Salted Caramel Apple Pie

This salted caramel apple pie has a homemade all-butter crust filled with Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples coated in salted caramel before baking. The golden lattice crust is sprinkled with flaky sea salt, and the caramel stays soft enough to flow slightly onto the plate when you cut a slice.

Salted Caramel Apple Pie with Homemade Caramel and All-Butter Crust

This salted caramel apple pie might be my favorite way to make apple pie because I’ve always had a thing for a little salt at the end of something sweet. In fact, I have a small container in my purse at all times filled with flaky sea salt for the impromptu dessert moments. And in my life, there are many. Which is probably why I love this pie so much. I get the apples, caramel, and buttery crust first, followed by a small, but noticeable salty finish that makes me look forward to another bite.

I enjoy regular apple pie too, but homemade caramel cooked until it’s dark amber has a flavor that plain sugar doesn’t. It’s also why I put salted caramel in the middle of my salted caramel chocolate chip skillet cookie. The flaky sea salt has a way of keeping the sweetness from getting way ahead of itself. I even sprinkle more of the flaky salt over the lattice before baking, so it’s in the caramel and another taste of it on the pastry.

This is the pie I’d put on a fall table with vanilla ice cream nearby and extra caramel for anyone who thinks the amount already inside isn’t enough. They aren’t wrong.

The Decisions Behind This Recipe

• Three Granny Smith apples and three Honeycrisp apples are my choice for this pie because the salted caramel already adds enough sweetness to the filling. The Granny Smith apples keep the filling from becoming too sweet, while the Honeycrisp apples add their own sweet contribution. Six tart apples would be a lot, even for me. I’m not saying every apple pie needs two varieties, but this caramel-heavy one does.
• Making the salted caramel from sugar and water is the cooked-sugar flavor I like with the apples, which is why I skip the jarred caramel sauce. It’s not that you can’t use jarred, I just like it better this way. I let the sugar go all the way to amber before the butter and cream go in. A pale caramel is still sweet, but it doesn’t have the darker, toasted-sugar flavor I want with the apples and cinnamon.
• Most of the caramel goes directly into the apples before baking, where it mixes with their juices as they soften. I also don’t want this to slice like my cherry pie. The filling thickens as it cools, but it’s supposed to stay soft enough that some caramel flows onto the plate when I serve it.
• I use flaky sea salt twice because it does two different things. The salt in the caramel keeps all the sweetness from taking over the filling, while the salt over the lattice adds salty bites with the pastry. Neither tastes the same, and I like having both. I use Maldon flaky sea salt, and I wouldn’t substitute fine salt. This isn’t the place for it.
• An all-butter crust is what I like with salted caramel. I leave the butter in pea-sized pieces when I make the dough and use enough ice water to bring it together, then give the dough a full two hours in the refrigerator before I roll it out. I also refrigerate the assembled pie while the oven heats because I want the butter to stay cold until the pastry goes into the oven.
• I don’t precook the apples, but I slice them about ⅛ inch thick so they soften during baking without needing extra time in the oven. The thin slices give the caramel more surface area to coat, and they overlap as the pie bakes instead of leaving larger slices of apple in the filling. The thin slices also help the pie finish baking quickly before the lattice gets to dark.

Ingredients

How to Make Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Find the complete printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the BOTTOM OF THE POST.

• Step One (make and chill the pie dough)
  Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl, then cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until you have pea-sized pieces throughout the flour. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, mixing until the dough holds together when you press some in your hand. Once it holds together, stop mixing. You want the small pieces of cold butter to stay in the dough because they’ll create flaky pastry as it bakes. Divide the dough into two disks, wrap them, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Step Two (cook the salted caramel)
  Add the sugar and water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Let the sugar dissolve and cook without stirring, swirling the pan now and then as the syrup starts changing color. Once it reaches a dark amber color, take it off the heat and carefully whisk in the butter, then the heavy cream. It will bubble up enthusiastically when the dairy goes in, so don’t lean over the pan and act surprised. Stir in the flaky sea salt and let the caramel cool until it is warm and pourable. You don’t want it piping hot when you pour it over the apples.
• Step Three (prepare the apple filling)
  Peel and core the Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples, then slice them about ⅛ inch thick. I cut mine this thin so the apples have time to become tender before the lattice gets too dark. Toss the apples with the lemon juice, then add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour about two-thirds of the salted caramel over the apples and fold everything together until the slices are coated. Keep the rest of the caramel for serving.
• Step Four (assemble the pie)
  Roll out one chilled dough disk and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate, leaving enough pastry hanging over the edge to finish the rim. Add the caramel-coated apples, spreading them evenly into the crust and mounding them slightly higher in the center. Roll out the second disk, cut it into strips, and weave a lattice over the filling. Trim the extra dough, seal the crusts together, and crimp the rim. A full top crust works too if you would rather skip the lattice, but cut a few vents so the steam has somewhere to escape. Refrigerate the assembled pie while the oven heats so the pastry stays cold before baking.
• Step Five (bake the salted caramel apple pie)
  Preheat the oven to 450°F using conventional bake, not convection, with a rack in the lower third. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and water, then sprinkle the top with sugar and flaky sea salt. Put the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake it for 10 minutes, then lower the oven to 375°F without removing the pie and continue baking for about 30 minutes more, or until the apples are tender. I use a Wolf electric oven on conventional bake, and 40 minutes is usually enough for my thinly sliced apples. Other ovens may need longer, so look for caramel bubbling near the center of the lattice and check that the apples are tender when you test one through an opening. If the crust starts getting too dark before the apples are ready, cover it loosely with foil and keep going.
• Step Six (cool and serve)
  Move the pie to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into it. The filling thickens some as it cools, but some caramel will still flow onto the plate when you serve a slice. That’s not a problem. That is the pie. Warm the reserved caramel if it becomes too firm to pour, then drizzle it over individual slices.

Recipe Tips

• Watch the caramel closely once the sugar syrup starts turning color. It can sit there looking like nothing is happening, then move from pale gold to dark amber in a hurry. Take it off when it reaches dark amber, before it gets so dark that the sugar tastes burnt. And when you add the butter and cream, it’s going to bubble up hard. Use a saucepan with some room in it and keep your face out of the way.
• Keep the pie dough cold while you roll, cut, and weave the lattice. If the strips start feeling soft, sticky, or hard to move without stretching, put the whole thing in the refrigerator for 10 or 15 minutes. Warm pie dough is where perfectly good intentions go to die.
• Don’t decide the pie is finished because the lattice looks golden. The crust can look done before the apples have softened all the way through. Look for caramel bubbling near the center of the pie, then test an apple slice through an opening in the lattice. It should be tender, not crunchy.
• If the crust is getting darker than you want before the filling is ready, cover it loosely with foil and keep baking. I don’t wrap the whole pie up tightly. I just want to protect the pastry while the apples finish their business.
• Let the pie cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. The filling thickens as it cools, but the caramel is still going to be soft. It’s not supposed to turn into a firm fruit pie that stands at attention on the plate.

Storage and Freezing

• Once the pie has cooled completely, cover it and keep it at room temperature for up to 2 days. Don’t cover it while it’s still warm or you’ll trap condensation against the crust, which isn’t doing anybody any favors.
• For longer storage, cover the pie and refrigerate it for up to 5 days. The caramel filling firms up when it’s cold, which is normal. It softens again once the pie warms up.
• To reheat a slice, put it on a baking sheet and warm it in a 300°F oven until heated through. The oven is worth using here if you want to keep some life in the crust. The microwave will warm the filling, but it’s not going to improve the pastry.
• You can freeze the fully baked and cooled pie for up to 3 months. Wrap it well in plastic wrap, then foil, so it doesn’t pick up freezer flavors. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then warm it in the oven before serving.

FAQs

• Can I use store-bought caramel sauce instead of homemade caramel?
  Yes, but use a pourable caramel sauce, not caramel candies or a very thin syrup. Store-bought sauces vary in sweetness, salt, and thickness, so the finished filling may not taste or set exactly like mine.
• Why did my caramel turn grainy?
  Grainy caramel usually means some sugar crystallized while it was cooking. Once the sugar and water are simmering, leave it alone instead of stirring it. Swirl the pan gently if needed. When you add the cream, the caramel may seize and form hard lumps because of the temperature difference. That’s different from grainy caramel. Keep it over low heat and stir until the lumps dissolve.
• Can I make salted caramel apple pie ahead of time?
  Yes. You can make the pie dough and caramel up to 3 days ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator separately. Let the dough sit out long enough to roll, and warm the caramel a little if it has become too thick to fold into the apples. You can also bake the pie the day before you plan to serve it.
• Can I use a different kind of apple?
  You can. Braeburn and Pink Lady are both good choices. I would still use a mix that includes at least one apple with firmness and acidity, especially because the caramel filling is sweet and the apples are sliced thinly.
• Can I freeze the pie before baking?
  Yes. Assemble the pie, then freeze it until firm before wrapping it well in plastic wrap and foil. Bake it directly from frozen on a rimmed baking sheet, allowing extra time for the frozen filling to heat through. Watch for bubbling caramel near the center and tender apples instead of relying on one exact number of extra minutes. Use a metal pie plate for freezing and baking, since a frozen glass pie plate can crack when placed into a hot oven.
• Can I make this without a lattice crust?
  Yes. Roll out the second dough disk into a full top crust, lay it over the apples, and cut several vents in the top so steam can escape. Brush it with egg wash and finish it with the sugar and flaky sea salt as you would the lattice.

From My Kitchen Notes

Small observations from the margins.

• Salt changes the way I take in sweetness.
• I don’t need everything to hold together to know it’s real.
• Some things need a lattice, not a lid.
• I can leave room for the heat to get out.
• I don’t have to make something firm because I’m afraid it will run.
• I know the difference between being held together and being closed in.
• It’s easy for me to let the good parts show through.
• I’m not interested in anything that only looks good before you cut into it.
• I can wait until something cools before I decide what it’s going to be.
• Some things are worth the mess they make when they finally reach the plate.

Caramel Doesn’t Stop at Apple Pie

• Peach Cobbler Bundt Cake with Bourbon Caramel – Peaches, Southern-style Bundt cake, bourbon caramel.
• Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Buttered Rum Caramel Glaze – Roasted sweet potatoes, browned butter, dark rum caramel, toasted pecans.
• Caramel Apple Bread Pudding – Brioche, tart apples, brown sugar caramel, custard.
• Maple Caramel Dip – Maple caramel, stovetop preparation, ten minutes.
• Butterfinger Caramel Cheesecake Bars – Graham cracker crust, cheesecake, caramel, Butterfinger candy.