Caramel Apple Lattice-Top Pie

Caramel Apple Lattice-Top

I’ve been in a post-Thanksgiving coma, breaking my promise to post the recipe for this pie. So here it is, without further ado:

Caramel Apple Lattice-Top Pie

Enough Good Basic All-Butter Pie Dough for a lattice-top pie, divided into 2 disks, one slightly larger than the other

6 or 7 medium-sized apples: a combination of tart apples, such as Granny Smith, and sweet-spicy ones, such as Fuji

2 Tsbp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 c. packed golden brown sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cloves

Coarse sugar for sprinkling

For the caramel:

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. water

1/2 cup heavy cream

Core and peel the apples, and slice them about 1/4-inch thick. Put them in a big bowl and sprinkle the lemon juice over them. Stir to distribute evenly.

Melt the butter.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and spices.

To make the caramel, put the sugar and water in a sturdy saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and you have a relatively clear liquid. Bring up the heat and boil the mixture until it reaches a nice amber color; it could take 6-8 minutes or more. Remove the mixture from the heat and pour in the cream, being very careful, since the combination will bubble furiously. Stir until smooth.

Roll out the bottom crust (the slightly larger disk) and line a 9-inch pie pan with it. Put the dough-lined pan into the refrigerator.

Roll out the top crust and place it on a sheet of wax or parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cut strips, about 3/4 of an inch wide, using a wiggly-edged pastry cutter. (See my walk-throughs on rolling out dough and making a lattice crust.) Slide the baking sheet of pie dough strips into the refrigerator to chill.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Now let’s mix up the pie filling. Pour the melted butter and your flour and spices over the apples and mix to combine thoroughly.  (Don’t do this ahead of time. Wait until right before you put the filling into the pie crust, or else your apple mixture will have gotten soupy.)

Drizzle the caramel over the apples and mix.

Get your dough out of the refrigerator. Spoon the filling into the bottom pie crust, and weave a lattice with the top. Crimp the edges.

Now don’t hit me: put your pie in the refrigerator again. I know, I know. It’s annoying. Lots of time to wait while your dough disks chill, and then while your rolled-out dough chills, and now again when the finished pie chills. It’s worth it, especially when working with all-butter dough. The colder the dough is when it hits the hot oven, the better it will hold its shape. I often put the finished pie into the freezer to chill for 10-15 minutes before putting it in the oven. The choice is yours.

Pull your pie out of the refrigerator/freezer, wherever you chose to chill it. Put in on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle some cold water over the top of the pie and sprinkle the top with coarse sugar. (Don’t be too generous with the water. We want just enough to help the sugar stick before evaporating in the oven. Just shake a couple rounds of droplets from your fingers.)

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or so. Then reduce the oven heat to 375 and bake another 40 minutes or so, until filling is bubbly and crust is a nice golden brown.