Caramel Apple Pie
Once apple season arrives, it’s a given that apple pie is on the dessert menu. And bolstering this dessert recipe with some gooey caramel sauce makes this Caramel Apple Pie one of autumn’s simple pleasures!
If you love Caramel Apples, why not use this classic combination and make a beautiful, autumnal pie!
Caramel Apple Pie
This is my second go-around for this pie. Previously baked in 2013, I was looking through the blog at apple recipes and had to give it another whirl! It seems things didn’t go smoothly with my first attempt, though it was inhaled by the pie loving family!
If you want to hear about that experience, I’ve saved an excerpt for you:
This one had disaster written all over it. First I left the apples simmering on the stove top and the Golden Delicious cooked into mush. Then the crust, full of lard and butter, didn’t look too hot, either. When I added the cornstarch to the hot filling, instead of letting it cool first, I had to spend the next few minutes pulling white pasty bits from the apples.
My caramel had to be recooked to the proper temperature after my first half-hearted attempt (I was certain by this time that the pie would be inedible). I didn’t even plan to take photos until Nick (home from college for spring break), who had been tantalized by the aroma of this Caramel Apple Pie, had the first slice. The not so pretty crust was flaky and delicious. The filling, drizzled with some of the caramel, baked into apple pie perfection. And with a scoop of vanilla ice cream doused with more caramel sauce, we had a surprising success. My next pie will be made when I’m not multi-tasking in the kitchen. Hahaha, that’ll be the day.
Tips for Making the Best Apple Pie
My second attempt went off without a hitch. Whew. Baked for Sunday’s dinner when the boys join us most weeks, they were thrilled with pie a la mode for dessert. Even Bill, who swears not to like caramel, enjoyed a slice every night until it was gone. He abstained from the extra drizzle of caramel sauce, though!
- In the autumn, there are loads of terrific pie apples in the grocery stores and farmers’ markets. I was thrilled to find some Northern Spys, my favorite pie apple, at a farmer’s market booth one Saturday. Ask which varieties are best for baking if you’re unsure, and play it safe by using 2-3 different kind of baking apples for the best depth of flavor and texture.
- I like to mix sweet, tart, firm and not so firm apples. You definitely want the majority of the apples to hold their shape so you don’t have an applesauce filled pie.
- You can easily use a store bought pie crust if that’s your preference. You can also use a jar of good quality caramel sauce (look for butter in the ingredients!).
- The pie crust recipe I’ve shared is from America’s Test Kitchen so it’s tried and true and very flaky. It’s unusual as it contains vodka which gives some extra moisture to the dough, but evaporates during the baking process. There is no taste of alcohol in this very flaky crust. Feel free to use your favorite double pie crust recipe if you have one.
- This pie crust also uses a combination of shortening and butter. The shortening makes it easy to work with and the butter provides a wonderful flavor. You can also use lard in place of the shortening which makes a super flaky crust, too.
- Do not buy the lard that’s stored on a shelf in the grocery store. I purchase leaf lard from a local butcher shop and it makes a fabulous crust, but beware that it’s a bit harder to work with pie dough made with lard over shortening.
- If you’ve ever made an apple pie and had a big, empty gap between the filling and top crust after it’s baked, this recipe has a solution.
- Precooking your apples helps prevent the shrinking of the filling that occurs when you bake with raw apple slices. It’s that shrinking of the filling that creates the unwanted space under the top crust.
More Apple Dessert Recipes You’ll Love:
I love all things apple, but making a two crust apple pie is often too complicated for a busy day.
- Apple Pie Baked Doughnuts
- No-Bake Apple Pie Lasagna
- Caramel Apple Pie Toffee Bars
- Apple Streusel Bars
- Cream Cheese Apple Torte
- Apple Crisp Cheesecake
- Cinnamon Spiced Apple Bread
- Apple Cobbler
- Best Fall Recipes
- More Apple Baking Recipes
- More Pie Recipes
Adapted from a recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website.
Caramel Apple Pie
A classic double crust apple pie enhanced by homemade caramel in the filling!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons butter (cut into small pieces and chilled)
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (or lard, cut into 4 pieces and chilled)
- 1/4 cup cold vodka
- 1/4 cup cold water
For the filling:
- 4 pounds Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and each cut into eighths), I used a combination of Granny Smith, Northern Spy and Jonathan
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
For the caramel:
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1/3 cup corn syrup
- 6 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cream
To finish the top crust:
- 1 egg white (beaten with 1 teaspoon water)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
Make the crust:
Place 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse till just until combined. Add butter and shortening and process about 10 seconds (dough will appear crumbly). Scrape sides of bowl. Add remaining 1 cup flour and give 4-6 quick pulses. Remove blade from processor, then
sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With a rubber spatula, mix and press dough until it sticks together. Flatten dough into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour minimum.
Roll out one disk of pie crust and place in a 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Refrigerate the pie shell and remaining dough round for 30 minutes.
To prepare the apples, in a large pot over medium heat, stir together the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the cornstarch.
To make the caramel, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until the mixture is bubbling well for about 9 minutes, stirring only during the first couple minutes of cooking. Remove from heat, then carefully stir in 1/4 cup of the cream, then stir in the remaining 1/4 cup cream. Let cool until just warm. Preheat oven to 400°F.
If the dough in your pie pan is really firm, let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the apple mixture and 3/4 cup of the caramel. Save the remaining caramel to serve the pie. Pour the apple filling into the pastry lined dish and place the top crust over the pie. Trim the edges of the top crust so that both top and bottom crusts are flush with the rim. Press crusts together around the rim and crimp as desired. Brush the top crust with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Place the pie dish on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. If crust is browning too quickly, cover edges with foil. Remove pie from oven and let cool to room temperature on wire rack. Serve with ice cream and rewarmed caramel sauce, if desired.
Yeild: 8 servings
Notes
Crust adapted from The Best of Americaโs Test Kitchen via The Mom Chef
Filling and caramel adapted from Williams-Sonoma
Calories reflect using all the excess caramel to drizzle over pie slices. We found we did not use it all.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 937Total Fat: 45gSaturated Fat: 25gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 638mgCarbohydrates: 126gFiber: 8gSugar: 83gProtein: 6g
This post from April, 2013, was updated with new photos and text in 2018. Old image circa 2013.
73 Comments on “Caramel Apple Pie”
OMG! Just when you thought applie pie ala mode could not get any better! Looks so wonderful – I love caramel!
Haha – funny story – but it happens to most of us from time to time. It still sounds and looks delicious. I know my son would love that – he likes apple anything.
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You just can’t beat an apple pie for good taste. This recipe sounds amazing!
It looks perfect! The caramel sauce on top sounds fantastic. I would have kept asking when this would be done too!
The pie looks incredibly delicious!
Such a yummy treat , Lizzy ! Apple pie with caramel and ice cream sounds terrific ๐
We all have disaster experience in the kitchen,but If taste really good, I’ll make it again LOL ๐ btw perfect with a scoop of ice cream and drizle with cramel sauce ๐
Disaster or not, that is one amazing apple pie, Lizzy! Just looking at that beautiful slice with that scoop of ice-cream and caramel sauce, I am positively swooning…..
I’m not brave enough. ๐ Off to buy some store-brand stuff.
If I’d not read your blog and skipped straight to the recipe(s), I’d never have known such tantalizing pictures of pie held a dramatic backstory =)
And as Lora points out if our beloveds enjoy it, that in itself is a grand victory.
P.s. Your photo is going on my Pinterest board.
It is always so frustrating when things go wrong in the kitchen. And it’s always a downward spiral after one thing goes wrong. Either way, this pie looks fantastic! Caramel and apples were meant to be!
Oh yum, you can never go wrong with apple pie and caramel!
Applie pie is one of the best comfort foods for me.. ๐ It reminds me of nice warm last summer days.. ๐
Awwww…that delicious apple pie is making me hungry! It’s really a bad idea to be blog hopping at this time of the night!
lol, i totally hear you on the multi-tasking! but this really sounds and looks wonderful!
That looks like my kind of “caramel apple”!!! Never would have guessed that you had such trouble because it looks perfect and was obviously delicious. You multi-task quite well I’d say!
oh my, disaster? Not in my book at all. You know I’m all over apple desserts and paired with caramel-yes! I had a similar experience w/a strawberry crostata I made yesterday. My daughter said it may not look perfect but it is perfect and tastes perfect…that’s all that counts, right?:)
This looks incredible, can’t tell you had any challenges at all. Love it!
I hate it when I have those disaster days in the kitchen. Usually I can fix things, but sometimes I have to start over. Luckily they don’t happen very often. Anyway, this pie turned out looking great! Nice recipe, and even though it turned into more work than you expected, I’ll bet it was worth it. Good stuff – thanks.