Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350° F.
- Stir the ¾ cups sugar, ¼ tsp salt, and ½ cup flour together in a small bowl until it’s combined.
- Cube the ¼ cup cold butter and cut it into the flour mixture until you have course crumbles. I use a pastry cutter for this. The process is similar process to making biscuits.
- Next, combine the shredded cheese with the flour mixture and set it aside.
- Combine the 7 sliced and peeled apples in a separate large bowl with the water and lemon juice. Toss the apple slices until they're coated.
- Prepare a 9 x13 baking dish. Place apples to the buttered baking dish. Layer apples in one even layer along the bottom of casserole dish.
- Sprinkle cheese mixture over the top of the apples and press it down lightly.
- Bake the casserole at 350° for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Serve warm.
Notes
Keeping the butter very cold creates a thicker crust in the casserole. Take your butter out of the fridge just before you use it.
Coating the peeled and cut apples in the lemon juice helps keep them from turning brown. Try to coat them right after they’re cut.
If you want a thicker casserole, bake the recipe in an 8x8 square dish.
Use fresh firm apples. This will prevent the apples from getting mushy while baking.
Shred your own cheese. Shredding the cheese yourself will help it to melt better in the casserole. Pre-shredded cheese just isn’t as good.
Let it rest before serving. After baking, let the casserole sit for about 10 minutes to allow the cheese to set and the flavors to meld together.
Don’t overbake the casserole. Keep an eye on it towards the end of the cooking time. You want the cheese to be melted and bubbly, but not too browned, to avoid drying out the casserole.