It’s the Great Apple Pie

I never liked apple pie. This will not be a post about how my grandmother made pie and how I sat at her knee while she taught me how to perfectly peel an apple. Honestly, I cannot remember ANYONE in my family that made apple pie. And anytime we were out, I opted for the pecan, pumpkin or lemon meringue pie, never the apple.

I was a willful child. I didn’t like apples naturally (unless covered in sugar.) Therefore, I never ate apple pie. EVER. But then, as I began to grow and mature, I started to figure out why I didn’t like certain foods. When it came to apple pie, I hated the crunchy texture of the apples and the mixture itself was too sweet. So, I made an apple pie for apple-pie-haters like myself and have been able to win every single one of them over. Cooking down the apples before baking creates a silky, buttery texture, and pairing the filling with a salted caramel forms a lovely balance between sweet and salty (which I adore.) So this apple pie, I can honestly say is the best apple pie in the world (or at least in mine!)

 

Recipe: Makes 1 8-inch Caramel Apple Pie

For the Filling:

3 golden delicious apples

3 honey crisp apples

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons of flour

1 teaspoon of apple pie spice

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

1/3 cup of raw sugar

1/4 stick of butter

Peel, core and slice apples. Put apples in a large bowl with lemon juice to prevent browning. Add flour, apple pie spice and cinnamon to bowl. Mix to combine. In a large pan, melt butter and sugar in pan. Add apples to the pan. Cook down on medium heat for about 25 minutes. Let cool before handling.

Salted Caramel:

1 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of water

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 teaspoon of fine sea salt

Combine sugar and water over low heat until dissolved. Add butter and bring heat up to medium. Bring to boil. Keep an eye on the pot! Whenever the liquid turns amber, take it off the heat and add the cream and vanilla. It will splatter a lot so stand back. Keep stirring until smooth. Bring back to low heat and add salt. Let cool for a few minutes.

For the Pie Crust:

2 ½ cups of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 stick of butter, cold and cut up into cubes

½ cup of shortening, cut up in small pieces

6-12 tablespoons of ice cold water

1 egg, slightly beaten

In a food processor, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add butter and shortening to the flour mixture. Pulse to combine all of the ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add the cold water, tablespoon-by-tablespoon, pulsing in between tablespoons. Seriously, pulse. You don’t want the heat from the motor interfering with the consistency of the dough. Add water until the dough comes together into a ball. The dough should not be sticky or crumbly. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

To Assemble:

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon of raw cane sugar

Preheat oven to 400⁰

Take one of the prepared piecrusts from the fridge and roll out piecrust out onto a lightly floured surface until about 9-inches in diameter. Place the dough into an 8-inch pie plate. Place ½ of the prepared filling into the pie plate as well and top the filling with half of the caramel. Continue with the rest of the apple filling and caramel sauce. Roll out the second disk of dough and place it on top of the pie. Crimp the edges of the 2 piecrusts together. Create a slit on the top of the crust to allow the steam to escape. Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle with raw cane sugar.

Place in a 400⁰ oven for 20 minutes, then rotate the pie and decrease the temperature to 375⁰ for another 20-25 minutes (or until the top is golden brown.) Let cool for a few moments to allow the filling to set. Enjoy!