Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Growing up in San Diego, there was only one place for apple pie in the autumn and it was Julian.  Nestled in the mountains of San Diego county, it's one of the only places I've ever seen snow. The added bonus of Julian is that it's stuffed full of used bookstores and antique shops, making the trip up there definitely worthwhile. I pretty much compare every apple pie I eat to Mom's and most of them fall pretty darn short. 

What could make an apple pie better than it already is? A layer of gooey caramel, of course! It's definitely an interesting twist on classic apple pie. 


It's what would happen if a caramel apple and a Mom's apple pie had a love child. 


btw. do you say car-mul or care-uh-mel? I'm a car-mul person myself.


Basically, you chop up some apples and cook them down in butter, brown sugar, and spices...

Bake a pie crust and fill it with caramel

fill that with the apples

toss on some crumb topping, and bake!

Caramel Apple Pie (adapted from Pete Bakes)
-i know the recipe looks pretty intense, but it's actually fairly simple - 

1 pie crust (i love Joy the Baker's Crust, but a frozen store-bought crust will work too)

caramel sauce

2/3 c sugar
1/4 c water
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp butter
3/4 tsp kosher salt

filling

1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) butter
2 lbs granny smith apples, peeled, and sliced
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 Tbsp flour

crumb topping
6 Tbsp flour
6 Tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

*note, if your'e not a big fan of crumb crust, you could make a two-crust 

pie out of this just as easily

Pre-bake your pie crust either according to your recipe or the package


Next, make your caramel sauce by cooking the water and sugar on medium high heat until it starts to turn dark amber. At this point, immediately remove the pot from the heat and dump in the heavy cream and butter. It will bubble up, but keep stirring constantly until you're left with some nice-looking caramel. 
-I went a little heavy on the salt, but you can salt to taste or omit altogether-


Set your caramel aside and cook down your apples in the butter, under medium-high heat until they are soft. Take them off the heat and stir in vanilla, spices, cornstarch, and flour.


Then make your crumb topping by dumping all the ingredients into a bowl and mixing it around with your hands until loose crumb clumps have formed. Make sure not to overwork the topping though, or the butter will melt and the whole thing will get messy.


Now you can assemble your pie! Pour the caramel in the bottom, add the apple mixture, and top with either the crumb topping or your second pie crust. 


Bake the whole thing (on a cookie sheet to catch the caramel that bubbles over) at 375 for about 25-30 minutes or until it's golden. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes before eating.