My famous bourbon caramel apple pie is the perfect combination of the best flakey and flavorful pie crust, tart green apples, warm spices, and loads of delicious caramel! This pie is guaranteed to become your new favorite!
Why this recipe works:
All the flavors work together perfectly in this pie.
There isn't too much or too little of anything. The pastry is very flakey and has tons of flavor (there isn't anything I can't stand more than a tasteless pie crust, which is also why I am a firm believer in a butter pie crust).
The apples are tart because my favorite caramel apples are made with super tart Granny Smith apples. And there is just enough cinnamon and allspice to make this a true apple pie. This Cheddar Apple Pie is also an amazing granny smith apple pie choice!
Lastly, this recipe is perfect because of the homemade caramel. (you can use store-bought, but homemade really makes this special). The caramel sauce is cooked until it's a deep amber brown, which gives it loads of flavor, and then it is spiked with a bit of bourbon to make it even better.
About this recipe:
- Taste - perfect mix of toasted sweetness from the caramel sauce and tartness from the granny smith apples.
- Texture - Very flakey pie crust with smooth baked apples!
- Effort - Medium. Same as any pie, it takes a little while from start to finish, but all the steps are easy.
- Time - It takes about 1 and half hours to make the crust, a few minutes to make the filling, and an hour to bake.
Key Ingredients:
- Butter: Butter is incredibly important in pie crust. Butter not only adds fat and flavor, but it is what helps create all the flakey layers.
- All-purpose flour: flour adds structure to the pie dough; it's what holds all the butter together.
- Bourbon: bourbon is used both in the pie crust and in the filling and it helps to make a really flakey crust. Part of the alcohol evaporates and makes a very flakey crust. The bourbon also adds a gorgeous flavor to the filling. You can use any bourbon but I used Woodford Reserve for this recipe.
- Fresh Granny Smith Apples: fresh and tart Granny Smith apples are used to make this wonderful apple pie filling.
- Homemade Bourbon Caramel Sauce: making your own caramel lets you control how much the caramel is cooked. Since you will be baking the sauce right into the pie, I like it to get a very deep brown (almost burnt), which helps keep the caramel taste prevalent after baking.
How to make this recpie:
This recipe is so easy to throw together!
- Start by making the pastry. Add the flour, salt, and sugar to a food processor and pulse and few times to blend everything together. Next, add in the butter, water, and bourbon; lightly pulse.
- Lightly knead on a well-floured surface, and divide into 2 disks. Chill for 1 hour.
- Next, make the caramel sauce. Mix the sugar and water together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the cream and bourbon. Set aside to cool and thicken for about 30 minutes.
- Next, make the filling by mixing the apples with the cinnamon, allspice, lemon juice, and cornstarch.
- Roll out the dough, place one layer in a 9-inch pie pan, and pour in the apple filling. Pour all of the caramel on top of the apples. Cut the other layer into 1-inch strips and weave on top of the filling to make a lattice top.
- Cover with an egg wash and coarse sugar and bake!
Tips and tricks for this recipe:
- Keep all the pastry ingredients cold. The cold butter in the pie crust is what makes all the nice layers in the pastry.
- Use the good fatty butter. My favorite for pastry is Kerry Gold.
- Chill, but don't freeze the dough. The goal is to make sure that the butter is nice and firm, but that the dough is still workable.
- Chill the dough between all steps. Once you roll it and put the bottom layer in your pie pan, chill it while you finish your filling.
- The trick to caramel is to get it nice and brown but not burnt. Once it gets to a deep amber color, remove it from the heat. I like to use a light-colored pan for this. It helps you see the color better.
- Gently swirl the pan from time to time to distribute the heat, do not stir the mixture while it's cooking.
- If the caramel starts to crystalize, return the pan to low heat and stir until smooth. Let it sit for about 30 minutes so that it can cool and thicken.
FAQ's:
While you can use any apple, Granny Smith apples are the ones traditionally used for apple pie. They are just a little bit tart and make a great apple pie slice.
Pie's take a while to bake. You want to make sure that you give your pie crust enough time to bake the bottom thoroughly. No soggy bottoms here! Start baking it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and then lower the temp to 350 and bake for about 80 more minutes. Start checking the pie at 60 minutes to make sure it doesn't start to burn. You are looking for a very brown crust.
This recipe can be left covered at room temperature for 2-3 days.
LOOKING FOR MORE PIE RECIPES?! CHECK THESE OUT!
Bourbon Caramel Apple Pie
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 9" pie 1x
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This apple pie is the perfect combination of the best flakey and flavorful pie crust, tart green apples, warm spices, and loads of delicious caramel! This pie is guaranteed to become your new favorite!
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup cold bourbon
- ¼ ice water
- 1 egg for the wash
For the filling
- 5-6 green apples peeled and cored
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- Bourbon caramel sauce
For the caramel sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp bourbon
Instructions
- Start by making the pastry. Add the flour, salt, and sugar to a food processor and pulse and few times to blend everything together.
- Add in the cubed cold butter and pulse until the butter is pea and lima bean-sized. Add the bourbon and water and mix just enough so it lightly comes together. It will still look loose but will stick together when you squeeze a chunk of it in your fist.
- Pour the dough out onto a well-floured surface and lightly knead until it forms a disk. Divide it into two equal disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
- While the dough is chilling, start your caramel and filling.
- Make the caramel sauce by mixing the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until the mix begins to change color and becomes a deep amber color. Gently swirl the pan from time to time to distribute the heat. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the cream and bourbon. If the caramel starts to crystalize, return the pan to low heat and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken for about 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, toss together the apples, cinnamon, allspice, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Assemble the pie. On a well-floured surface, roll the bottom crust ⅛ inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a pie pan and trim the edges a bit if they are long.
- Spoon the apple filling into the piecrust and then pour all of the caramel sauce over the apples
- Roll out the top crust in the same manner and cover the pie with the crust. Pinch the top and the bottom layers together to seal them. Cut a few vents. Or to make a lattice crust, cut 1-2 inch strips with a knife or pastry cutter and weave on top of the filling.
- Brush the egg wash over the pie crust, then sprinkle with sugar.
- Place pie on a baking sheet with a layer of foil or parchment and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake the pie for 45-60 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 4 hours.
Notes
- Keep all the pastry ingredients cold. The cold butter in the pie crust is what makes all the nice layers in the pastry.
- Use the good fatty butter. My favorite for pastry is Kerry Gold.
- Chill, but don't freeze the dough. The goal is to make sure that the butter is nice and firm, but that the dough is still workable.
- Chill the dough between all steps. Once you roll it and put the bottom layer in your pie pan, chill it while you finish your filling.
- The trick to caramel is to get it nice and brown but not burnt. Once it gets to a deep amber color, remove it from the heat. I like to use a light-colored pan for this. It helps you see the color better.
- Gently swirl the pan from time to time to distribute the heat, do not stir the mixture while it's cooking.
- If the caramel starts to crystalize, return the pan to low heat and stir until smooth. Let it sit for about 30 minutes so that it can cool and thicken.
Keywords: Caramel Apple Pie
Anonymous says
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★★★★★
Lisa A Pilaitis says
Hi I made this recipe and it turned out beautiful. We will eat it tomorrow.
★★★★★
Pate Giltner says
Thanks so much Lisa! I'm so glad you liked it!
Anonymous says
Turned out great. I let the caramel go to deep amber and I think it did get slightly burnt, just a touch bitter. It continued to cook after removal from heat. Next time I will go with a lighter amber color. Otherwise delicious.
★★★★★
Pate Giltner says
Im so glad you liked it! It may favorite apple pie!
Terri says
Made this and it my favorite apple pie!
★★★★★