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Bourbon Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Flaky pie crust filled with spiced apples and topped with a smooth bourbon-salted caramel drizzle.
Servings: 8
Author: Sarah Crawford

Ingredients

For the Pie Crust

  • 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter cubed and frozen
  • 3/4 cup vegetable shortening frozen
  • 1/2 cup ice water

For the Bourbon Salted Caramel*

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 vanilla bean seeds scraped
  • 3 Tbsp bourbon
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

For the Spiced-Apple Filling

  • 3 large Honeycrisp apples cored, unpeeled, and thinly sliced
  • 2 large Granny Smith apples cored, unpeeled, and thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp freshly squeeze lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp milk

Instructions

For the Pie Crust

  • Add flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor. Pulse to combine.
  • Add butter and shortening; pulse until butter is the size of peas. With the processor running on low, slowly pour water in through the food chute and mix until dough begins to form a ball.
  • Remove dough from food processor and place onto a floured board. Knead dough 3 times; form into a ball. Divide dough in half, and flatten each piece into 1-inch thick discs using your hands.
  • Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to 5 days).

For the Bourbon Salted Caramel

  • Heat cream, vanilla pod, and vanilla seeds over medium-high heat in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer, remove from heat, stir in bourbon, and set aside.
  • Combine sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan or high-walled skillet over medium-high heat; stir to combine. Cook, without stirring, 8 to 10 minutes or until 1-inch of the outer edges of the sugar begin browning.
  • Begin gently swirling the sugar around the pan and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until the entire pan of sugar turns a deep-amber color.
  • Remove the vanilla pod from the cream mixture and slowly whisk cream into caramel sauce. Continue simmering mixture until smooth, another 2o to 3 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, whisk in butter and salt until smooth. Transfer to a container and cool completely.

For the Bourbon Salted Caramel Apple Pie

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl combine apple slices, lemon juice, flour, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, gently tossing to combine. Set aside.
  • Place 1 pie dough disc on a floured board. Roll out dough, turning a quarter turn after every few rolls until it's about 11-inches in diameter. Carefully place dough into a 9-inch pie dish.
  • Trim the edges of the dough and crimp the dough with a fork or your fingers. Cover with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.
  • Remove pie weights; fill the pie crust with prepared apple filling. Pile the apples high and tight. Drizzle 1/4 cup Bourbon Salted Caramel over apples
  • Place second chilled pie dough on a floured board. Roll out dough, turning a quarter turn after every few rolls until it's about 11-inches in diameter. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut circles out of the crust and cover the apples (as pictured above). Re-roll dough as needed.
  • Whisk the egg and milk in a small bowl. Brush over pie crust. Bake pie 45 to 55 minutes or until crust is golden brown, and caramel begins to bubble up.
  • Cool pie at least 4 hours before serving. Drizzle with additional caramel sauce.

Notes

*If you don't have time to make your own caramel, feel free to buy a store-bought salted caramel.