar melts into the pastry as it bakes, giving a savory, salty crust that plays against the maple-sweet apples, the way a slice of cheese on the side does.
Egg and vinegar
The egg makes the dough sturdier and richer, and the vinegar helps keep it tender while you work in the cheese.
Watch it in 60 seconds
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 375°F. Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl and cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
- Step 2
Beat the egg with the vinegar and 1/2 cup of the cold water. Stir it into the flour, then add more water a tablespoon or two at a time only until the dough holds together; you may not need it all. Gently fold in the grated cheddar without overmixing, which makes the crust tough. Divide the dough in half, flatten into disks and refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Step 3
Roll one disk into a 12-inch round and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate.
- Step 4
Toss the apples with the sugar, maple syrup, spice and cranberries, if using, and pour them into the crust. Lay the cheddar slices over the apples.
- Step 5
Roll the second disk, lay it over the filling, trim and crimp the edges and cut a few vents.
- Step 6
Set the pie on a baking sheet and bake about 45 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned, the juices bubble through the vents and a thin knife slides easily into the apples. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing.
Vermont Apple Pie with Cheddar Crust
Serves 8 · one 9-inch pie · 1 hr 25 min total
Cheddar crust
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold salted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- Up to 1 cup very cold water
- 4 oz (113 g) sharp or extra-sharp Vermont cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
Filling
- 4 cups peeled, cored, thinly sliced apples
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp apple pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries (optional)
- 3 to 4 oz sharp cheddar, thinly sliced
Method
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl and cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
- Beat the egg with the vinegar and 1/2 cup of the cold water. Stir it into the flour, then add more water a tablespoon or two at a time only until the dough holds together; you may not need it all. Gently fold in the grated cheddar without overmixing, which makes the crust tough. Divide the dough in half, flatten into disks and refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Roll one disk into a 12-inch round and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate.
- Toss the apples with the sugar, maple syrup, spice and cranberries, if using, and pour them into the crust. Lay the cheddar slices over the apples.
- Roll the second disk, lay it over the filling, trim and crimp the edges and cut a few vents.
- Set the pie on a baking sheet and bake about 45 minutes, until the crust is nicely browned, the juices bubble through the vents and a thin knife slides easily into the apples. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing.
Adapted from Cabot Creamery, "Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust", credited to Beth Kennett, Liberty Hill Farm, Rochester, Vermont, 8 servings. We follow it as written: a crust of 3 cups flour and 1 tsp salt with 1 cup salted butter cut in until crumbly, then 1 egg, 1 tbsp cider vinegar and up to 1 cup very cold water stirred in only until combined, and 4 oz grated sharp cheddar folded in gently; the dough halved and rolled, one half pressed into a pie plate; 4 cups thinly sliced apples with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 tsp apple pie spice and 1/2 cup fresh cranberries (optional); 3 to 4 oz thinly sliced cheddar layered over the apples; the top crust trimmed and crimped; about 45 minutes at 375°F until nicely browned. Adding the water gradually (Cabot lists a full cup, which is more than most crusts can take), the 30-minute chill, the vents, the baking sheet, the bubbling and knife cues and the cooling time are ours. History from the Vermont statutes (1 V.S.A. §§ 512 and 513, read on the Legislature's unofficial online copy), Vermont Public, Wikipedia, "Apple pie": and the Wisconsin State Law Library, "Must Cheese Be Served with Apple Pie?" (March 2012). cabotcreamery.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Cabot suggests its Vermont Sharp, Extra Sharp or Seriously Sharp cheddar for the crust and an aged cheddar for the slices.
- Beth Kennett's serving idea, per Cabot: Greek yogurt in place of whipped cream.
- Yankee Magazine names Rhode Island Greening, Roxbury Russet and Cortland as traditional Yankee pie apples, and McIntosh as good too.
- For the law's other options, serve it with a glass of cold milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Vermont law requires cheddar on apple pie. Disputed: Vermont Public read the 1999 act's "good faith" clause aloud, and the Wisconsin State Law Library describes it too, but it asks only for a good-faith effort at one of three options (milk, a half-ounce of cheddar or ice cream), the codified statute we read says only that the state pie is apple pie, and a former lawmaker quoted by Vermont Public says it has no force. Never say "required by law".
- Wisconsin law requires cheese on apple pie. Documented as false: the Wisconsin State Law Library found only a 1935 law requiring restaurants to serve a little cheese and butter with meals, which expired in 1937.
- Cheese on apple pie began in England. Documented as Wikipedia's account (17th century, cheddar or Wensleydale), which rests on a single source.
- "Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze." Folklore: an old rhyme, repeated by a reader under Yankee Magazine's recipe; no source dates it.
Every other apple pie
English Apple Pie (Cooking Apples Under a Pastry Lid)
Chunks of tart cooking apples with honey, cinnamon and mixed spice piled into a deep pie dish under a single lid of butter shortcrust, glazed with egg and baked hot at 400°F until golden and bubbling.
Wiener Apfelstrudel (Viennese Apple Strudel)
A soft egg and oil dough stretched over a floured tablecloth until it's paper thin, brushed with butter, layered with hazelnut breadcrumbs fried in butter, sliced apples, rum-soaked raisins, cinnamon and cloves, rolled up and baked at 350°F until golden.
Tarte Tatin (French Upside-Down Apple Tart)
Apple quarters packed in a skillet and softened in butter, covered with a light amber caramel cooked to 355°F, topped with a chilled disk of butter pastry, baked at 350°F until the edges bubble thick and syrupy, then flipped onto a platter.
Appeltaart (Dutch Apple Pie)
A tall springform pie with a cookie-like brown sugar crust pressed in by hand, packed with precooked Golden Delicious apples, golden raisins and speculaas-style spices, topped with a crisscross of dough strips and baked at 375°F for about 75 minutes. Served "met slagroom", with whipped cream.
Versunkener Apfelkuchen (German Sunken Apple Cake)
A buttery vanilla and lemon batter spread in a springform, topped with a ring of peeled apple quarters scored on top so they fan open and sink as the cake rises around them, baked at 350°F for about 45 minutes and brushed hot with apricot jam.
Gammeldags Æblekage (Danish Old-Fashioned Apple Cake)
Not a cake at all: tart apples cooked with vanilla and lemon into a chunky sauce and chilled, breadcrumbs toasted golden in butter and sugar, and lightly whipped cream, layered in glasses just before serving.
Sharlotka (Russian Apple Sponge Cake)
Four eggs and a cup of sugar beaten until thick and airy, a cup of flour folded in with diced apples, baked in one pan at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, then topped while hot with sour cream stirred with orange marmalade.
Classic American Apple Pie (Double Crust)
Eight cups of thin-sliced apples tossed with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, thickened with flour and cornstarch and dotted with butter, sealed between two flaky butter and shortening crusts, baked at 425°F and then 375°F until the filling bubbles hard through the vents.
Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie (Crumb Top)
One flaky shortening crust filled with 2 pounds of apples tossed with sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, covered with a lumpy brown sugar and butter streusel instead of a top crust, baked at 425°F and then 350°F.
Apple Pandowdy (Old New England Pan Dowdy)
Apples with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, molasses and butter baked between two crusts in a square pan at 425°F, then the top crust is slashed and pushed down into the juices in rough chunks, "dowdied", so it turns half crisp, half pudding.
Southern Fried Apple Pies (Dried-Apple Hand Pies)
Dried apples simmered soft and mashed with sugar and cinnamon, spooned onto 5-inch rounds of lard pastry, folded into half-moons, crimped with a fork and fried in lard at 350°F until blistered and lightly browned.
Skillet Apple Crisp (One-Pan, About an Hour)
Apple wedges sautéed in butter in one ovensafe skillet and coated with reduced cider, covered with a pecan, oat and brown sugar crumble made with melted butter, and baked hot at 450°F for 15 to 20 minutes until the fruit is tender and the top deep golden.
Fried Apple Hand Pies (Inspired by McDonald's, Not Official)
A copycat of the original fried fast food apple pie, inspired by McDonald's, not official: diced apples sautéed in browned butter with brown sugar and cinnamon, sealed in rectangles of pie dough and deep-fried at 375°F until golden and shatteringly crisp.
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