Cast Iron Caramel Apple Pie

The first step in making an apple pie is to make your own crust. Sure, you can buy the pre-made crusts from the store, but believe me, a good homemade crust is so much better. If you’ve never done it before, it sounds daunting, but it’s a lot easier than it sounds.

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, the zest of a lime, and a tablespoon of Lane’s BBQ Apple Pie Seasoning. Mix it all together and then add in your stick and a half of cold butter, cubed into small chunks. Use a pastry blender or your fingers to mix it all together until it resembles coarse crumbs. You want the butter cold so the dry ingredients stick to it, but it doesn’t melt.

Now, add in an egg yolk and a few tablespoons of ice water and work it in with your hands. You want the consistency of the whole thing to hold together without being too wet or sticky. If it’s too dry, add more ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until it’s right. Once you get the right consistency, shape the dough into two disk, wrap them in plastic wrap, and place into the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. Also, place your cast iron skillet in the fridge to get cold during this time.

While that’s chilling, it’s time to get the filling ready. I went with this recipe from Southern Living for the filling. Slice peeling your apples and then slicing them into slices. In a small saucepan, heat a cup of brown sugar, a stick of butter, 3 tablespoons of half-and-half, and a teaspoon of Kosher salt over medium-high heat. Stir for a couple of minutes until it starts to bubble and thicken, no more than about five minutes. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and stir in a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of bourbon.

In a mixing bowl, toss your apple wedges in cornstarch and then dump about half of your caramel sauce over them and mix together. Save the other half of the sauce to drizzle over your finished pie.

Take out one of your crust disks and roll it out nice and flat, large enough to cover the inside bottom and sides of your cast iron skillet. Place it into the skillet and dump your caramel apple mixture into it. Roll out your other crust disk and lay it over top. Pinch the bottom and top crusts together all the way around, then cut several slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Whisk together an egg yolk and a tablespoon of water, then brush that over the top of the crust.

Bake the pie on the bottom rack of a preheated oven, about 55-60 minutes until golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Check it after 30-40 minutes and you will probably need to cover the top with foil to prevent from burning while the inside finishes cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and let cool. You can cut into it at this point or let cool. Top your slice of apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then sprinkle some more of your Lane’s BBQ Apple Pie Seasoning over top.

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