Salted Caramel Apple Pie

With a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples, this salted caramel apple pie honors the classic with the addition of rich caramel. That’s what makes it really special.

The assignments for Thanksgiving dinner have been handed out.

No surprise, I am excited. The more things I get to make, the better!

Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of family holidays. It’s time that I bring my A game. 

In addition to 3 sides, I am responsible for 1 dessert.

The sides are no problem. The key thing is to find side dishes that are good served at room temperature.

That’s actually true with pretty much everything for Thanksgiving because competition for the oven is fierce.

I don’t know why, but dessert has me stumped.

There are just so many good options from a pear almond tart to even chili chocolate pumpkin marble bread.

But you can’t go wrong with pie. It’s the ultimate classic.

Indecision is my problem.

Trouble making up my mind turns into late-night online shopping.

As a result, I ordered mini pie pans thinking I would do one big salted caramel apple pie with smaller pies in other flavors to go with it.

The choices wouldn’t disappoint anyone, right?

But it didn’t take me long to realize that plan was a bit over-ambitious. Why not go with a single spectacular dessert?

If one kind of pie is that good, you don’t need options.

On Thanksgiving Day 2017, I posted a picture of this salted caramel apple pie on Instagram.

Surprisingly, it has taken me this long to post the official recipe.

Why Pie? Why Not!?

There are so many reasons to love pie for Thanksgiving.

If you are the person making the meal, it actually has more to do with the prep than the taste.

Think of pie as basically two main components: crust and filling.

By making the dough in advance, you give it a chance to rest and chill in the fridge. Take advantage of that time and flexibility.

Wait to make the filling the day you are planning to bake.

How To Make Salted Caramel Pie

On the day you are ready to assemble and bake the pie, you can cook the salted caramel in a saucepan on the stove before you do anything else.

Next prep the filling.

It’s a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples along with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg–everything you would crave for an apple pie.

With the filling ready, roll out the bottom crust and put it in the dish.

Then use a spoon to pile on the apples and pour in the salted caramel.

For the top crust, I am a big fan of a lattice. It looks beautiful with narrow or wide strips.

Before finishing the pie, crimp the edges and brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle on sanding sugar for a sweet crunch.

Every time I bake a salted caramel apple pie, there are never any leftovers.

Obviously, we polish it off.

What’s left in the pie dish are crust crumbles a pool of caramel.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

• Author: Paige Adams
• Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: 1 pie 1x

With a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples, this salted caramel apple pie honors the classic with the addition of rich caramel. That’s what makes it really special.

Ingredients

For dough

2–1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for work surface

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

4–6 tablespoons ice cold water

For caramel

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon sea salt

For filling

6 large apples (Honeycrisp and Granny Smith), peeled, cored and sliced thinly

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of ground nutmeg

For pie

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon sanding sugar

Instructions

For the dough, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Use a fork or pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it forms pea-sized clumps. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to gradually fold the water into the dry ingredients.

When the dough starts to form, use your hands to bring it together into a ball. Divide the dough in half, press into disks and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 2-3 days.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

To make the caramel, combine the granulated sugar and water into a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the caramel to a boil and stop stirring. Brush down the sides of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush as necessary. When the caramel is a deep amber color, remove it from the heat and whisk in the heavy cream, butter, vanilla extract and salt.

For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one of the dough disks into an 11-inch diameter circle about 1/8-inch-thick. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate. Spoon the filling into the pie and pour 1/2 cup caramel sauce over the apples.

Roll out the remaining dough into a rough 9-inch-by-12-inch rectangle. Cut into strips. Lay half the strips over the pie. Weave the remaining strips in the opposite direction, folding back the perpendicular strips as you go. (For lattice inspiration, try here and here).

Trim the strips creating a 1-inch overhang, Tuck the strips under the crust and crimp the edges. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Bake the pie for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. If the crust starts browning too quickly, loosely cover with foil.

Cool the pie to room temperature before serving.