This caramel apple pie has tons of tender (never mushy) apples, a thick and creamy salted caramel sauce (not watery), and the flakiest all-butter crust you've ever tasted. Top it with homemade whipped cream and you're suddenly the Holiday hero!
This is one of my favorite pies to make. I've slightly tweaked it over the years, making it better and better each time!
What's In This Blog Post
Ingredients
Apples - you will need 32 ounces (2 lbs) of apples, so depending on the variety you purchase, you could use between 6-10 apples. I usually get a few extra to account for the loss of the core and skin (and snacking).
Cornstarch - I'm using cornstarch to thicken my filling, but you can also use clear jel if you want a clearer filling. I prefer how cornstarch stabilizes the pie filling without making it too solid.
Caramel Sauce - I'm using my homemade caramel sauce recipe, but you can absolutely use store-bought to save time.
Spices - This is where you can really make this caramel apple pie your own. Use the spices you like, add more or less!
Honey - I love using honey with apples. Not only does it add an amazing flavor but it also keeps the filling nice and juicy.
Butter - You'll want to use a European-style butter for this all-butter crust. European butter contains more fat and less water, resulting in an ultra-flaky crust with all the flavor you want and none of the toughness that can come from using low-quality butter.
The best apples for apple pie
You can use any kind of apple that you want, but try to choose apples that are good for baking and will hold their shape after baking. At the end of the day, the best apple to use for making apple pie is the one that you have! So if you have an apple tree nearby, use those!
- Jonagold – Slightly tart, crisp, and holds its shape well after baking.
- Honeycrisp – Crisp, sweet, holds its shape well after baking.
- Braeburn – Crisp, sweet, and very juicy. Holds its shape well for baking.
- Mutsu – Sweet, firm, and great for baking
- Pink Lady – Sweet, crisp, and firm. Great for baking.
I've tested this recipe with many different types of apples. I live in Oregon, so I have many types of apples to choose from. There used to be an amazing apple festival every year where you would just go and taste apples and rank them. Talk about fun!
Tips for a foolproof pie
- Pre-cook your pie filling. This ensures our apples are perfectly cooked, the filling is nice and thick, and our crust doesn't get soggy. If you don't pre-cook your apples, they shrink inside the pie, and then you get that gap between the filling and the top crust. Also, all the water releases from the apples as they cook, resulting in that soggy bottom.
- I like to core my apples first, peel off the skin, and then slice them into thin wedges.
- It's best to make your filling the same day as your crust and let both chill overnight.
How to make the apple pie filling
Making apple pie filling is really easy to do and will ensure your apple pie isn't a watery mess.
- Peel your apples. Apple's skin doesn't taste good in apple pie.
- Core your apples using an apple corer or a knife.
- Slice the apples into ½" wedges.
- Combine your apples in a large saucepan over medium heat with the butter, and saute until the apples are warm. For extra flavor, you can brown your butter first then add in the apples.
- Add in the first quantity of apple juice, sugar, honey, lemon juice, and spices. Continue cooking until the apples are al dente.
- Combine your cornstarch with the water to make a slurry. Add it to the mixture and continue cooking until the apple filling has thickened (2-3 more minutes).
- Set the apple pie filling aside to cool.
How to make the pie crust
For the pie crust, you want to use two different types of pie crusts. Mealy dough, which is perfect for resisting liquids and baking up nice and crisp in the oven and flakey pie dough which is more tender, puffs up more and looks beautiful for the top crust.
How to make a lattice crust
How to assemble your apple pie
Let your chilled mealy pie dough warm at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before you try to roll it out. It should be firm enough that the butter isn't sticky and melted but soft enough that it can be rolled out with a rolling pin.
- Place the dough into the pie tin and cut off the excess. Leave about ¼" around the outside edge to account for shrinkage.
- Fill the pie crust with your cooled apple filling.
- Roll out your flakey pie dough and cut into 1" strips
- Brush your egg wash to the outer edge of the pie crust
- Assemble your lattice weave and trim off the excess edges to match the bottom crust
- Pinch the edges and flute if desired
- Brush the surface with more egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar for texture and flavor
- Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge before baking.
How do you know when an apple pie is done baking?
Move the oven rack to the lowest setting. Place your apple pie into the oven at 425ºF. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 375ºF and bake for another 30-45 minutes until the crust shrinks away from the sides of the pie plate. If you take the pie out before it shrinks from the sides then you can be sure that the very center of the dough of the bottom crust is still going to be raw.
If your crust is browning too much, cover it with tinfoil to protect it from browning although a deep golden brown is preferred for taste and texture. Only cover if you see something turning black.
FAQ
It's best to let your apple pie cool for about an hour before serving so the crust has time to set and the filling has time to solidify but what's better than warm pie and ice cream? You can also store the pie in the fridge for the next day and then warm it before serving if you want. Store the leftovers in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for up to two days.
Want more apple? Check out these other recipes
Fresh apple cake
Applesauce spice cake
Stabilized whipped cream recipe
Caramel Sauce Recipe
Shiny Candy Apple Recipe
Apple Cake Recipe
Recipe
Equipment
- pie weights
Ingredients
Flakey Pie Dough
- 10 ounces all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces very cold butter grated or cut into small cubes
- 3 ounces ice water
Mealy Pie Dough
- 12 ounces all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces cold butter grated
- 1 large egg cold
- 1 ounce ice water
Apple Pie Filling
- 2 lbs apples about 6 medium-sized apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ounce unsalted butter
- 4 ounces brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces apple cider or apple juice
- 1 ounce cornstarch
- 2 ounces apple cider or apple juice
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange extract optional
Instructions
For the flakey dough
- Place flour and salt into a medium bowl
- Add grated cold butter and toss lightly with your hands to coat the butter with the flour
- Sprinkle half the water onto the mixture and make your hand into a "claw" stir the flour together to get the mixture to start sticking. Do NOT knead
- Keep adding in little drizzles of water until your flour and butter mixture is mostly stuck together. Press everything together and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for one hour. Flatten, do not store in a ball.
- Chill for at least one hour or overnight. Let warm for 20 minutes on the counter or until dough is pliable but still firm before rolling out.
For the mealy dough
- Combine together the flour and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
- Add in your cold butter and mix on low until the mixture resembles a coarse mealy sand
- Add in the egg and water and mix on low until the dough sticks together
- Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Let the dough chill for 20 minutes or overnight before using it. Let warm for 20 minutes or until pliable but still firm before rolling out.
For the apple filling
- Peel, core and slice apples into ½" wedges
- Place apples in a large pan over medium heat with butter. Saute until apples are warm. About one minute.
- Add the first quantity of apple cider juice, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar, honey, salt, and lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Stirring occasionally, cook until the apples have softened. They should still have a little bit of firmness, but not be mushy.
- Whisk second quantity of apple cider juice and cornstarch together in a separate cup to make a slurry, then add the slurry to the apples while gently stirring over medium-high heat.
- Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture begins to bubble to make sure the cornstarch is fully cooked.
- Add in orange extract, vanilla, salt, lemon juice, and honey. Stir to combine. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Pie Assembly
- Preheat your oven to 425ºF
- Let mealy pie dough and flakey pie dough warm up at room temperature until you can roll it out easily but butter is still firm and not sticky
- Fill the pie crust with your cooled apple filling
- Roll out to ⅛" thick and place into your pie dish. Trim off the excess, leaving ¼" of space around the pie dish to account for shrinking.
- Roll out your flakey pie dough and cut into 1" strips.
- Brush the edges of the pie crust with your egg wash (one egg whisked together with 1 tablespoon of water)
- Weave the pie dough on top of the apple filling to form the lattice design.
- Pinch the lattice and the bottom crust together and flute the edges if desired
- Brush the entire pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar if desired
- Place the pie on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF then reduce the temperature to 350ºF. Bake for another 35-45 minutes or until the crust shrinks away from the sides of the pie plate.
- Let cool one hour before serving. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to two days.
Jenny says
Hey...... I love your recipes. I did try out the mealy and flakey dough for an apple pie. The flakey broke up a lot on the top but it tasted delicious. Don't know if I did something wrong. I think I will use the mealy dough for the top next time. Keep posting your recipes.
The Sugar Geek Show says
You didn't do anything wrong, the flakey layers are very delicate which makes them delicious. You could try give it a couple of folds next time to make it hold together a tad more but don't overwork it. I wouldn't suggest using mealy dough for the top 🙂
Cindy McClintock says
The recipe says drop oven temp to 350 degrees; but the video says 375 degrees. Which is best?
The Sugar Geek Show says
350 is correct
Cindy McClintock says
Thank you for a great apple pie recipe with two easy and tasty pie doughs! I rolled out the bottom one a bit thicker than I wanted, but it was still good! I wanted to ask if you heard of brushing the bottom crust (before filling) with either egg or using apricot jam? It's to act as a barrier and does not alter the taste of your pie, supposedly. Have you tried and your thoughts?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hi Cindy, I haven't tried that one but it definitely sounds interesting! So glad you enjoyed the recipe
Dee says
Hey, Steps are missing in the apple pie filling part it didn’t say when to add the salt or the 2 extracts
The Sugar Geek Show says
Its after you add in the cornstarch slurry
Dee says
It says 12 ounces of apple cider but it looks like you only put a little bit of it
The Sugar Geek Show says
12 ounces is correct.
Cindy Kuo says
Hi, I tried only your mealy dough making my own apple pie filling and top with my flacky dough, it was definitely better than using also flacky dough at the bottom. It has a better cooked result. I used to use flacky dough for the bottom and the top, but always hard to cooked all the way through with the bottom crust, so when I found out your recipe and explaining why use mealy dough instead, I know I had to try it out! Thank you so much for posting this recipe and also other fantastic recipes! Can't wait for other great recipes to come!
Sharon B says
I’m assuming the filling can be made far in advance and refrigerated? Thanks!
Sugar Geek Show says
yes it can!
Deedee says
How far in advance can we make the doughs and store? It’s Sunday and I want to make the pies on Wednesday or Thursday (Thanksgiving 2020). Is that too long? Fridge or freezer? Thanks, Liz!
Elizabeth Marek says
I would roll out the dough and put it in the pie pans and freeze them. Then they will be ready to bake with the filling when you need them.
S. Rowley says
This filling is incredibly delicious!!! I can’t wait to make my pie tomorrow! I’ve had my favorite apple pie recipes through the years but this beats them all. Liz, you work magic in the kitchen!!! Thank you for sharing you’re recipes, skills and baking secrets!