How’s everyone doing? I hope this finds you all well and happy. Me? Well, as most of you know, I’m a professional worrier, so I’m worrying. This time about Sandy the hurricane. The BFF lives in a suburb of D.C. in Virginia, and for the second time in 14 months, they’re about to be hit by hurricane.
All the hype on TV about Sandy is driving me nuts with worry. So, like I always do, I turn to cooking to take my mind off of it. After all, as the BFF reminds me, there’s nothing I can do about it, I might as well cook. We agreed that if she were here with me, we’d make and enjoy some pie. When we lived next door to each other in Chicago, we were ALWAYS up for a good pie.
As it turns out, we still are. We found one! This time it’s Caramel-Apple Pie. Talk about the right choice. This is the best apple pie I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a few. I’m not kidding! I love warm apple pies in the fall, don’t you? I only wish BFF was here to help eat it.
This recipe is adapted from one in Midwest Living’s “Favorite Fall Pie Series” (there’s a series!!). This particular one comes from Nebraska City, Nebraska. I’ll bet they never get hit by hurricanes…
Want to try it? Here’s what you’ll need for our version:
Pie Crust Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons milk, divided into individual tablespoon increments
First, in a large bowl, cut 1/3 cup of butter into 1 1/4 cups of flour using your pastry blender until you have pea-sized pieces. (Alternatively, use your fingertips)
Then, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of milk over the mix and stir gently with a fork. Do this 3 more times, until the dough is completely moistened.
Now, shape it into a ball.
Next, roll out dough, on a lightly floured surface, into a 12 inch circle. I wrapped my dough around my rolling pin and gently unwrapped it into a 9-inch pie plate. Then, I trimmed the dough so it hung over the pie plate about 1/2 an inch. Without crimping it, I folded the dough under itself. You can crimp it if you’d like. No need to prick the dough for this one. Then, just set the crust aside while you make the filling.
Time for the apples! Peel and coarsely chop the apples of your choice. I used Galas. You’ll need 6 cups of apples.
For the filling you’ll need:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Whisk those three ingredients together in a large bowl…
add the apples, and toss so all the apples are coated.
Transfer the apples to your pastry-lined pie plate.
Now, stir together 2 tablespoons of your favorite caramel dip to 2 tablespoons of milk…
…and drizzle over your apples.
It’ll look a lot like this.
Next, prepare the topping:
Topping ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes.
Put the topping ingredients into a medium bowl…
…and combine with that pastry blender again (or your finger tips) You’ll want it to look something like this.
Sprinkle the filling over your pie….
…until you’ve completely covered it.
Cover the edges of your pie with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. I placed my pie on a rimmed baking sheet, just in case it bubbled over. (It didn’t) Remove the foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes…
…until your pie is a beautiful golden color.
Let the pie cool on a wire rack and serve with another drizzle of the caramel dip.
I love that you can taste the caramel in the pie, but not so much that it overpowers the apples. After all, the apples are the stars of the show, and are simply highlighted by the other ingredients. Yes, making pies takes a little time, but this one is worth every second. And, if you’re a professional worrier like yours truly, it’s just what you need to take your mind off of any worries. Thank goodness for pie 
This blog turned 2 years old today. It’s been through a lot of starts, stops and even a couple of moves, but it’s still here thanks to you guys. Thank you so much! I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for stopping by.
Caramel Apple Pie
Adapted from Midwest Living
Ingredients:
- Piecrust (recipe below, or use your own, or even a frozen 9-inch crust)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 cups peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped Gala apples or other cooking apples (2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup purchased caramel-apple dip or caramel ice cream topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
Directions
- Prepare Piecrust (directions below, or use a frozen piecrust). On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, without stretching it. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Do not prick pastry.
- For filling: In a large bowl, stir together granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour and cinnamon. Add the apples. Gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. In a small bowl, whisk milk into 2 tablespoons of the caramel-apple dip; drizzle over apples.
- For topping: In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apple filling. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Place pie on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes more or until apples are tender and top is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes. Drizzle remaining caramel dip over top. Cool on a wire rack.
Piecrust
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 – 5 tablespoons milk
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, use a pastry blender to cut butter into flour until pieces are the pea-size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon milk over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening the flour mixture, using 3 to 4 tablespoons more milk (1 tablespoon at a time), until all the flour mixture is moistened. Shape dough into a ball.
Instead, we have Chuck.
