The "Pie Whisperer" Shares Her 1-Ingredient Upgrade for the Best Apple Pie

I adore baking pies—the sense of accomplishment that comes from pulling one out of the oven is unmatched, a delicious reward for my effort and patience. And despite my decades of professional cooking experience, my pie-making skills still feel quite juvenile. So, even in my brief conversation with Kate McDermott, the "Pie Whisperer" herself, I learned a lot.

The James Beard finalist and author of Art of the Pie and Pie Camp has an inviting, straightforward approach to pie-making that has earned her the respect of culinary giants like Dorie Greenspan, Ruth Reichl, and David Lebovitz. "You can absolutely add sharp cheddar cheese to the crust," McDermott says with an enthusiasm that made me feel her smile through the phone.

This simple addition—just grated cheese folded into the flour and butter—can transform a standard apple pie into something much more sophisticated.

Why Add Cheese to Pie Crust?

"It adds an incredible tang to the dough," enthuses McDermott. Despite what you might think, the sharp, salty notes of aged cheddar don't compete with the sweet apples; they actually enhance them by creating a multilayered flavor profile. It's the same reason we love cheese and fruit pairings on charcuterie boards, as well as dipping savory chicken nuggets into plum sauce or honey mustard.

The cheese acts as a flavoring agent and a fat source in the dough, contributing to the gorgeous golden color and creating a sturdier crust that holds up beautifully. Maybe there is something to that old New England saying McDermott shared with me: "An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze."

The only thing about this dough, she playfully cautions, "is that it's not as tender." "If you're looking for a beautiful dough that's just going to melt and crumble apart if you breathe on it, this is not for you," McDermott jokes. But for apple pie specifically, that sturdiness is actually a benefit—it holds up to the juicy filling and creates a satisfying textural contrast.

Tips for Adding Cheddar to Your Apple Pie

McDermott offers these tips to make the cheddar addition to your apple pie a success:

• How much cheddar should I use? McDermott adjusts her classic dough recipe by substituting one cup of grated sharp cheddar for half of the fat, instead of using all butter, lard, or shortening. If you are using a different pie crust recipe, you can add up to one-half cup of grated cheddar to the recipe.
• Grate and chop it. How you add the cheese makes a difference. McDermott grates the cheese, then chops it finely with a knife—because the cheese gets deeply browned, this prevents those long, stringy-looking cheese pieces from appearing in the dough and is more evenly distributed. McDermott says you'll instead get more appealing brown flecks, or "freckles," as she calls them.
• Don't forget the filling. McDermott also adds the savory dairy directly to her apple filling. You can "add up to one cup of grated cheddar cheese," she tells me. Sprinkle it over the pie filling before adding the top crust, and as it bakes, the cheese will "melt down into it." Another option, she says, is to "spoon half of the filling into an unbaked pie shell, top with some slices of cheddar cheese, and then spoon in the remainder of the apple pie filling."
• Use it for savory pies, too. This was McDermott's bonus tip. She uses this same cheddar crust for savory pies, including what she describes as a "killer" sausage and apple pie from Art of the Pie.