Caramel Apple Pie 2003 1st Place Apple Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, water, cinnamon, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and set aside.
• Roll out half the pastry to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Place bottom crust in pie plate; pour in apple slices.
• Roll out top crust into a 10-inch circle. Cut into 8 (1-inch) wide strips with a sharp paring knife or pastry wheel. Weave the pastry strips, one at a time, into a lattice pattern. Fold the ends of the lattice strips under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp to seal.
• Pour butter-sugar mixture over top of pie, coating the lattice, and allowing any remaining sauce to drizzle through the crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until the crust is golden brown, the caramel on the top crust is set, and the apple filling is bubbling, 35 to 40 more minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Steps:

• First, rim the lip of a chilled cocktail glass with your crushed graham crackers. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into your chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

Steps:

• To prepare crust by hand:
• In a narrow bowl, combine flour, salt and shortening. Using 2 knives scissors-style, cut fat into flour until only small pea-size bits of shortening remain.
• Sprinkle water over flour mixture as you toss with a fork. Don't keep stirring. Turn only about 8 to 10 times. Continue with Step 3 below.
• Or prepare crust using a food processor:
• Chill flour, shortening, butter, water.
• Measure flour into work bowl. Add salt and pulse 3 times.
• Add shortening. Pulse 6 times. Add butter that has been cup up into chunks. Pulse 4 times.
• Add water 1 tablespoon at a time. Pulse after each addition.
• Pour out of bowl onto plastic wrap. Create a 5-inch disk and flatten. Refrigerate.
• After about 15 minutes in the refrigerator, remove your disc. Place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper on the counter. Flour it. Cover the disk with another piece of wrap or parchment. Roll out from the center, until disk is about 11 inches in diameter. Remove top wrap, flour the surface lightly and drape crust over rolling pin. Center over pie plate and put it in. Smooth into 9 1/2-inch pie pan. Remove wrap. Trim edge to about 1/2 inch around outside of pan.
• Fold edge under and flute using thumb and forefingers to make a stand up edge. Refrigerate until ready to fill.
• To prepare filling and topping:
• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Coarsely chop macadamias and almonds, put all nuts (separate large nuts from chopped) on cookie sheet and toast 5 to 6 minutes. Cool. Put hazelnuts into a kitchen towel and rub together to remove skins. Chop hazelnuts.
• Combine filling ingredients. Mix well. Sprinkle chopped nuts on bottom of crust. Arrange pecan halves, slivered almonds and cashews in attractive pattern on bottom of unfilled crust. Pour filling into pan deflecting on back of a spoon. Larger nuts will rise up to top. Cover edge of crust with foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 50 minutes. Test with a stainless steel knife in center. When it comes out clean, it's done. Cool completely on wire rack. Serve after cooling or wrap in heavy foil and refrigerate until next day to serve.

Steps:

• For the perfect spiced pie crust: Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the butter and vegetable shortening. Work the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. Add the white vinegar, egg and 5 tablespoons cold water and stir until just combined.
• Form 2 equal-sized balls. Place each in a large plastic bag (do not seal) and slightly flatten with a rolling pin; this makes it much easier to roll out the crust later. After flattening, seal the bag tightly. Place in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to chill.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove 1 bag of dough from the freezer (save the other dough for another use), remove the dough from the bag and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough starting at the center and working outward. Be gentle and patient; it'll take a little time to get the dough completely rolled out. If you think the bottom is really sticking to the surface below while rolling, use a metal spatula to loosen it. When fully rolled out, loosen again with a spatula and lift the pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan (or you can roll the pastry over the rolling pin, lift it onto the pie pan and unroll it). Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan and tear off any excess dough. Then tuck under the edges and go around the pie pan pinching the dough to crimp the edge.
• For the pie filling: In a bowl, mix the apples, lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour and salt. Set aside.
• For the crumb topping: Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, then add in the brown sugar, oats and salt.
• Add the apples to the prepared pie shell and top with the crumb topping. Bake for 1 hour, covering the edge of the crust with foil if it starts to brown too quickly. After an hour, sprinkle the chopped pecans over the pie, then bake for a further 5 minutes.
• Remove the pie from the oven and pour 1/2 jar (or more, if you're feeling dangerous and naughty) of caramel topping over the top. Allow to cool slightly before serving - or don't if you can't wait!