Caramel Apple Pie #41

So, I realize that this one sounds like a very similar concept to the candy apple pie, which I previously made.

They both involve: apples, caramel, a lot of sugar, and they were both pie contest winners.

So there. I just had to put that out there. I know. You know. We all know--and now I just sound defensive...

Any way, here's what was good about this pie: first of all, the filling was good. I'm beginning to believe that precooking your apples a bit before putting them in the crust might just be the right thing to do and is also the only way to combat having a big crust dome (I've been skeptical of this practice and I hope that in the future I can confirm what's best through some experiments). Also, it was like a one-stop-shopping experience, in that you just make caramel with your apples. Now, how's that for a smart, yet deliciously simple trick?

Here's what was mediocre about this pie: the struesel topping. The real reason I made this pie was because of the struesel topping. I was curious about how a crust on top of a struesel would turn out. I dreamed of the best of both worlds combining atop caramely apples and it was...well...meh.

Ryan was with me when I searched for the "toffee bars" that it "calls" for and we had a long debate in front of a not-so-thrilled clerk about what was the best thing to use. Finally we agreed to both be satisfied with scraping the chocolate off a Skor bar and using the toffee innards.

I'm not going to try and convince you that we made the best choice, because despite what I hoped for, the toffee bits just melted into the rest of the pie and there wasn't any toffee crunch or uniqueness to this whole streusel thing. Also, while I grew up loving Skor bars, I now realize that they are not quit the high-quality candy bar I remember sneaking out of my Dad's bulk-sized stash in the garage.

All I'm saying is, I would imagine that homemade toffee (or at least some high-quality toffee) would make a positive difference here. And while we had a hard time finding it in Harlem on a Saturday night, if you do have some positive success or have any good ideas, please let me know.

Here's what was not appealing about the pie: The crust. First of all, it was the most difficult crust that I've ever worked with. It crumbled, it ripped, it was hard to roll out. The crust was too thick and you know what? It was one of the first times I really didn't enjoy rolling one out.  So, if you are making notes about this pie, your second one should be: just use a completely different crust for this recipe.

However, I wouldn't throw this recipe out completely. I think that it has some great potential--most importantly the filling was awesome. But if you're not looking to experiment, I recommend you use the previously mentioned candy apple pie recipe--even though, like I said, they are different!

Caramel Apple Pie
(Winner of the Food Network Pie bake-off 2003)

Pie Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled

4 tablespoons shortening

1/3 cup ice water

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 egg, beaten

Filling:

6 cups apples

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter

2 toffee bars or 3 ounces chocolate covered peanut or pecan brittle, crushed

DIRECTIONS:

Pie Crust:

Chill all ingredients, including the flour and vinegar. Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles cornmeal. In another bowl, mix water and vinegar with the beaten egg. Add the liquid mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork to form a soft dough.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Peel and slice apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 8 minutes, to soften apples. Turn into pie shell.

Streusel Topping:

Combine the flour and sugar. Mix in butter with fork until coarse crumbs. stir in the crushed toffee bars. Sprinkle over pie. Add top crust. Seal, flute edge and vent top. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 45 minutes longer

Candy Apple Pie #40

 I was getting a toothache while I was making this pie. Every step felt like another cup of brown sugar and I was worried that it was going to taste like a spoonful of sugar.

However, after tasting it I started wondering why I was so worried about that. It definitely was one of the most sugary pies that I've made, but the apples, graham-cracker crust, and whipped cream were enhanced by the added caramel. I'm not sure it could have taken any more sugar, but I while eating it, I definitely didn't want any less sugar. This is definitely one of those pies that you can count on being a crowd pleaser no matter the crowd.

I don't know how I came across this pie exactly. There are several people who have posted about this recipe but ultimately it was because of what was written on the Doughmesstic's blog that made me want to make it. She told about last year's rigged Martha Stewart pie contest--one that I also attended. It's maybe only funny to read if you were there or if you're interested in reading about what it's like to go to the Martha Stewart show.

In any case, whether it was rigged or not, there was no competition between the pies that I took and this pie (though this wasn't even a finalist). So, I'm over being upset about the contest being rigged--mine were not this tasty, that's for sure.

Also, I must say that this is a pie that Ryan hasn't actually tasted (yet). My boss gave me a bunch of apples so I brought this pie in and shared it with my boss and the rest of the office. I set it out on the break room table and it within 1/2 hour the pie pan had been licked clean and there were people monitoring others slices so they could hopefully get a bigger pie of the pie. So, needless to say, I'll have to make a special one just for him.

One other note, I made the graham crackers and the caramel sauce  from scratch rather than buying them at the store. Several people have commented over the past year about how that seems crazy of me to make these cheap, store-bought ingredients, however, I would like to once again bear my testimony about how much better the finished product tastes with just a little bit more preparedness and a lot less HFCS. I mention it here because I think that is especially true for this pie since it is so simple.

The caramel recipe is below (by the way there is a lot of extra but it is super easy and perfect for other things like ice cream or dipping apples--so don't let it go to waste) and, I will link you back to my blog post that has a graham cracker recipe (the same one I used here).

So...I really don't think that there's more to say on this one. It's delicious and even if it was a big spoonful of sugar, it seemed to make the medicine of work go down a lot smoother.

Candy Apple Pie

(Adapted from MiMi Hodge, winner of Good Morning America’s “Pie of Emeril’s Eye” Contest, 2000)

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs*

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping**

1 cup chopped pecans

Apple Filling:

5 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, sliced very thin)

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream Cheese Topping:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Topping:

3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

1/4 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

For the Crust: In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix well and press into a 10-inch pie plate and up the sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden in color. Remove pie shell from oven and cool completely. Pour caramel into pie shell and sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped pecans. Refrigerate pie shell while making apple filling.

For the Apple Filling: In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add apples and stir. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until apples are softened and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes and pour into pie shell. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F.

For the Cream Cheese Topping: In a medium bowl, using a hand-held mixer on low speed, combine cream cheese and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until fully blended. Pour over apple filling in pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove pie from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Let stand outside the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Top with whipped cream, caramel and pecans, and swirl with a knife. Slice and serve.

*Follow this link for a graham cracker recipe

**Caramel Ice Cream Topping:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat melt butter. 

Add brown sugar and whisk until combined and thickened (about 2 minutes)

Whisk in whipped cream and continue to whisk until it is fully combined and thickened (about 2 more minutes). Add salt and vanilla and whisk for 1 more minute.

The sauce is now ready to be used in the pie but you may want to allow it to cool for handling purposes. Note: the sauce will thicken in the fridge.