Salted Caramel Apple Pie

As Thanksgiving nears, it’s time to come up with a menu and a game plan. Ours always includes an apple pie that the cousins have made together since they were little. It’s a Junior League recipe, and everyone loves it both for the nostalgia and for the spicy, sugary apples that sit on the counter prior to the pie being filled. Sometimes I wonder if we should just make a big bowl of apples and cinnamon and sugar and put out some little toothpicks and call it a day. But my family thinks otherwise.

This year – and I have only shared this with one of the cousins – we are going to be making a new apple pie. After 10 years (maybe more), it’s time. Also, after I tried the recipe Sally shared for Salted Caramel Apple Pie in her online Sally’s Baking Addiction, I could not go back. This is over-the-top with a caramel drizzle, and the crust is fairly perfect. The one cousin who tasted this new-fangled apple pie actually came up with the idea on her own: “I think we might have to change our pie this year,” she said cautiously, eyes squinted. So here we are.

This is a project, and this project can absolutely be divided into manageable steps: 1) Make the crust, divide it into two discs, wrap tightly, and freeze. 2) Make the caramel sauce, pour it into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. You will need to warm it a bit before drizzling it into and/or on top of the pie. Once those two things are done, it’s a no-brainer. 

I hope you might have room this Thanksgiving to work in a new pie, too. If not, this is still one to keep in your arsenal.

This is over-the-top with a caramel drizzle, and the crust is perfect. It's a bit of a project, but worth it.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie
Very slightly adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Chilled All Butter Pie Crust, recipe below (or 2 prepared pie crusts)
Homemade Salted Caramel, recipe below (or store-bought caramel sauce), cooled
½ cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
10 cups 1/3-inch thick apple slices, from about 8 large, peeled, and cored apples (use a mix of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and/or Fuji)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 large egg beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling on crust

If you are not using a prepared crust, make the All Butter Pie Crust using the recipe below and wrap it to chill in the refrigerator. If you are not using store-bought caramel sauce, make the Homemade Salted Caramel using the recipe below, and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl using a fork, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom together to combine. Add the apples and lemon juice, and toss to coat. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you are using homemade pie crust: On a floured surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled pie dough to a circle 12 inches in diameter (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish that is 1 ½ to 2 inches deep. Tuck the dough in with your fingers, making sure it’s smooth.

Place the apples in the crust. It will seem like a lot of apples, and that is okay. Pile them high and tightly together. Drizzle with ½ cup of the caramel sauce. (If homemade salted caramel has solidified, warm it on the stove or in the microwave until it’s pourable.)

Remove the second disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a 12- to 14-inch diameter circle. Either place the second crust on top of the pie, using a sharp knife to cut 4 small slits in the center to let steam escape, or watch Sally’s excellent video on how to create a lattice crust here. Fold up the overhanging dough around the pie, and pinch the edges to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges.

Beat the egg together with the milk in a small bowl, and brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Place the pie onto a large, rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375, and continue baking until the apples are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. If the crust seems to be browning too much, loosely tent aluminum foil over the top.

Remove the pie from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for at least 3 hours before slicing, so that the filling sets. Drizzle with remaining caramel sauce if desired, and serve with vanilla ice cream. The pie can sit at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

All Butter Pie Crust
Adapted slightly from Sally’s Baking Addiction

2 ½ cups flour, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch cubes
½ cup ice water, plus more as needed

Place the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse again, until you have pea-sized bits of flour-coated butter. With the motor running, slowly drizzle the water in and pulse until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry, add about a tablespoon of water at a time. (You can also do all of this in a bowl using your fingers to rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the water.) 

On a floured surface, form the dough into a ball. Divide it in half. Use your hands to flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disc. Wrap each disc tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 5 days (or freeze for up to 1 month). 

Homemade Salted Caramel
From Sally’s Baking Addiction

1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and sliced into 6 pieces
½ cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat the sugar in a medium, heavy saucepan (do not use nonstick) over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir, about 6 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.

When the sugar is melted, immediately stir in the butter until it is melted and combined. The butter will bubble rapidly. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove from the heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. Keep whisking until it comes back together, even if it takes 3–4 minutes. It will eventually—just keep whisking. Return to the heat when it’s combined again.

When the butter has melted and combined with the caramelized sugar, stir constantly as you very slowly pour in the heavy cream. This will rapidly bubble. After all the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring and allow to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.

Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. The caramel will be a thin liquid. Allow to cool slightly before using; caramel thickens as it cools. 

Cover tightly and store for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. The caramel will solidify in the refrigerator; warm it in the microwave or on the stove before using.