My Favorite Pie Crust & PW's Caramel Apple Pie Recipes

Messy Messy Fail - I'm being eaten alive by laundry prior to leaving for our three Christmases.

Tidy Victory - Before returning home from our third Christmas with our families, I washed everything save a few pieces of laundry at my MIL's house.  When packing up to go home, I put all of the clean laundry in the suitcases first, put a layer of a few plastic grocery bags over the clean clothes, then put the dirty clothes on top of the plastic bags.  That way I can throw the dirty clothes right into the laundry when we get home cause they are right on top AND they don't touch the clean clothes, which will now sit in the suitcases until I put them away :)  I still think my plastic bag idea is pretty smart.

When you purchase a bushel of apples, you need several different recipes to make.  Either that or you make 456643566 pounds of apple sauce.

I would highly recommend the Pioneer Woman's caramel apple pie.  I made two - one for my family's Thanksgiving and one for my household after Thanksgiving.  

Let's just say this pie is insane in the membrane. 

I mean, just look at the amazing texture that is just SCREAMING for you to take a delicious bite!

I changed the recipe slightly be using my own pie crust recipe because I had it all ready to go in my freezer.  

Want to know how you can make your own pie plate of appley heaven?  Here you go!

Ingredients:

   Katie's Favorite Pie Crust Recipe (acquired from the nice people

   at the Blueberry Patch):

      5 c flour

      2 1/2 c Crisco

      2 tsps vinegar

      1 tsp salt

      1 egg

      water  

   Pie Filling:

      6-7 c peeled and sliced apples, any variety

      1/2 lemon, juiced

      1/2 c granulated sugar

      1/2 c all-purpose flour

      1/4 tsp salt

    Crumb Topping:

       1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter

       1/2 c all-purpose flour

       1 c packed brown sugar

       1/2 c quick oats

       1/4 tspn salt

       1/2 c chopped pecans

       1/2 jar caramel topping

Make your crust:

     Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.  Add Crisco and work

     together using your fingers until well blended.  Wisk egg in a

     one cup measuring cup, add vinegar and fill remainder of cup

     with cold water. Add this to the flour mixture and mix with fork

     only until all the flour is absorbed.  Shape the crust into no

     more than 6 balls (depends on the size of your pie tin, I

     typically make 4-5 balls). 

     Wrap these balls with plastic wrap and freeze for future use.

     When needed, thaw at room temperature or in refrigerator.  

And now time to assemble:

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

    On a lightly floured surface, roll a ball of thawed (but cold is

    still good!) pie dough out to fit a 9-inch pie tin.  Press down

    against the corners of the pan and cut off the excess.  Tuck the

    edges under and crimp around the edges to make it pretty.

    In a bowl, mix together your apples, the lemon juice,

    granulated sugar, flour and salt.  Set aside.

    To make the crumb topping, cut the butter into the flour with a

   pastry cutter (I must get one of these two forks just doesn't cut

   it!), then add in brown sugar, oats and salt.

    Pour the apple mixture into the prepared pie shell and top with

   the crumb topping.  

   Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  If the edge of the crust starts to

  get too brown cover with foil.  After an hour, sprinkle the

  chopped pecans over the pie and return to the oven for another 5

  minutes. 

   Remove the pie from the oven and drizzle half (or more!) of the

  caramel topping over the crumb topping and pecans. 

 Allow to cool slightly before serving, goes beautifully with a

 scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream.

      

You can thank me and the PW later.

Enjoy everyone, this pie goes fast!

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