Instructions

1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the sugar on medium low heat until it’s completely melted, swirling the pan gently every 20 seconds or so. The sugar will start to form clumps before melting slowly. Be patient and keep an eye on it to make sure it does not burn.
2. Once melted, remove from heat immediately and stir in the butter. The mixture will violently bubble. You’re doing it right.
3. Next, pour in the heavy cream and sea salt. Stir until everything is combined
4. Pour into a small bowl or cup and allow to cool completely before using.
5. While you prep the filling, blind bake the pie crust. Line the Belmont Deep Dish Pie Crust with parchment paper and fill it with rice or beans to weigh it down and prevent it from bubbling up. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
6. While the pie crust is blind baking, make your filling. Peel the apples and slice them into ¼” thick slices, cutting the slices in half so you have small pieces instead of large full apple slices. This will sit better in the pie crust and allow you to load it full of apples.
7. Add the spices, salt, flour, lemon juice, vanilla and sugar to the filling and stir to combine.
8. Reserve a ¼ cup of your homemade caramel for drizzling on the top of the pie. Add the remaining caramel to the apple pie filling and stir to distribute the caramel evenly.
9. Next, make the crumb topping. Combine all the ingredients for the crumb topping in a medium bowl and use a fork to stir together until the mixture forms a crumbly dough.
10. Remove the rice from the blind baked pie crust and pour the apple filling into the crust, using a spatula or your hands to arrange and pack the apples in tightly, mounding them slightly in the middle.
11. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apple filling, patting it down slightly to get it into the nooks and crannies of the apples.
12. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
13. Allow to cool before drizzling with the remainder of the caramel sauce. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!