The details

This Salted Caramel Apple Pie is an ode to the pie my Dad has made for every Thanksgiving/Christmas/holiday event since I can remember, and it is my absolute favorite. He doesn’t have a recipe per say, but rather eyeballs a bunch of ingredients, mixes them with sliced apples, and dumps them into a Pillsbury pie crust. Yet somehow it is AMAZING every time?? It’s magic. After watching carefully for a few years now, I’ve put a spin on his classic recipe (classic to me at least) by incorporating my all-butter pie crust, an apple layering technique, and most importantly dumping homemade salted caramel to be baked in there. The result is flaky, buttery, gooey spiced apple goodness and I think it does his recipe proud.

What makes this pie special

My all-butter flaky pie crust is a simple pastry recipe made with European salted butter (I prefer Kerrygold, not sponsored), ice water, apple cider vinegar, a little sugar and AP flour. I like to mix my pie crusts with my hands for better control over incorporation of butter and water. When mixing pie dough, you want to incorporate cold butter until pieces are almond-sized (walnut sized results in melty dough, smaller butter pieces make it mealy).
The perfect level of spices, sugar, and lemon. This recipe calls for lots of cinnamon (or you can do mix it up and sub homemade chai spice mix for cinnamon–I’ve done this with good results), the juice of a freshly squeezed whole lemon, and some sugar for sweetness. I think it’s important that a good apple pie strikes the balance between sweet and tart. There’s nothing I hate more than a pie that hits one sugary note. So the lemon juice is absolutely necessary, and the sugar amount carefully considered to balance that out.
The perfect combo of apple types. Gotta give my Dad credit for this one. He swears by mostly granny smith with some macintosh mixed in, and let me tell you this works. Granny smith apples stay intact and tart, while macintosh tend to melt into gooey sweet mush that complements. I’ve also made apple pie with granny smith + honeycrisp with good results if you can’t get your hands on macintosh.
Thinly sliced, layered apples. Peel your apples and slice them very thinly–think 1/8 inch. This can be achieved with a Kitchenaid spiralizer attachment, but honestly, I peel and slice by hand most of the time and find the process therapeutic. Now, the next important part is arranging the apple slices in concentric circles to maximize the apple/volume ratio. We want as little dead airspace between the apple slices as possible. This reduces the dreaded “sagging” of the apple filling during baking, which can result in a sad looking pie. Taking the time to arrange the apples creates delicious layers packed with fruit. I encourage you to stack them high, as they will come down some due to baking.
Baked to golden, crispy perfection at a lower temp than most recipes (350 degrees F). Using a whole top crust, rather than a lattice, and a low baking temp encourages steaming of the apples. So they don’t need to be pre-cooked, and end up with the perfect texture. 1 hour of baking time at 350 will also yield a perfectly golden crust, just don’t skip the egg wash and sugar sprinkle before baking.
Salted caramel dumped on top of the apples and baked inside, do I even need to explain. I use my Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel recipe in this pie, and it is to die for. Visit the page for that recipe for videos and more details instructions for nailing salted caramel at home, every time. If salted caramel is too much, simply sub with more sugar, a few pats of salted butter, and salt. See recipe for details.
It’s made with love. Everyone has a dish or recipe that’s special and nostalgic to them, and this is my number 1.

Pie tricks of the trade

Arrange your apples in concentric circles & careful layers to reduce shrinkage (see pic below)
Wrap a “foil collar” (foil folded 3 times and wrapped around the circumference of the pie dish) to prevent control browning during baking. I like to keep the collar on for the first 30 mins and remove it for the second half of baking.
Use an all butter crust! This recipe calls for the crust to be mixed, shaped into disks, wrapped in plastic wrapped, and chilled for at least 30 mins and up to 3 days. Then, allow the pie dough disks to come to room temp for at least 10 minutes before rolling out to prevent cracking. Use lots of flour on your workspace to prevent sticking and make pie crust transfer a breeze!
Always a pan underneath in the oven to catch drippings. Thank me later for this tip. All good pies ooze and drip, including this one.
Freeze your whole pie for 30 mins before baking! This helps chill your crust and increase flakiness. A step not to skip.

Similar recipes

These recipes are sure to satisfy your fall sweet tooth and nestle nicely at your dinner table with this special apple pie.

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
Butternut Spinach Gruyere Quiche
Dark Chocolate Pudding Pie
Salted Honey Butter Yeast Rolls
Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Bake to this music

Dad’s Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Print Recipe

This super special pie is my Dad’s recipe, amped up a notch with salted caramel! Salted Caramel Apple Pie is perfectly flavored with a golden, flaky butter crust. A must-have at any Thanksgiving table.

Yield: 8 pie, 12 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the all-butter pie crust:

1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch chunks (I like to use European butter)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ice water (ice strained out)
1 egg, whisked
2 tbsp water
Demerara sugar for topping (optional)

For the salted caramel:

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean)
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 tsp sea salt

For the apple filling:

5 granny smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3 macintosh apples, peeled and thinly sliced
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup salted caramel (recipe above, or substitute 1/2 cup sugar +3 tbsp butter chunked + pinch salt)

Instructions

Make your pie crust dough. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together AP flour and sugar. Add cubed cold butter, mixing with your hands, until butter pieces are almond-sized and even dispersed in the flour. Add ice water and apple cider vinegar and continue mixing with fingers until loosely incorporated.
Evenly divide pie dough into 2 portions, shape into balls, and flatten into disks. Cover in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 days. I like to let them chill overnight.
Make your salted vanilla bean caramel. Mix together heavy cream and vanilla bean paste in a heatproof bowl, and warm for 30 secs-1 min in the microwave. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and water. Heat on medium-high, whisking for a minute or two until the sugar begins to melt. Once the mixture gets hot and starts to boil, stop mixing immediately. Watch this mixture until it becomes amber in color and smells toasty. As soon as this happens, add your warm heavy cream mixture, whisking vigorously. The caramel will bubble up aggressively so be ready! Remove from heat, add butter and salt, and continue to whisk until smooth. Pour hot caramel into a heatproof container and allow to cool while you assemble your pie.
Turn out one pie dough disk onto a heavily floured work surface and roll it out into a circle roughly 2-3 inches wider than your pie dish. Carefully transfer to the pie dish. Set aside in the fridge.
Make your filling. In a large bowl, toss together sliced apples, cinnamon, lemon juice, cornstarch, flour, and sugar. Arrange apple slices on your bottom crust in the pie dish, making concentric circles and nestled layers. Stack the apples high.
Drizzle 1 cup of the salted caramel you made overtop of your apples in the pie. They will bake into the filling in the oven.
Roll out your remaining pie crust and cover your apples with it, crimping the edges to create a seal and encourage steaming within the pie. Cut a couple slits in the middle of the top pie crust for venting purposes.
In a small bowl, whisk 1 egg with 2 tbsp water to create an egg wash. Brush this egg wash over the top pie crust, being generous. Sprinkle well with coarse sanding sugar or my favorite, Demerara sugar.
Put your whole pie in the freezer for 30 mins-1 hour. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees while the pie chills.
Create a foil collar by folding a loooong strip of foil 2-3 times and wrapping the foil around the edge of the pie. This will allow you to control browning on the edges of the pie.
Bake your pie on the bottom rack of the oven, with a sheet pan below it to catch drippings, at 350 degrees for 1 hour, removing the foil collar after 30 minutes. The pie will be golden brown on top and bubble/ooze caramel apple filling when done. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack for at least 30 mins-1 hour prior to serving.
Drizzle with the remaining salted caramel and serve a la mode if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

Cinnamon can be substituted for other fall spices if you wish. I like to use my chai spice blend from time to time.
This pie can be made in conventional pie dish, 10 inch tart pan, or deep dish pie dish.
Pie keeps well at room temp or refridgerated for 3-4 days after making.
European butter, such as Kerrygold, is preferred for my flaky pie crust as it has a higher fat and lower water content and yields a richer, flakier crust than conventional American butters.

Author: Caroline Crockett
Category: dessert, pie