Caramel Apple Pie

For the crust:
First, food processors are great at getting the job done as quickly as possible, and the more you mess with dough the tougher it becomes. So break out that food processor and add 2 cups of the flour, salt and sugar and give it a quick pulse until it’s combined.

Add the cubes of butter and the shortening and pulse until combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. A mixture of butter and shortening gives great texture and great flavor.

Add the remaining flour and process until it’s all combined. Move dough to a large bowl, then add the water and the vodka and knead gently until it’s all combined. Vodka makes your crust flaky. It cooks off completely, unlike water, so you have a great flakiness that will hold up to whatever you put inside of it. Your dough will be very moist, but you can add a bit of flour if it is too moist to hold together.

Split the dough into two evenly sized disks and wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours. If you need to, this can be made up to three days in advance, just store the plastic wrapped disks in a large Ziplock bag.

Preheat your oven to 375F.

For the apple filling:
In a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice and salt, toss to coat. Let stand at room temp for about 30 minutes. Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, apple sauce and nutmeg and toss to coat. Set aside.

For the caramel filling:
In a pot over medium heat, add the brown sugar and cream. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and allow to boil, untouched, until it reaches 210F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla, stir to combine and allow to cool.

For the assembly:
Roll out one of your pie dough disks in a circle large enough to fit into your greased pie pan with a bit of over hang. Add the circle to the pie pan and press into shape. Poke a bunch of holes in the bottom with a fork. Pour the caramel filling on the bottom, then the apples on top of that. Roll out the remaining pie dough circle. I like to cut out cute shapes with a cookie cutter and layer them on top, adhering them to the top crust with melted butter. You can do this, or you can make a top crust that is your standard round circle with slits cut in the top. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.