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–+ servings
Vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce over a slice of caramel apple pie.

Salted Caramel and Apple Pie Recipe

For the ultimate caramel apple, double crust pie, we incorporated several techniques. First, we let the juices from the apples accumulate in the bowl then concentrated them in a saucepan. The concentrated juices gave the apples an extra layer of caramelized flavor AND prevented the bottom crust from getting soggy. 
Next, we drizzled caramel over the apples prior to baking the pie then served the pie with extra caramel drizzled on top.
Finally, we found that using cornstarch or ClearJel as the thickener let the apple flavor shine and didn’t muddle the flavor like flour often can.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Additional Time: 4 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Servings: 1 pie
Calories: 490kcal
Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

  • 1-½ cups caramel sauce homemade or storebought
  • 1 double crust pie crust recipe
  • 7 to 8 large apples
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1-½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 5 teaspoons cornstarch or instant Clearjel
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Finishing touches:

  • 1 egg whisked or 2 tablespoons cream
  • 2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar

Instructions

  • If you are using homemade caramel, make the sauce before you begin with the pie recipe. Set the caramel aside while you prepare the pie.  We used our salted caramel recipe but store bought sauce also works great.

Prep the apples:

  • Peel core, and slice the apples. You should have about 8 to 9 cups of sliced apples.
  • Add the apples to a large bowl and toss them with the lemon juice. 
  • Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Add the sugar mixture to the apples and toss to coat them in the sugar. Let the apples sit for 30 to 40 minutes until there is a pool of juices on the bottom of the bowl. 

Preheat the oven:

  • Spray a pie dish with nonstick spray. Place the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. 

Concentrate the juices:

  • Drain the juice from the apples into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half. It should look slightly thickened but still have a runny consistency and be able to drizzle off a spoon easily. 
  • Add the reduced juice back to the apples and stir to combine.

Add the thickener:

  • Combine cornstarch (or clearjel), and granulated sugar in a small dish, then toss into the apples. Stir until the apples are completely coated in the thickener. 

Assemble the pie:

  • Roll out the dough for the bottom pie crust and place it in the pie dish. 
  • Pour the apple mixture into the pie crust, mounding them slightly in the middle.
  • Drizzle ½ cup of the caramel sauce over the apples. Save the rest of the caramel sauce to serve with the baked pie. 
  • Roll out the dough for the top crust and place it on top of the apple filling (or cut strips and create a lattice top). Trim and crimp the edges of the pie crust. 
  • Brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg or cream and sprinkle sugar on top. Cut several vent holes into the top crust if you do not have a lattice top.

Bake the pie:

  • Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 450°F. After 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for 50 to 75 minutes or until you see the juices bubble for about 10 minutes. If the crust starts to get too brown before the pie is finished baking, cover the top with a sheet of aluminum foil. 
  • Let the pie cool completely before slicing (about 4 hours or overnight). 
  • Serve with additional caramel drizzled on top. 

Notes

  • Bake the pie in the bottom third of the oven to help the bottom crust get crisp. 
  • To prevent a watery pie, make sure the pie cooks until the juices bubble up for at least 10 minutes then let the pie cool completely before you slice it. Apples have a lot of pectin that will thicken the pie, however, the pectin needs to get hot enough to activate, then cool completely in order to thicken. 
  • Don’t place the pie in the fridge to cool down. Cooling the pie in the fridge will create moisture and soften the crust.
  • If you reduce the juices too much it will seize up when you add it back to the apples. If that happens, don’t worry, the clumps of caramelized juices will dissolve into the apples. 
  • Combining the cornstarch (or Clearjel) with a little sugar will help it distribute into the apples evenly without clumps. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 490kcal | Carbohydrates: 109g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 453mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 88g