A thing of beauty, this Salted Caramel Apple Pie is flaky with an insanely good faux caramel sauce both inside the pie and out.

As it is with any craft, art, or specialty skill, baking is an art and science, one that is both wonderfully mysterious and frustrating all in one fell swoop. Cooking has long been for me a natural instinct of “Add a bit of this or that, substitute this vegetable if you are lacking in another, improvise, improvise, improvise”. In the realm of baking, substituting baking soda for baking powder is NOT going to yield an acceptable result and will often make the person scratch their head and think “Hmm..I cannot do this”. Growing up, my mother very daintily dabbled in a bit of baking, but more often than not, we had a standby box of ice cream residing in the freezer if we wanted a dessert. She was very much a tinker-er of recipes and never really followed them to the letter, so her and my step-dad’s cooking was extremely creative. We have a tendency to recall for her baking escapades as the Great Fallen Chiffon Cake my Babci insisted was still okay to consume, the countless cookies that were forgotten about, and the one cake (cranberry loaf?) that was put into a cold oven - a couple ours later it was suddenly remembered and saved. Pastry dough was almost always from the fridge section of the grocery store, popped out of a tube, and so on.

Needless to say, when I ventured out into the world as a young adult, there was very minimal baking in my realm. Every so often I would dip into the world of Banana Bread, but it was really quite impractical to bake for only myself. I also had a tendency to live with people who were not huge dessert people, or were big fans of the soft serve machine in the Dining Commons at school. I tended to get my cookie fix from mediocre grocery store chocolate chip cookies, for if I had a whole fresh baked batch in my apartment they’d literally be gone within two days. I also have a great fondness for cooking savory food as it seemed more nutritious and practical to meal prep during my graduate days OR solely subside on caffeine and pho ga, aVietnamese chicken rice noodle soup, which could sustain me for 3 meals or so.

Try to evenly distribute the Caramel Sauce over the uncooked crust - it will melt an help adhere the flake salt while baking.

However, after the massive amounts of steroids and other medications I started after my diagnosis of NMO, I really found that my body did not process chemical laden food very well. I started teaching myself to bake staples such as breads like this, this, and this, but also these Simple Flour Tortillas. Once we bought the house, I suddenly had triple the counter space in my kitchen, a glorious professional grade gas range/convection oven, and for the very first time in my life, a KitchenAid stand mixer. The mixer has been a lifesaver in kneading bread staples when I am to fatigued to do so by hand, and has allowed me to feel more secure in adventuring out in to the baked goods realm.

One of the things I really wanted to accomplish and learn how to bake, and bake stupendously, was a simple apple pie. My husband REALLY likes pie, and in the time we have been married I have never baked him one for fear of it being terrible and also, I personally am not a huge lover of piecrust. I have talked about my dislike for mediocre piecrust prior to this, but that Ridiculously Flaky, All Butter Pie Dough is truly one of the most spectacular things I have made without the aid of a mixer or food processor. For this past 4th of July I read dozens of recipes for different approaches to apple pie fillings/baking those dastardly little fruit filled disks. That pie I made on the 4th was a long process for me to figure out, from both the pie dough to the balance of the fillings. I had learned some very important tips throughout my research, and I think they are pretty dang important to know when attempting your first pie.

Select a firm fleshed, naturally tart apple, or a firm fleshed sweet apple. A mix is honestly best - maybe pair something like a Granny Smith with a HoneyCrisp. If using only a sweeter apple, be prepared to use something tart to help balance out the sweetness like lemon juice.
Peel and slice your apples all relatively the same size. If you like really thinly sliced apples in your pie, be aware that they tend to meld together really well and most likely will not require a pre-saute before baking. If you slice the apples wider than 1/4” thick, say 1/3” to 1/2”, you may need to sauté the apples before baking in the pie otherwise they will either be undercooked OR you burn the bottom of your piecrust.
A thickener matters in creating a delicious syrup in the baking process. You can either use flour or cornstarch, flour will tend to make the sauce look a little “cloudy”, so if your pie that has a lattice crust, perhaps cornstarch will be a better choice because it allows the sauce to become clear and glistening. Cornstarch would need a different amount used to thicken to th same consistency as flour, so be aware of that tricky little snaffle.
A pie will “deflate” a bit while it cools - so try and pile in the apples evenly otherwise it will look lopsided!

The Caramel Glaze melts and crystalizes while the pie bakes, a perfect contradiction to the incredibly flaky pie crust and tender apples.

So the recipe I am offering today is a pretty stupendous masterpiece of pie, if I do say so myself. I ended up eating half of that 4th of July apple pie, and I made it once again with some tweaks for Thanksgiving Dinner we celebrated with friends. There are very classic flavors in this Salted Caramel Apple Pie, but It turns out pretty spectacularly as each element is nuanced, bursting with flavor, and perfectly balanced. First, you make a batch of the Ridiculously Flaky, All Butter Pie Dough the day before or the morning of - it needs at least 2 hours to sit in the fridge for the water to distribute properly throughout the dough ball. Then, you make a faux caramel sauce which is easy - no candy thermometers. You coat a giant bowl of sliced apples with about 2/3 of the sauce, then glaze the top layer of pie dough with the caramel sauce again. Sprinkle flake salt or Pink Himalayan Sea Salt on top and BAM, you have an apple pie worthy of any occasion.

Learning the intricacies of baking has been a frustratingly fabulous adventure. I find the science side of baking really fascinating even while I curse at why something did or did not turn out like how I thought it was going to. I am finding that with patience, precision, and a lot of study, I am starting to excel at it, which is something I never thought was possible. It is similar to how as my voice and technique grew, the styles and pieces/languages I was not very comfortable with ended up suiting my voice very well - most likely because I had to work a LOT harder to have it be passable. Funny how those things work out.Something to contemplate while you enjoy a piece of this pie :

This pie just glistens and preens in the light, but I assure you, it is NOT too pretty to sink your teeth into!

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: One 9 inch pie

This Salted Caramel Apple Pie hits all the perfect bite points - sweet and tart, a hint of salt to balance the sugar, juicy, flavorful apples, and an insanely delicate, buttery crust. I prefer this pie with a good quality Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, but softly whipped cream is also a nice topper to it.

Check the piecrust and apples at the 50 minute mark - most likely it will need another 10 minutes in the oven because there are SO many apples that need to cook down. I tap the crust with my fingernail to tell if it has crisped up nicely, then ask my husband if it has browned a bit as well. Let it sit for a half hour before cutting into it - the apples settle down, the juices thicken, and it is easier to slice.

Because there are SO many apples used, I always bake the pie on top of a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. This way, if the apple juices run over the edge, they are caught in the baking sheet rather than caramelizing on the bottom of your oven which is a pain to clean. Do not ask me how I know haha.

As a last tip, I roll out my pie dough before I even start making the filling. This way I can store it in the fridge to keep the butter cool before baking, and it makes it a VERY simple process to transfer the pie dough to the pie tin, fill with the apple filling, then top with the second crust or do the lattice design.

Ingredients:

2 9 inch piecrust (I use this recipe, but if you are in a pinch store bought will do)
7 to 8 Cups of peeled and sliced Apples. Slice to 1/4” thick. Use a firm apple, such as Granny Smith, Braeburn, HoneyCrisp, or a combo
1/2 Cup Salted Butter (1 Stick). If you only have unsalted butter, add 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt to the sugars when preparing.
3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Rounded Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Coarse Sea Salt or Flake Salt, for sprinkling.

Directions:

Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4” slices. Set the apple slices in a large bowl and set aside while you make the caramel.
Preheat Oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl, whisk together the three sugars and cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat - you do not particularly want this butter to brown. Once it is mostly melted, whisk in the flour and cook the flour paste down a bit.
Add the reserved sugars/spice mixture, water, and vanilla. Whisk together thoroughly, then bring mixture to a boil for about a minute, then reduce heat and simmer the mixture for another minute.
Remove saucepan from heat and pour 2/3 of it over the apples, reserving the last 1/3 for later.
With a Spatula, gently toss the apples in the sauce, making sure apples are evenly coated.
Gently and evenly pour the apple mixture into the prepared pie tin. Take care to make sure the apples are evenly piled and scrape down the bowl to make sure all the caramel goodness is in the pie.
Cover the apples with the second piecrust - either as a whole piece of dough or a lattice design, whatever your fancy is. Make sure to crimp edges/trim extra pie dough off!
Gently drizzle and brush the remaining Caramel over the top of the piecrust. It may have stiffened up a bit by this point but just gently maneuver it where you want it. Sprinkle with a bit of Sea Salt or Flake Salt.
Cover the pie loosely with aluminum foil - you do not want it to stick to the top crust. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.
After 12 minutes have passed, remove the aluminum foil and drop the oven temperature down to 350. Bake for an additional 50-60 minutes, occasionally checking the top. If it seems to be browning too quickly, you can put the aluminum foil back on but I have never had to.
Pie will be done when the top is hollow sounding and crisp when you tap it with a fingernail, lightly golden brown, and the apples are fork tender but still retain a tiny bit of bite. (I always pull mine out after 60 minutes, but your oven may run hotter than mine does).
Allow pie to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.