Easy Free Form Caramel Apple Pie 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:

• 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!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the chunks of cold butter with a pastry blender, a little at a time, until the dough resembles cornmeal. Add the egg yolk and the ice water, and blend for a second just to pull the dough together and moisten. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.
• To make the caramel sauce: place the sugar and water in a small pot and cook, without stirring, over medium-low heat until the sugar has melted and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the burner and add the cream and wine slowly. It may bubble and spit, so be careful. When the sauce has calmed down, return it to the flame, add the vanilla bean and heat it slowly, until the wine and caramel are smooth and continue to slowly cook until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and cool until thickened.
• Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze in the lemon juice. Peel the apples with a paring knife, cut them in half, and remove the core with a melon baller. Put the apple halves in the lemon-water (this will keep them from going brown). Toss the apples with the flour and cinnamon.
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator, unwrap the plastic, and cut the ball in half. Rewrap and return 1 of the balls to the refrigerator, until ready for the top crust. Let the dough rest on the counter for 15 minutes so it will be pliable enough to roll out. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully roll the dough up onto the pin and lay it inside a 10-inch glass pie pan. Press the dough into the pan so it fits tightly.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Slice a couple of the apples at a time using a mandolin or a very sharp knife. The apples need to be thinly sliced so that as the pie bakes, they collapse on top of each other with no air pockets. This makes a dense, meaty apple pie. Cover the bottom of the pastry with a layer of apples, shingling the slices so there are no gaps. Ladle about 2 ounces of the cooled red wine caramel sauce evenly over the apple slices. Repeat the layers, until the pie is slightly overfilled and domed on the top; the apples will shrink down as the pie cooks. Top the apples with pieces of the butter.
• Now, roll out the other ball of dough just as you did the first. Brush the bottom lip of the pie pastry with a little beaten egg white to form a seal. Place the pastry circle on top of the pie, and using some kitchen scissors, trim off the overhanging excess from around the pie. Crimp the edges of dough together with your fingers to make a tight seal. Cut slits in the top of the pie so steam can escape while baking. Place the pie on a sheet tray and tent it with a piece of aluminum foil, so the crust does not cook faster than the apples.
• Bake the caramel apple pie for 25 minutes on the middle rack. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the freshly grated cinnamon. Remove the foil from the pie and brush the top with the remaining egg white. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar and return to the oven. Continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until the pie is golden and bubbling. Let the apple pie rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour to allow the fruit pectin to gel and set; otherwise the pie will fall apart when you cut into it.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Place cookie sheet on bottom oven rack. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, using 9-inch glass pie plate. In small bowl, mix 1/2 cup topping and 2 tablespoons flour; spread in bottom pie crust.
• In large bowl, mix apples, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and the cinnamon. Spoon over caramel. Gently press apples. Cut small shapes from top crust to allow steam to escape. Place crust over apples. Seal edge and flute. Brush crust with milk; sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. (After 30 minutes of bake time, cover entire pie with foil to prevent overbrowning.) Cool about 2 hours before serving.
• In small microwavable bowl, place remaining 1/2 cup topping. Microwave uncovered on High 30 to 45 seconds or until warm. Top slices of pie with ice cream; spoon topping over top.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°. In a Dutch oven, combine filling ingredients. Cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes or until apples are almost tender, stirring occasionally; remove from heat., On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Line unpricked crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice., Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven setting to 375°., For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts. , Spoon filling into crust; sprinkle with topping. Bake pie 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups Bisquick mix and 1/4 cup softened butter with fork until crumbly. Add boiling water; stir vigorously with fork until dough forms. Gather into ball. Press firmly and evenly against bottom and up side of ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate; flute edge.
• Spoon Filling evenly into crust.
• In small bowl, mix 1 cup Bisquick mix and the brown sugar. Cut in 3 tablespoons cold butter until crumbly (streusel will look dry); stir in pecans. Sprinkle over filling.
• Bake 15 minutes. Cover top of pie with foil; bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool 2 to 3 hours before serving. Drizzle top of pie or individual servings with Caramel Topping.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Combine flour, 1 cup butter, 3/4 cup white sugar, egg, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor; pulse until crumbled and easily formed into dough when pinched. Pour 3/4 of the dough into the prepared pan; press down with your hands until crust is even and well packed.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add apples, brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; cook and stir until apples are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cornstarch; mix, adding more cornstarch if needed, until liquids are thickened.
• Pour apple mixture onto crust; smooth with a spatula until even. Crumble remaining dough on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crumbles on top are lightly brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes; cut into bars.