There are three parts to this pie. It’s just like my deep dish apple pie, but towers high with salted caramel inside and on top. First, we have the buttery flaky pie crust, then the cinnamon-spiced apples, and finally the salted caramel. Let’s discuss the crust first.
Pie crust can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s made with a few simple ingredients. Flour, salt, cold water, and fat. You can make pie crust with shortening or with butter. Why shortening? Shortening aids in creating flakiness. Flaky, tender, melt-in-your mouth crust. Butter imparts unparalleled, impeccable flavor. Nothing beats butter.
However, my pie crust uses both. The best of both worlds. Flaky, tender, buttery pie crust made from shortening AND butter. It’s nothing new – tons of folks do it this way. And it’s the way I like it.
Make the apple filling as the dough is chilling. Fresh lemon juice, apples, flour, spices, and sugar. We suggest using a variety of apples. I used Pink Ladies (sweet) and Granny Smiths (tart). You get more complex flavor in each bite using a combo.
What Type of Apples Are Best for Pie?
It’s best to use a variety of apples in apple pie. Just like when we make apple cake, I recommend using half tart and half sweet. I love tart Granny Smith apples paired with a sweet variety such as Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Jazz, and/or Fuji. Here is a complete list of the best apples for baking.
Next, add the pie filling to the dough. You may think, “There is way too much filling, it won’t fit!” But it will.
Make the salted caramel. Pour 1/2 cup of salted caramel over the apples:
Take the remaining chilled dough ball out of the refrigerator. Roll it out into a 12 inch diameter. We made a lattice pie crust for the top. You can chose the kind of crust style that you want. Any other style requires you to cut several ventilation slits on the crust top. Just go with lattice. It’s pretty even if you mess it up.
Before baking, brush the top with an egg wash, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. (Looks like salt, but we promise it’s coarse sugar!) This is exactly how we finish off blueberry pie too!
You will love this updated version of the traditional classic! It’s comparable to eating giant caramel apples, but with a buttery flaky crust thrown on top. We served ours with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream because there’s always room for ice cream, right? It’s one of our favorite Thanksgiving pies, but there is no reason to wait until fall’s harvest to make your new favorite apple pie.
More Apple Pie
- Homemade Apple Pie with Chai Spices
- Apple Pie Bars (with salted caramel!)
- Apple Crumble Pie
- Salted Caramel Apple Galette
- Baked Apples
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
Salted Caramel Apple Pie
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 7 hours
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Classic lattice-topped apple pie bubbling with salted caramel and gooey, cinnamon apples.
Ingredients
- Homemade Pie Crust or All Butter Pie Crust (both recipes make 2 crusts, 1 for bottom and 1 for top)
- Homemade Salted Caramel
- 8 large apples, cored, peeled, and sliced into 1/4 inch slices (10 cups or about 1.25kg total)*
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice OR ground cloves (either are fine)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
- optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on crust
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare pie crust recipe through step 5.
- Make the salted caramel. You can do this as you wait for the pie dough to chill.
- Next, make the apple filling as the dough is still chilling: Place apple slices into a very large bowl. Add sugar, lemon juice, flour, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Gently toss to combine. Set aside.
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. With a small and sharp knife, trim the extra overhang of crust and discard.
- Fill the pie crust with the apples. There are a lot of apples, but pile them tightly and very high. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of the salted caramel, reserving the rest for topping.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Place baking sheet on the bottom oven rack to catch any filling juices.
- Make the lattice crust: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough out, 12 inches diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut 16 strips 1/2 inch wide. We always use a clean measuring tape or ruler as a guide to assure the lines are straight. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Using a small and sharp knife, trim the extra overhang. Crimp the edges of the dough with a fork or your fingers.
- Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar, if using.
- Bake the pie for 25 minutes; then, keeping the pie in the oven, reduce the oven temperature down to 375°F (190°C). Place a pie crust shield (see Note for homemade shield) on the edges to prevent them from over-browning. Continue baking the pie until the filling’s juices are bubbling, 35-45 more minutes. If you want to be precise, the internal temperature of the filling taken with an instant read thermometer should be around 200°F (93°C) when done. Tip: If needed towards the end of bake time, remove the pie crust shield and tent an entire piece of foil on top of the pie if the top looks like it’s getting too brown.
- Cool pie for 4 hours before serving. Drizzle the pie with the extra caramel sauce to serve. This apple pie is best served on the same day, but it can be covered tightly and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The pie crust dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using. Baked pie freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Rolling Pin | 9-inch Pie Dish | Pastry Wheel or Pizza Cutter | Pastry Brush | Pie Crust Shield
- Best Apples to Use: Firmer apples are ideal for baking. Avoid soft, mealy, and mushy apples. For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of tart and sweet apples such as tart Granny Smith (in my opinion, this is the best overall apple for baking) and a sweet variety like Honeycrisp, Jazz, Fuji, or Pink Lady.
- Aluminum Foil Pie Crust Shield: You can purchase a pie crust shield or make one from aluminum foil. Cut a 14-inch square of aluminum foil. Fold in half. Cut out a 5-inch semi-circle on the folded edge. Unfold. Carefully fit the aluminum foil over the pie crust edges, securing down on the sides as best you can (careful, the pie is hot!), leaving the center of the pie exposed.
Keywords: salted caramel apple pie, apple pie
Sally, I made this pie, with your all butter pie crust, and it turned out beautifully! My son and I both loved it! I’m trying out your regular tried and true shortening and butter pie crust this weekend to compare and see which I’ll use for pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving! Thank you for another stellar recipe!
Hi Sally
is it possible to make the crust and the salted caramel befor hand and keep it in the fridge for a few days before making the pie?
thank you
Hi Irene! Yes, that’s no problem at all. Cover and refrigerate both before assembling and baking.
My brother wanted an apple pie for his birthday, but I wanted a break from the plain old apple so I made this pie! The salted caramel is delicious! He loved it!
P.S. I’m trying to bake every one of your fall recipes!
This pie was so good! The only down side it I couldn’t stop eating the caramel so I had to make more!
Hands down the best apple pie I’ve every made E-V-E-R!! This pie is my new Thanksgiving Day tradition!!
hi sally I’m gonna try to make this pie however my husband doesn’t like salted caramel . can i just make this caramel sauce without adding salt on it?
Sure can! Though I would reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon. It wouldn’t have a balanced flavor if all the salt was left out.
Hi! I made this pie years ago and it was a hit. Now I want to make this pie with pears instead of apple. Do you think the substitution will be fine? Would you suggest a certain type of pear over another?
Thanks!
Hi Sherrie! I don’t recommend super ripe pears– on the firmer side would be great. I would reduce down to 8 cups.
This is truly the best apple pie I have ever eaten, hands down! The caramel, the CARAMEL! Loved it!
I was wondering, if instead of making the lattice top can I instead make little hearts out of the second pie dough?
Absolutely!
I made this pie yesterday and it was so amazing! The pie crust was perfect and so easy to use. I normally use the Tenderflake recipe but I think this is my new go to. I love trying lots of your recipes. I’ve been making two or so a week maybe more Lol. Thanks for all your amazing work and I can’t wait to get your first cookbook then soon your new one!
Fantastic recipe easy to follow and taste great. I never made caramel sauce that too turned out wonderful Thank you so much
Hi, I was wondering if instead of a lattice top I could do a strusel or crumble?
Yes, absolutely. Here is an apple pie I made with a crumble topping you can use for this pie.
This was my first time making any pie from scratch so I was very nervous how it was going to turn out. But it turned out great! This pie dough recipe is definitely a keeper. The clear and detailed instructions and pictures to along with it are what saved me. Thanks for the great recipe!
This pie came out absolutely perfect! I went apple picking yesterday and used the fresh orchard apples to make this delicious pie. The salted caramel sauce is so wonderful! I had a hard time keeping my husband from eating it all 🙂
Delicious! It came out perfect!
Love your recipes. I give you credit whenever I share something I’ve baked. My co-workers thank you. Made this apple pie tonight but replaced the lattice with a crumb topping. Served it up with some vanilla ice cream and of course more salted caramel sauce, which is the best ever! I will never buy the jar stuff again! Happy Holidays!
Finally made this. AMAZING!!!!! Thank you so much.
So, yesterday I spent six and a half hours baking in the kitchen; I think I sat down once the entire time. That’s because I was making this, the pumpkin cake cheesecake, and your peppermint bark. Sure, it was time-consuming and exhausting, but it was beyond worth it, because they all turned out BEAUTIFULLY. Not only are they all absolutely delicious–and this has been attested to by all 12 people over for Thanksgiving–but they look gorgeous, too! This was actually the first pie I made by myself, and it turned out perfectly, both in taste and looks (the lattice is GORGEOUS). I don’t even usually like apple pie, but I adored this. The brightness of the lemon with the rich sweetness of the caramel was perfect.
Basically, all of your recipes are golden. I’ve lost track of how many recipes I’ve made from this site, but I can tell you now that they are always, without fail, incredible. So I’m thankful for you. 🙂
Hi Sally!
I have made this pie many times before and love it. I was wondering if instead of doing a lattice top do you think I could just cover the whole top of the pie with pie crust?
Absolutely. Make sure you cut a few slits in the top crust so steam can be released during bake time.
Sally,
First of all I want to tell you that I made this pie tonight, and everybody in my family said it was the most delicious apple pie they’d ever eaten! It’s all gone now, and people are already requesting that I make it again tomorrow! So delicious! Second, I want to say thank you for blog and all the amazing recipes you post! You are a huge inspiration, and because of your blog, I’ve become so passionate about baking and I even plan to go to pastry school! Thank you for all that you do, and I hope to bake almost as good as you one day!
-Erin
Hi, Sally. Would it be totally fine if I leave out the caramel sauce in the recipe? Or should there be an adjustment in the amount of sugar because of the absence of the caramel? Thanks. 🙂
Leaving out the cameral without adjusting anything else in the recipe is just fine. I do it all the time. Enjoy!
Why do I need to wait 4 hours to eat it? I like warm apple pies. Will it fall apart if I don’t wait?!!!
The pie will not slice neatly unless it’s cooled off. Feel free to warm back up, or if you eat it right away – keep in mind it won’t be stable.
I don’t know why but I have always been scared to try and attempt pie crust from scratch…but when I got the email with a pie crust recipe from SBA, I knew I could FINALLY try it and feel pretty confident on how it would turn out.
This was SO much easier than I thought it would be and in the end it turned out GREAT!
For a few years I would use store bought crust and make the filling from scratch, but I love knowing the fact that I can make pies completely from scratch now 🙂
Sally,
I just made this pie for Thanksgiving and it is beautiful! You’ve really outdone yourself with this one!
Absolutely LOVE this pie, and all of your recipes! My question is, would this pie freeze well? Would you recommend freezing after it is baked or before?
Hi Patti! You could easily freeze this pie before baking. I suggest taking the pie out of the freezer the night before and letting it thaw in the refrigerator. Baking the pie in its frozen state will create a hard, dry crust and a mushy center. They will both bake unevenly. Then just bake as the recipe states – maybe a couple minutes longer if needed. You could freeze the baked pie too (and thaw overnight in the fridge), but I suspect the texture wouldn’t be nearly as wonderful.
I just made this today with a whole wheat pie crust and it is delicious!!!!!! Thank you for the recipe!
Yes, absolutely! I actually did something just like that with my Cranberry Almond Apple Pie 🙂