Caramel Apple Pie Recipe

When you hear the term "All American" what comes to mind? For me, it's the American flag, our troops, baseball, hot dogs, and this Caramel Apple Pie Recipe! You'll absolutely love this lattice-topped apple pie, oozing with caramel, especially when served topped with whipped cream or ice cream.

Caramel Apple Pie Recipe

My family loves pie, especially my husband, Scott. A few times a year, we make the one hour drive up to the town of Julian in search of cooler weather, and delicious pies. 

If you are ever in the area, be sure to check out this adorable town, dotted with cute shops, cafes, and restaurants. 

So, what do I do when I crave pie the rest of the year? I make my own, of course! I've tried many recipes over the years, but have settled on this one as my go-to recipe. This recipe was adapted from Chef John's Carmel Apple Pie.

How to Make This Recipe

Preheat oven to 425 F degrees

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, nutmeg, and water. Stir until the mixture comes to a rolling boil, then remove from heat.

2. Peel, core, and slice apples, and add to a medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss with flour, making sure the flour is equally distributed.

3. Roll out half of the pastry, fit in a 9" pie plate. Trim the excess pastry, leaving ½" of pastry hanging past the rim of the pie plate.

4. Save the trimmed pastry for later. Arrange the apples in the pie plate.

5. Roll out the remaining crust over a cutting board. Using a pastry wheel, cut dough into ½" strips. ​

Don't have one of those fancy tools? No problem, just use a knife, or "treat yo' self" and purchase one.

6. Lay one of the center (longest) pieces of pastry dough over the middle of the pie.

7. Continue working towards the edge, using every other piece of dough. Weave the remaining pieces (over and under) in the opposite direction until all the pieces are used up.

8. If there are extra pieces, combine them with the excess dough that was trimmed earlier.

9. Roll out the extra dough on a cutting board. Use cookie cutters to cut out decorative leaves, or other shapes to add to the top of the lattice (optional).

10. Fold the ends of the lattice strips under the bottom crust and crimp the edges.

11. Carefully pour the caramel mixture through the holes in the lattice, making sure you distribute the caramel over the entire pie.

12. Place pie on a cookie sheet, in case it boils over, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F, and bake for an additional 50 minutes, or until the caramel beings to ooze out of the lattice, and the pie is nicely browned.

13. Cool completely before serving. If you are ready to throw all caution to the wind, serve with vanilla ice-cream. I dare you!

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

1. As I usually do, I tweaked Chef John's caramel apple pie recipe. I replaced the white sugar with brown sugar because I prefer the latter.
2. I also prefer my apple pie more flavorful. To achieve this, I doubled the cinnamon and added vanilla, nutmeg, and cardamom.
3. Finally, I tossed some lemon juice and flour with the apples. The flour helps to keep the pie from being too runny.

Related Recipes

Caramel Apple Pie

Easy and delicious apple pie, cooked with a caramel sauce.

5 from 2 votes

Print Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings: 8 slices

Calories: 430kcal

Author: Hilda Sterner

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce

• ▢ 6 T. unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp. vanilla
• ▢ ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ tsp. cardamom
• ▢ ¼ tsp. salt
• ▢ ½ tsp. nutmeg freshly ground
• ▢ ¼ cup water

Remaining Ingredients

• ▢ 5 Pink Lady apples peeled, cored, and sliced
• ▢ 1 T. lemon juice
• ▢ ¼ cup flour
• ▢ 1 pastry for double-crust pie

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 F degrees
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, nutmeg, and water. Stir until the mixture comes to a rolling boil, then remove from heat.
• Peel, core, and slice apples, and add to a medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss with flour, making sure the flour is equally distributed. Roll out half of the pastry, fit in a 9" pie plate. Trim the excess pastry, leaving ½" of pastry hanging past the rim of the pie plate. Save the trimmed pastry for later. Arrange the apples in the pie plate.
• Roll out the remaining crust over a cutting board. Using a pastry wheel, cut dough into ½" strips. ​Don't have one of those fancy tools? No problem, just use a knife, or "treat yo' self" and purchase one.
• Lay one of the center (longest) pieces of pastry dough over the middle of the pie. Continue working towards the edge, using every other piece of dough. Weave the remaining pieces (over and under) in the opposite direction until all the pieces are used up.
• If there are extra pieces, combine them with the excess dough that was trimmed earlier. Roll out the extra dough on a cutting board. Use cookie cutters to cut out decorative leaves, or other shapes to add to the top of the lattice (optional). Fold the ends of the lattice strips under the bottom crust and crimp the edges.
• Carefully pour the caramel mixture through the holes in the lattice, making sure you distribute the caramel over the entire pie.
• Place pie on a cookie sheet, in case it boils over, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F, and bake for an additional 50 minutes, or until the caramel beings to ooze out of the lattice, and the pie is nicely browned. Cool completely before serving. If you are ready to throw all caution to the wind, serve with vanilla ice-cream. I dare you!

Notes

1. As I usually do, I tweaked Chef John's caramel apple pie recipe. I replaced the white sugar with brown sugar because I prefer the latter.
2. I also prefer my apple pie more flavorful. To achieve this, I doubled the cinnamon and added vanilla, nutmeg, and cardamom.
3. Finally, I tossed some lemon juice and flour with the apples. The flour helps to keep the pie from being too runny.

Nutrition

Calories: 430kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 343mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 36g

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