Delicious Caramel Apple Pie

My husband and I went apple picking recently, of course I went overboard and picked more apples than I knew what to do with. As we were headed home, we stopped at a local farm stand where they were selling a bunch of different pies. Among those pies, there was a carmel apple pie that looked and smelled phenomenal. I couldn't bring myself to spend the amount of money they were asking for this pie, so as soon as we got home I started digging for recipes! Here is one I found and although a little time consuming it was well worth it. 

Pie Crust Ingredient:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" chunks
6-8 Tbs ice water
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tbs water

Directions:

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles course meal. Add the 6 tablespoons of ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie dish and gently press into the dish. Trim the edges flush with the rim. Re-roll the dough scraps and use a cookie cutter to cut out decorative shapes for the top. If you want to skip this step you can just re-roll the dough and use as a pie shell instead. Refrigerate and get lets get started on the apple mixture!


For the apples:

4 lbs apples (Granny smith, pink lady, macintosh, or honey crisp)  peeled, cored and cut into slices or cubes

1/2 cup firmly packed packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grates nutmeg (store bought is good too)
1 Tsp fresh lemon juice (I prefer to use vanilla instead)
3 Tbs cornstarch

For Caramel:

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
6 Tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream 



Directions:

To prepare apples, in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, stir together the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and either lemon juice or vanilla. Cook and cover, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and let cool to room temperature. Stir in cornstarch. 

To prepare caramel, in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar corn syrup, butter and salt. Cook until the mixture is bubbling vigorously, about 9 minutes, stirring only during the first 2-3 minutes of cooking. Off the heat, carefully stir in 1/4 cup of the cream, then stir in the remaining 1/4 of cream.  Let cool until warm. Preheat oven to 375 F.

Let the pie shell and/or cutouts stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine apple mixture and 3/4 of the caramel (reserve the remaining caramel for serving). Pour the apple filling into the pie shell and place the top or cutouts over the pie. Trim any edges flush with the rim and press the top and bottom crusts together. Brush the underside of the cutouts with egg wash and gently arrange them on the pie (opted to skip the pie shell and just made cutouts instead). Brush the entire top crust with egg wash and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. 

Place the pie dish on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 1 hour (check the pie around the 30 min mark and cover with foil to prevent any burning). Let the pie cool, and warm the reserved caramel sauce and serve alongside the pie for drizzling. 

Enjoy!

Tracy