Candy and Caramel Apple Pie

So sorry. I wanted to, I did. But I didn’t have a torch. So I thought about using the broiler method, and was going to do it Monday for dessert. Alas, during my baking for the cafe I used all of the heavy cream and had none to make said creme brulee. Nor was there time for a rewind. And while I do feel bad, I know that TWD is suppsed to be FUN, not a sentence, and missing two in 20 weeks really isn’t that bad.

On a side note, Operation Baking GALS ship week is upon us and we have been SWAMPED! (well, I have been swamped) with emails, questions, pictures, etc. Seriously, we are closing in on 700 bakers. SEVEN HUNDRED. And while not all ship each month, many do, and many bakers work in teams. Getting a guesstimate on how many cookies go out this month is a personal challenge of mine…we have 11 official teams and now 2 overflow teams that I picked up with late entries. So WOW…great job you guys. You are really doing a good thing here. I can’t even imagine how many troops you are touching with this. Last month saw an estimated 30,000 cookies. This month I am guessing 50,000, maybe more. Pretty soon we’ll get a cookie to every soldier deployed!!

Okay, I won’t leave you without a food post. A little while back, Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake featured this pie on her blog. I saw it on Tastespotting, too, and fell in love with it. So over the weekend, I made it for my parent’s Church Homecoming Dinner. I didn’t have all of the pecans it called for, so I did use toffee with it. I also used nice, tart apples from our neighbors apple tree instead of Granny Smith…they were delish! As you can see, I made it in a springform pan…and though this pie looks complicated, it was really very simple to put together and looked fantastic! Not a drop was left…so that’s a good sign.

Candy Apple Pie
From MiMi Hodge, winner of Good Morning America’s “Pie of Emeril’s Eye” Contest, 2000

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 cup chopped pecans
Apple Filling:
5 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, sliced very thin)
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cream Cheese Topping:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Topping:
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix well and press into a 10-inch pie plate and up the sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden in color. Remove pie shell from oven and cool completely. Pour caramel into pie shell and sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped pecans. Refrigerate pie shell while making apple filling.
3. In a large (12-inch) skilet over medium heat, melt butter and add brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add apples and stir. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until apples are softened and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes and pour into pie shell. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F.
4. In a medium bowl, using a hand-held mixer on low speed, combine cream cheese and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until fully blended. Pour over apple filling in pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove pie from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Let stand outside the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Top with whipped cream, caramel and pecans, and swirl with a knife. Slice and serve.