Cider Caramel Apple Pie by Erin McDowell

I make (and eat) a lot of apple pie. Sometimes, I make a smooth, almost apple butter-like filling. Other times, I like to use a crisp apple to give texture when the fork hits the fruit. Recently, I began mulling over what could combine everything I love about apple pie into one pie. I thought about how to make a pie with a bright, intensely apple flavor and no added sugar. I decided to make a cider caramel as the base, a recipe I first created to enter a Food52 contest many moons ago (to drizzle over an apple upside-down cake), and went nuts for the stuff. This filling is tart, but with a rich creaminess to it, because it's finished with butter. It's sweet, but not overly so. I used Honeycrisp apples, which hold up very well in baking, resulting in a filling that's tender, but still has a little bite. In the end, I decided to add a little brown sugar to the mix (it balances things out in a really yummy way), but I can attest wholeheartedly that this recipe works without it -- if you like things a little less sweet, leave it out! The finished pie really has everything, a bright, intensely apple flavor, a hint of sweetness that has that characteristic caramel flavor, a little bit of salt to tie it all together, and (of course) a tender, flaky crust encasing the whole thing. In my mind, any pie is a good pie, but this...this is a really good pie. It's definitely going to be the official apple pie at my Thanksgiving table this year, and for many years to come.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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