Agent Scully, do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials? 

The Pilot starts off strong, with so many things that make The X-Files The X-Files: the Cigarette Smoking Man is there, smoking ominously; Mulder introduces the case with a slideshow presentation; mentions of hypnosis, metal alien implants, Mulder’s sister’s abduction story; Scully misses The Paranormal Event because Reasons; and we end on the reveal of an overarching government conspiracy relating to the Agents’ work. We’re hoping that this slightly savory, a little spicy and definitely unique Sun-Cheddar Apple Pie is an equally strong opening for this X-Files cooking blog.

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We wanted to do a pie for the first recipe of this blog, because all throughout the Pilot is the presence of the show The X-Files owes its existence to: Twin Peaks.  The episode opens in a dreary Pacific Northwest forest, an FBI agent (in this case two agents) comes to a small town with dark secrets, the diner, the teenage victims, the way that everyone involved knows more than they’re letting on.

And the pie had to feature sunflower seeds, because, of interest to these bloggers, one of The X-Files‘s minor characters also debuts in this pilot episode: Sunflower Seeds.  That’s right, Mulder’s eating them within the first ten minutes of the episode and then can later be seen casually discarding the shells into an open grave.  

So, for this, the inaugural recipe file, we wanted to come up with a dish that, like The X-Files pilot itself, pays homage to Twin Peaks, and also features Mulder’s ever present snack.  One of our favorite recipes featuring sunflower seeds is an apple cheese sandwich, based on the Apple Cheddar Melt at Sammy T’s Restaurant in Fredericksburg, VA. So, to bring in the Twin Peaks angle we thought, why not an apple, cheese and sunflower pie?  The end result is this rustic savory pie, more like a snack than a dessert. And it’s a damn good pie.  It’s just to die for, if you’ll pardon the expression.  

Before we move on to the recipe, one last thought about this episode– after the power outage, how is the hotel filled with candles? Where did these come from? And, was the hotel fire actually arson, or just caused by Scully’s abandoned candle? The Truth is out there.  

How to make the sun-cheddar apple pie

Make the Crust

To make this Sun-Cheddar Apple Pie, you’ll want to make the rustic multi-grain cheddar crust in advance. Grate the cheddar cheese and set aside. Do not use pre-shredded cheese for this recipe, as it will not melt as well as freshly grated. Combine spelt flour, white flour, flaxseed meal, 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, mustard, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

Next, cut 12 tbsp of the butter into small pieces and cut into the dry ingredients. We used a pastry blender, but you can also use a food processor or the fork & knife method. The important thing is to not handle the dough too much with your hands, so as to not melt the butter. The resulting dough should be the texture of medium crumbs.

Stir in the cheddar cheese. Add 1/4 C of ice water and stir. Slowly add additional water, 1 TBSP at a time, until the dough starts to come together. Keep the piecrust dough as dry as possible while still being wet enough to form a dough. Once the dough comes together, divide into two balls and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Make the Filling

While the crust chills, prepare the filling. We don’t recommend a specific type of apple for this pie. Instead, using a few different varieties will give the pie more complex flavors and texture variation. For this iteration, we used a mix of Granny Smith, Gala, and one small Red Delicious apple. Another upside of this casual apple approach is that we can use up the apples that we get delivered in our Colorado Farm to Fork produce box.

Peel and then thinly slice the apples. Add apple slices to a large bowl and stir in the juice from half a lemon (about 3 tbsp). Add 1/4 C sugar, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg and stir to combine. If you want your filling to be less spicy, add less cayenne pepper. Stir in the sunflower seed butter.

Assemble and bake

We found that the crust holds up best if we blind bake it a little before adding the apple filling. Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle some flour on your rolling surface (we like to use parchment paper). Then, using a rolling pin, roll out the bottom crust until it is about 1/8” thick. Sprinkle the crust with sesame seeds and press them in using the rolling pin. Invert the bottom crust into the pie pan, and trim off any excess crust. Line the pie pan with parchment paper, and add weights (pie weights, dry beans or dry rice works well).

Bake for about 5 minutes then remove the parchment paper and weights. Pierce the bottom crust with a fork, and then return to the oven for about 7 more minutes. If the edges of the crust start to brown, you can cover them with foil or a pie shield, but you want to bake this until the bottom crust to start to feel dry to the touch. Remove from oven and decrease temperature to 350°F. Add the apple filling to the pie pan. Cut the remaining 1 tbsp of butter into small pieces and spread them on top of the apple filling.

Roll out the top crust and invert on the pie. Trim any excess dough from the edges and use a knife to cut some vents into the pie crust. We went for The X-Files X, of course. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes, until the pie crust starts to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

You may find that you have extra pie dough (depending on the size of your pie pan, and how thinly you rolled the dough). We like to use our leftovers to make Savory Piecrust Twists.

Sun-Cheddar Apple Pie Recipe