Caramel Apple Pie

Here is my caramel apple pie recipe as promised! Make sure to serve it warmed with vanilla ice cream. SOOOO GOOOOD!
Pie Crust:
Blend 2 1/2 cups flour with 14 tbsp. cold butter and 1/2 tsp. salt. Stream in 6-7 tbsp. cold water until dough just comes together. Separate into two equal sized balls and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes before rolling out on a floured surface (search "pie crust" in the sidebar for more detailed instructions).

Filling Ingredients:
7-8 Jonagold apples
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup toffee bits

Glaze Ingredients:
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (1 tsp. cinnamon to 1/4 cup sugar)
2 egg whites, beaten

Assembly:
Core, peel and thinly slice apples. Toss them with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients and toss with apples in a large bowl. In a large saute pan set to medium heat, melt butter and add apples. Stir in heavy cream and cook 6-8 minutes until apples soften. Allow apples to cool in the pan before turning mixture into your pie crust. Sprinkle toffee bits over top of apple mixture. Lie top crust over and crimp edges. Brush the pie with beaten egg whites and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Vent pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 for remaining 45 minutes.

Technique Tuesday: Apple Pie Tips

Apple pie is a once a year endeavor in my house. It is a more labor intensive dessert than my usual favorites, but it is absolutely delicious and perfect when made from beautiful, hand picked apples from our favorite orchard every fall. The smell of this pie baking fills up my whole house with the most incredible, warm and homey smell you can imagine. Top this baby with french vanilla ice cream and you are in for a treat! The tips below will ensure that your pie is a winner, but check back in on Thursday for my Caramel Apple Pie recipe!

1. Vent your crust
You want to make sure that the steam that builds up during the baking process has a way to escape. There are all sorts of cute little ways to vent the top of a pie, but my favorite is to carve an initial of a loved one. As you can see in the picture from this post, I carved an "L" for my sweet daughter. Next time I think I'll go a little crazy and upgrade to a cursive L :)

2. Make sure your top crust is golden and sweet
Brush your sealed, vented crust with egg yolk and sprinkle on a combination of cinnamon and sugar (try 1/4 tsp. cinnamon to 1/4 cup sugar...use the leftovers on buttered toast). Your pie crust will be golden and sparkly; it will also taste amazing!

3. Use a baking sheet under your pie pan

A good rule of thumb when baking anything from quiche to pies is to place a baking sheet underneath your pie pan to catch any juices that might spill out during baking. Even if you have a wonderful self-cleaning oven, dried gunk on the bottom of your oven is still a big mess!

4. Crimp your edges

This skill has taken me a long time to master! My trick is to cut the top layer a little longer than the bottom and fold the top behind the bottom as you go. Next, use your fingers to crimp the edges. I didn't use this technique on my previous pies, so when my husband saw this last one he was surprised that I'd done the crimping myself!

5. Choose the right apple

A sturdy, flavorful apple is best in pie. I suggest Jonathan or, my favorite, Jonagold. Honeycrisp apples are the absolute most delicious apple I've ever tasted, but they can get pricey. I would save those for snacking!

6. Use the right amount of apples

The apples will shrink down in size during the cooking process, so I would suggest using a little bit more apple than you think you would need. I typically use about 7-8 good sized apples in my pies.

7. Bake high then reduce your heat

Baking for about 10-15 minutes at 450 then reducing to 350 for the rest (about 45 minutes) will ensure that you get a beautiful, golden crust with a perfectly cooked pie.

Technique Tuesday: Pie Crust is N-O-T scary!

Pie crust is one of my more recent endeavors...I've always been somewhat phobic about following any kind of recipe, so pie crust seemed really intimidating! One I played around with a few recipes and employed some tricks garnered from tv watching and complaining to my family and friends, I figured out what worked best for me. Now that I've got a solid recipe and the technique down, pie crust has become one of my go-to recipes for quiches and desserts. Pie crust is no longer scary!

The ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

a generous sprinkle of salt (about 1/8 tsp.)
7 tablespoons cold butter
2-3 tablespoons cold water
1/8 tsp. sugar (only add this ingredient when making sweet dishes...don't add for quiches!)

Assembly:

Add all ingredients except water to a large food processor (if you don't have one, you can mix by hand with a cutter). Pulse and SLOWLY stream in water until dough just comes together. Be careful not to add too much water or your dough will be gummy! Form dough into a ball and wrap in cellophane. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling out.


A note about rolling pins: I HIGHLY recommend buying a silicone rolling pin. It sounds silly, but it makes all the difference in the world when baking. I was lucky enough to receive this cute blue one from my good friend, Jenny, and I have been baking up a storm with it ever since!

Make sure your surface is floured (I usually put 3-4 tbsp. of flour down and pat it onto the dough before rolling). When you roll out your dough, rotate the dough clockwise between rolls so that you end up with a nice circle. When you rotate the dough, gently lift it from the surface to make sure it isn't sticking. Add some additional flour if you find your dough is stuck.

The idea of getting your perfect circle of dough neatly into a pie pan can inspire some serious panic. Try rolling the dough around your rolling pin so you are lifting a more compact bundle into your pan. Unroll the dough from top to bottom into the pie pan, and you are almost there!

My aesthetic skills leave something to be desired when it comes to crimping! I always just say that I am shooting for rustic... Crimp the edges between your fingers (use the index finger of one hand and the index and middle finger of the other hand to crimp).

You can double this dough recipe for pies that require a top layer of dough. I make a caramel apple pie in the fall after our annual trip to our favorite orchard and always add a top layer, crimping the edges together and experimenting with different cut-outs on top. Brush a mixture of egg whites and a dash of heavy cream over the top of your pie and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar for that delicious glistening-golden look.

Stay tuned for my favorite quiche recipe....I have one downstairs cooling on the stove as I type...YUM!