Caramel Apple Pie

Caramel Apple Pie is a nice variation on the Classic Apple Pie.

Make a double crust and divide.  Roll out one of the halves and place it in a pie pan.

Peal and cut 5 -7 crisp apples and place in pie shell.  Mix together sugar and flour and pour over apples evenly.  Dot with butter.

Cut caramels into chunks (these were homemade but you can buy them and do the same).

Add and mix caramels to the apple mixture.

A little or a lot of caramel... its up to you.

Roll out top crust.  Use a plate to trim edges.  

You will use the trimmings to make some pretty roses.

Place your top crust onto the pie and crimp together with the bottom crust.  Make an X in the top of your crust and peel it open.  They will become leaves.   Once they are turned back, put leaf lines in them with a knife.  You can see this below... although  I didn't get a close up of me doing this step... sorry; next pie I might add it in.

Take your trimmings and roll them up to make roses.  You don't have to do much with them; you can pinch and smooth them here and there until they look right, but it works pretty well with very little effort.

You can see they are not perfect, and I didn't take too much time on them; but they add a creative touch that is attractive.

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 1 hour; details below.

Cut - Serve - Enjoy.

Carmel Apple Pie

5 - 7   Apples

3/4   Cup Sugar (I use Sucanat)

2 Tb Unbleached flour

1 tsp Salt (I use Celtic or Himalayan Salt)

1/2  Cup Butter

1 Cup Caramels.... more or less is fine.

1 Double Pie Crust  (See recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375  degrees. Peel and slice apples.  Place the slices into a pie shell.  Mix sugar, flour and salt.  Sprinkle evenly over apples. Dot with butter and caramel chunks.  Top with crust.  Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes.  Remove foil and cook another 10-15 minutes until inside is bubbly.

Note:  You could also make homemade caramel and pour it over the apples instead of the caramel chunks.  Pour about a cup over the apples and cover with the top crust.  Click here for a slightly healthy version of caramel.  If you do it this way, you can leave out the 1/2 cup of butter.

Perfect Pie Crust
For the full Pie Crust Post, click here

This is my favorite white flour crust.  It is tender and flaky and perfectly wonderful.  It is a recipe given to me many years ago by a friend who made pies for our small town, local restaurant.  I can see why her pies were very popular.

In a small bowl, mix together:
1/4 Cup Milk

2 Tb White Vinegar

Mix these together and place in the freezer until it is lightly frothy.

In  medium bowl,  add:
2 Cups Unbleached flour or half whole wheat flour and half unbleached

1/2 tsp Salt

Mix together and then cut in:

1 Cup Shortening (I use natural/organic palm shortening

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until all holds together.  You may need to add a couple of extra tablespoons of cold water to make all cling together nicely, just add a spoonful at a time until it holds together as you are stirring.  Don't knead; you want to mix and handle as little as possible. Divide and roll out on a floured surface.

NOTE:  I have noticed that when using the natural palm shortening instead of Crisco, that it is softer, and meltier, I have started reducing the shortening to 3/4 of a cup , and find that it is a bit easier to work with, and tastes just right.

Click here for other Fall ideas