Southern Comfort Caramel Apple Pie

I got this recipe from EzraPoundCake. I suggest if you want to make it, to copy into Word and then print.

First I don't make pie crust. I love to bake, but don't find making crust enjoyable. And this beautiful company named Pillsbury does the job fine for me. So that was my only change to the recipe.

D and I had no clue about the apples. We found Braeburns at Kroghetto. Upon tasting, I could've bought Granny Smith. No big deal.

I felt the topping was harder to make than the filling. This was user issues... my cutting board was fresh out of the dishwasher, so the butter melted. The brown sugar stayed packed in the food processor. Still it came out ok. I toasted the pecans in a pan, because the oven was in use.

The filling was simple to make. Because my pie plate was in use, I used a disposable pie plate, and had to double it up. I still didn't trust the weight of the pie, so I put it on a pizza pan when I put it in the oven. Good thing, because it overflowed.

D doesn't like apple pie. He liked this one. My dad liked it. I don't know if my brother liked it. But when I went to bed, there was 5 pieces left. This morning when I woke up there were 2. So I'd say success!

Southern Comfort Caramel Apple Pie

Adapted from Rebecca Rather’s “The Pastry Queen”

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Basic Pie Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2/3 cup (11 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Topping:

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling:

• 5 to 6 medium-size tart apples, such as Braeburn, Cortland or Winesap
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup Southern Comfort liqueur
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Garnishes (optional):

• Vanilla or cinnamon ice cream
• Whipped cream
• Caramel sauce

1. To Make the Crust: Using a food processor, pulse to combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add butter; pulse until the mixture looks crumbly. Add 4 tablespoons ice water, and pulse until the dough begins to form a ball. If it doesn’t, add the additional 1 tablespoon water, and pulse. Gently mold the dough into a disk,; wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. Clean your food processor (you can just wipe it out) to make the topping.

3. To Make the Topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer, and toast them in the oven for about 7 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic. Coarsely chop the nuts.

4. In a food processor, process both sugars, the cinnamon, salt and flour for about 1 minute. Add butter; pulse 10 to 15 times, until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the pecans. Refrigerate the topping, covered, in a a medium bowl until ready to use.

5. Transfer the unwrapped pie dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Roll it into a 1/8-inch-thick circle large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (To keep the dough from sticking, gently pick it up every once in a while and rotate it in place, adding more flour underneath if necessary.)

6. Wrap the dough lightly over the rolling pin, and set it in the ungreased pie plate. Press it into place, and crimp the outside edges with your finger or a fork.

7. To Make the Filling: Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Peel, core and cut the apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

8. When the butter starts to foam, add the apples and sauté for 5 to 8 minutes.

9. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle it on the apples, and reduce the heat under the skillet to medium-low. Simmer the apples for about 1 minute.

10. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples from the skillet to a large baking sheet, and arrange them in a single layer. (If you heap them in a pile, the hot apples will steam and get soggy.)

11. Pour the Southern Comfort into the butter-sugar mixture in the skillet. Simmer the mixture over medium heat at least 5 minutes, until the alcohol burns off. Add the cream, and continue cooking about 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick as pourable caramel. Return the apples to the skillet.

12. Pour the apple filling into the unbaked pie crust, and sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the topping is brown. Serve the pie warm or at room temperature with ice cream, whipped cream or caramel sauce.