How to make a Caramel Apple Crunch Pie

This Caramel Apple Crunch Pie is the ultimate fall dessert – combining everything you love about caramel apples, apple crisp, and classic apple pie all in one decadent treat. Sweet, cinnamon and nutmeg spiced apples are baked in a tender flaky pie crust, topped with a golden brown sugar oat crumble, and finished with a rich caramel drizzle. It’s a show-stopping dessert that’s perfect for Thanksgiving, fall baking, oranytime you want to wow your guests with the best apple dessert ever!

Why I love this pie so much

This apple pie recipe is not just any ol’ apple pie recipe. This pie is nothing short of life changing, and I mean this in the most sincerest sense of the phrase. I know this phrase is thrown around a little too liberally quite often. But today, I say this in earnest, your life will forever be changed after eating this caramel apple pie. This is the kind of pie that calls to you as you attempt to fall asleep; it beckons you to sneak out to the kitchen in the middle of the night and shave just one more sliver off, because until you do so, there is no way you are going to be able to rest.  As if that’s not enough!   As soon as you wake, you slap your feet over the edge of the bed and shuffle out to the kitchen salivating as you cut yourself a real piece of pie, not just a sliver, but a generous slice of pie to be had for breakfast.  Then you stand there in front of the coffee pot eating your generous slab-O-pie, as the coffee pot puffs, crackles and spits your coffee into the pot, and hoping not be caught by one said spouse. Not that I have done any of the above. I’m just saying that this pie is so especially tasty, I could see how somebody might go to these extremes. You know the type. Pie freaks.

There it is calling you like a Siren from the sea….only it’s the Caramel Apple Crunch Pie in your kitchen.  And it’s gonna pull you down, down, down until your stretchy pants are the only pants that fit! Ironically enough my friend Tina, who I work out with at the Y three times a week, gave me this recipe. She is actually quite famous for this pie. I am very grateful that she shared the much coveted recipe with me so I could in turn share it with you. That’s the kinda gal Tina is!  Or maybe she was just delirious from the spin class we had just finished when I ask her and she didn’t realize what she was giving away? “Hey you mind if I put your caramel apple crumble pie on my blog?”  Maybe in her spin class delirium she heard this…”Hey my ape thighs feel like blobs and yours?” “Sure”, she said. Maybe it was a bit devious to ask her in her time of weakness, but hey timing is everything and I got you the recipe didn’t I?!  So here it is.  The best damn apple pie you will ever eat!

Gather these ingredients

How to make Caramel Apple Crunch Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Make two pie crusts, you can find the recipe HERE, as well as all the tips and tricks for making great pie crust.

Combine 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 stick butter together in a medium sized bowl until you have a rough crumble. I used a pastry cutter for to combine the ingredients, however you can use a fork or your fingers as well. Set this aside.

In a large bowl mix 3 of tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg together in a dish and pour it over the apples that you have cored, peeled, and sliced. Give a good toss to completely coat apples with sugar and warm spices.  Set apple mixture aside.

Roll out one pie crust on to a lightly floured surface. Lay crust into the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate or a 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Place sliced and spiced apples into the pie pan. Juices from the apples may have accumulated in the bottom of the bowl, try to leave the excess liquid in the bowl and only take out the apple slices for the pie.

 

Sprinkle crumb topping over the top of apples and press it evenly over top of the sliced apples to form a densely packed crunch layer.

After packing crumble layer down all neat and tidy, roll out the second pie crust, and if you haven’t already turn your oven temperature to 375 degrees fahrenheit

After you have rolled out the top crust lay it over all the goodies.  Crimp edges inward to form a nice crust around the edge to keep all the apple juices in.

 Cut slits in top crust to allow steam from the baking apples to be released.  Place pie on a baking sheet, and pop this in your preheated oven (375 degrees F). Bake for 1 hour or up to 75 minutes or until golden brown. My pie took about 65 minutes to bake.

Now this is where things get really crazy! For the finishing touch drizzle 1/3 cup of your favorite caramel ice cream topping or caramel sauce on top of your apple caramel crumble pie. I have a simple rich caramel sauce included in this recipe if you want to make your own.

Drizzle caramel sauce all over the top of the hot pie.  Heavens to Betsy! Help me Hannah!  Now be patient.  Let it rest for an hour before cutting into this glorious creation. You had better have the ice cream handy, and a fork too.  That is unless you are the type to drop your face down into your pie.

FAQ’s & Tips

• Can I use store-bought pie crust? Of course you can use store-bought pie crust, however I personally think if you are going to the trouble to make apple pie then go all the way. I know most people are terrified of making homemade pie crust. If you follow my instructions in this post you will have success. If you don’t throw it out and try it again, flour and shortening are inexpensive, sometimes to become good at something you just need practice.
• How do I keep my apples from turning brown? Drizzle a tablespoon of lemon juice over your apples after slicing them, and toss. This is not necessary, but if brown apples bother you this is the trick!
• What are the best apples to use for apple pie recipes? Northern Spy (This is an old and hard to find variety, but if you find it buy it and make a pie asap.), Granny Smith Apples, and Jonathan Apples are all the best. They hold their shape while also becoming tender, and they all have the perfect amount of tartness to balance the sweetness of the apple filling.
• Tip 1 If your apple pie starts to look like it’s maybe getting a bit to brown, before the baking time is done take a piece of aluminum foil and lay it over top of the pie crust, while still baking.
• Tip 2 I always set my fruit pies on a baking sheet and bake them on the baking sheet, this way if any juices bubble over they will land on the baking sheet which is much easier to clean than your oven! I even go so far as to put aluminum foil on the baking sheet so I don’t even have to wash that!
• Tip 3 Be patient. After baking your pie, and giving it a drizzle of caramel sauce wait at least one hour before cutting in to it. If you cut into it too early the apples don’t have time to set up and you won’t have nice pie slices.
• Pie Crust Tip You can make your pie crust up to 3 months in advance of your pie making. I will often make several crusts at a time, then I wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer until its bake time! You can also keep unbaked pie crust refrigerated for up to a week, if they are wrapped tightly in saran wrap.

Other apple recipes you might like to try!

• Dutch Apple Pie
• Apple Spice Cake with no-fail caramel frosting
• Cranberry Apple French Toast Bake
• Dutch Apple Sauce Muffins

I would love to hear from you. This pie needs to make an appearance this Holiday Season at Thanksgiving dinner, or honestly this pie will get rave reviews anytime of year. Serve with vanilla ice cream and an extra drizzle of caramel sauce, and voila you will be the hostess with the mostess! Leave me a comment below. Share you scrumptious pie photos on your socials and tag Eat2gather. And if you could take a second a give this a 5 star rating in the recipe card below I would be so grateful! With love from my table to yours, Sheila

 

 

I hope you agree that this pie is nothing short of life changing.

Yours Truly,
The Pie Freak