While some were swearing off pie as part of their new year’s resolution, I was resolving to get up close and personal with it and finally tackle baking a pie from scratch. Between hand-making the dough and weaving a lattice top, the idea of baking pie had always intimidated me, but, over an afternoon last month, my lovely friend Allison in the City invited me over for a baking date to check a resolution off my list. The recipe for our Salted Caramel Apple Pie comes from a few of Allison’s favorite recipes.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie
*Filling adapted from Four and Twenty Blackbirds
*Pie dough adapted from Bon Appetit
Ingredients:
Pie Dough:
3 cups flour, plus more for dusting
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
12 tbsp chilled, unsalted butter
1/4 cup chilled, fresh lard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 large egg yolks
1 whole egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Salted Caramel:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp flaked sea salt
Apple Filling:
2 1/2 pounds apples
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 dashes Angostura bitters
2 tbsp flour
To Make:
Pie Dough:
Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Cut chilled butter and lard into pieces and add to the flour mixture, pulsing until only a few pea-sized bits of butter remain. Transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk egg yolks, vinegar, and 1/2 cup ice water in a small bowl.
Pour half of the egg mixture over the flour mixture and use a fork to gently mix until combined. Add the remaining egg mixtures and mix until the dough has mostly come together.
Turn dough out onto a lightly flour surface and cut into quarters. Stack pieces on top of one another, placing unincorporated dry pieces between layers, and press down to combine. Repeat the process twice more, and all dough should be incorporated and hold together.
Divide dough in two and form into 1″-thick discs. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
Salted Caramel:
Cook sugar and water together over low heat, without stirring, until dissolved. Add butter and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking until the mixture is a deep caramel color. Remove from the heat and carefully add the heavy cream. Whisk mixture together over low heat and sprinkle in the sea salt. Set aside.
Apple filling:
Preheat oven to 375F and grease a 9″ pie pan.
Core, peel, and thinly slice apples. Combine with lemon juice and remaining ingredients.
Roll out one disc of pie dough to a 14″ round. Place in pie pan.
Arrange half of the apples in the pie pan. Pour half of the caramel over the top. Repeat with the remaining apples and then the rest of the caramel. Avoid pouring in the apple juices to avoid a runny pie.
Roll out the remaining pie dough disc into a 12″ round and cut into about 10 strips. Arrange on top of the pie in a lattice pattern (tutorial here, if you need).
Crimp the edges of the crust. Brush the lattice top with the egg wash and lightly sprinkle with flaked sea salt and raw sugar.
Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet (pie will likely bubble over) and bake 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F and continue baking until crust is golden and apples are tender when pierced with a knife.
Let rest at least 1 hour before serving. Top with a hearty scoop of vanilla ice cream for maximum deliciousness.
The sweet and ever-so-slightly salty flavors came together into a pretty damn good pie (OK, maybe the best thing I ever made). Pie making is serious business, but, in the end, I was so proud of how my first one turned out… and having an entire pie to indulge in for the next few days didn’t hurt, either.
Noms Not Bombs 