October 29, 2010
Salty Caramel Apple Pie
Nothing says "Autumn" quite like a homemade apple pie! In this carmel apple recipe, the apple remains the star of the show but, in a wild-card move, I've added fleur-de-sel to bring out the robust, hidden flavor notes of the fruit's natural sweetness. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch Pillsbury Pie Crust (dough), at room temperature
- 6 cups apples (Northern Spy or McIntosh)
- 1/2 lemon
- 1 cup Sugar in the Raw / natural-cane turbinado sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons salted butter (cut in to dice-sized cubes)
- 2 Planters Peanut Bar Originals (1.6 ounces each), crushed - *if you cannot find these bars in your area, subsitute with 1/4 cup of crushed peanut brittle*
- 1/2 teaspoon fleur-de-sel (sea salt crystals)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Secure uncooked pie crust in a 9-inch circular glass/aluminum pie pan. Using a fork, gently prick the bottom of the pie shell, to vent.
Peel and slice apples. Sprinkle with juice from 1/2 of a lemon, making sure to catch seeds.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Pour over apples and toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream.
In a heavy skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add apple mixture and stir frequently for approximately 8-minutes - this will soften the apples. Remove from heat and set aside.
To make the streusel topping, combine flour, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Using clean hands and a fork, lightly toss ingredients until course crumbs form. Add crushed Planters Peanut Bars and toss.
Pour apple mixture in to pie shell. Evenly coat with streusel topping. Sprinkle with fleur-de-sel (sea salt crystals).
Bake pie for 40-minutes in a 350 degrees F oven.