Toffee Crumble Caramel Apple Pie
With layers of caramel apples and bursts of toffee and chocolate, this toffee crumble caramel apple pie is out of this world delicious.
You might think we don’t need another apple pie recipe, but I’m here to tell you, we do! We absolutely do.
I’ve been making this toffee apple crumble pie for years, thanks to my brother, Nate, who passed the recipe along to me.
It’s unique, just enough, to convince you that the road back to traditional apple pie may not be necessary.
(But of course you will travel that road at some point, and so will I, because apple pie should be enjoyed in all its forms and that’s the gospel truth.)
Caramel Apple Pie
There are a couple of things happening in this pie. Both are worthy of being mentioned.
- Caramel apple filling: the apples are lightly sauteed in butter, brown sugar, a little bit of flour and cinnamon until the mixture is syrupy and the apples are tender
- Toffee crumble: a toffee crumble/streusel situation is layered on top of the caramel apple mixture before the top pie crust goes on
In case you are having a difficult time catching the vision here: caramel + apples + toffee + crumble + hints of chocolate + flaky pie crust.
Ridiculously delicious.
If you have room in your heart for another apple pie variation, I encourage you to give this toffee crumble caramel apple pie a go.
It has all the classic aspects of a traditional apple pie with a few extra special ingredients thrown in for fun.
All apple pie is delicious with a scoop of ice cream, but this toffee apple pie can’t survive without it. It is the perfect compliment to the nutty, rich flavors of the pie.
Also, if you are wanting an extra boost in pie making confidence, check out my Pie Boot Camp Series HERE! The series includes:
All About Pie Making Equipment Essentials
How to Make Pie Crust (Foolproof Recipe, Rolling Out, Crimping + Video Tutorial)
All About Blind Baking + How to Do It and Why (Bonus: Chocolate Ganache Cream Pie Recipe)
Double Crust Pies and How to Make an Easy Lattice Crust (Bonus: Printable for Easy Reference to Sum Up Pie Boot Camp)
Toffee Crumble Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 1 double crust pie dough (see note)
Filling:
- 6-7 cups sliced or diced sweet crisp apples, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick (see note) – about 5-6 medium apples, I use honeycrisp
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ cup (106 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (36 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) butter
Crumble:
- ½ cup (71 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 ounces (85 g) about 1/2 cup milk chocolate covered toffee bits (such as Heath brand) or chocolate covered toffee bars, finely chopped
- 1 large egg white
- Granulated or coarse turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Roll out and place one pie crust into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate, trimming to the edge of the pie plate all the way around. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- For the filling, in a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir to combine. Add vanilla and cream and mix.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apple mixture and cook for about 6-8 minutes, stirring often (and adjusting the heat if the apples start to stick to the bottom of the pot) to soften the apples just a bit.
- Scoop the apple mixture into the pie shell and spread evenly.
- In the same bowl you used for the filling dry ingredients, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter with a fork or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped toffee bars. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the apples.
- Roll out the top pie crust and place it on top of the pie. Leave a 1/4- to 1/2-inch overhang all the way around. Fold the top crust over the bottom crust and underneath. Press lightly to seal. Flute the edges and cut a few long slits in the top to vent the pie.
- Beat the egg white with a teaspoon of water and brush the top of the pie with the egg mixture. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.
- Place the pie on a baking sheet (to avoid any potential leaks dripping into your oven) and bake for about 50-60 minutes until the crust is golden and the apples are soft and tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (by way of my brother, Nate)
I “needed” to make a pie for linger longer tomorrow, and it needed to be an apple pie. I didn’t feel like making my go-to, so the obvious choice was to make things decidedly harder on myself and make this one. I didn’t have toffee so I went with butterscotch chips and chocolate chips chopped finely. I hope it works! Can’t wait to try it!
Absolutely delicious! I have been searching for the perfect apple pie for years and this is it. I was afraid there would be “too much” going on but tried it anyway and so glad I did. It was a huge hit.
Hello! I have made your flaky pie crust a few times and LOVE it—even though it only turned out once. Oops! My question is: would I be able to use that crust recipe with this one and how would I do it?
Thank you!
Yes, you definitely can! Just make the pie crust according to the recipe and substitute it for the pie crust called for here.
Do you have to prebake the pie crust before putting the filling in it if I’m using the flakey pie crust recipe?
No, you don’t need to prebake the crust.
So you are my go to recipe lady, my hubs go to recipe source is the Traeger app, he decided to try out one of their apple pie recipes, it was a caramel apple pie. The cream for making the caramel was smoked before using it in the caramel sauce. The flavor of it was SO good, and this is coming from a person that only likes cream pies, fruit pies are not my thing. But…. it was SO runny!! We’ve made one other apple pie before that also turned out super runny, so I figured you would probably have an answer for me why our apple pies keep turning out runny, this recipe was the closest to what we had made is why I decided to ask here, but looking at all your apple pie recipes, none of them are runny, how do you achieve that perfection? We used Granny Smith apples just FYI if the apples make a difference in the runny factor.
Hey Misty – what an interesting idea to use smoked caramel in a smoked apple pie. Wow! As for runny apple pies, I think it has to do with a combination of apple variety and the thickener used (flour, cornstarch, etc) and the amount of thickener. Basically, I don’t know of a specific formula to recommend since each recipe differs, but if he likes the original apple pie recipe from Traeger but it was too runny, try increasing the thickener used OR precooking the apples (similar to the method in the Blue Ribbon Apple Pie recipe on my site)
Just made this and I’m so excited to eat it!!
Just wondering, do you put all the caramel from the apples You cook in the pan in the pie? When it said spoon apples in pie crust I didn’t know if you put all the caramel it would make it too runny. Thanks!!
Yes, I add it all. 🙂
Thanks!! It was a hit at our friend pie night tonight!!
Mel, I made this pie yesterday and it was really good. I wanted to test it before thanksgiving. I had a question on the crumble though. You have milk in the ingredients for the crumble but don’t include it in the instructions. Is this an omission? I didn’t catch it until now. The pie juice was really thick and I wonder if that’s because I didn’t include the milk?
Update: scratch that! Instructions are perfect as always. It says milk chocolate toffee bits, not milk!
Absolutely the best apple pie I have ever had! Thank you Mel!
Would love to make this for Xmas Day dinner (along with your pecan chocolate pie) but have never made pies before . If I make both ahead of time this week and freeze unbaked – should I defrost in fridge/counter? Night before/day of?
Thanks Mel!!
If you freeze them unbaked, I’d cook them from frozen so the filling doesn’t get too watery and then tent with foil if they brown too much in the oven.
Froze this one unbaked (your sour cream pie crust worked like a charm – no oven dripping at all) and then baked this from frozen as you suggested – was PERFECT. Thank you!!
I think you need to do a guest post on freezing pies!!
I’d love to make this apple pie, but toffee bits might be a bit hard for me to find. What would you recommend? Just a plain chocolate bar, some other kind of candy like snickers/twix/caramels, or just leave off the crumble entirely? Thanks for reading, I’m sure you’re crazy busy this time of year!
Hey Kris – Can you find heath bars? If so, I’d chop those up and use them. If not, maybe some other type of toffee candy or just leave them out. 🙂
Thanks Mel! I just left the crumble off entirely and everyone still agreed it was the star of our Thanksgiving party which felt great after working on this pie all morning. ;; That pie crust recipe is still a struggle for me. How do you get your pie crust to look so smooth and cohesive? Mine is still lumpy with pockets of butter and sour cream, but I’m afraid of overmixing it or working the butter too much.
I’m glad the pie was a hit! Are you using a food processor for the pie crust or mixing by hand?
This is the recipe I chose for my first apple pie. I used Macintosh apples from a local fruit stand. My family gobbled it up. It is one of the best pies I have ever had. I used a pie crust recipe from my America’s Test Kitchen recipe book because it is one I am familiar with. We had it with ice cream and a caramel drizzle when it was warm day. It was even better the second day without all of the extras. This now goes on our very exclusive, hard-to-get-on list of pies we consider good enough for Thanksgiving. Thanks for helping me have such a great first experience!
Way to go on your first apple pie, Rachael! So happy this was a home run!
Do you think this pie could be made with just the crumble on top? I need to make a pie for two thanksgivings and the thought of making four pie crusts makes me want to die. The Dutch apple pie I usually makes just has a crumble top and I cook it in a large paper bag. I wanted to try something new but still have my beloved apple. Just curious if something like that would fly with this pie:)
Sure! Certainly worth a try!
Can you freeze this pie and if so Would that be baked or not?
Most pies freeze really well. I haven’t tried freezing this but it should work out just fine. You can freeze baked or unbaked.
I made this, your old fashioned banana cream, and the chocolate caramel pecan pie for Thanksgiving today, and they all got rave reviews. Everyone had a different favorite, which is a really great sign. Thanks for consistently putting up great recipes. I know I can count on them to make sense and taste fantastic.
Oh and this is the best apple pie ever!!
do you think the crumble part of this would be good in a cherry pie? I love cherry pie but thought the toffee and chocolate might be an awesome add in… thoughts? Maybe just the Heath bars crumbled under the crust…
Yum! I think it sounds delicious.
the cherry pie with the Heath chopped right under the crust was good by it self, with ice creme it was a few too many flavors. Just thought I’d let you know 🙂 thanks for all the yummy things you’ve gotten me hooked on over the years!
Hey Mel,
I was just wondering – how many of the chocolate covered toffee bars do you use?
I don’t really remember because I usually use the chocolate covered toffee bits, but I think I buy 2 of the Heath bars and chop those up.
Having a family over for dinner tomorrow and want to make the pie(s) ahead of time to save my sanity on Sunday. Any great tips for making these ahead? I’d like to bake them tomorrow so will they be fine just sitting uncooked in my fridge for 24 hours? Maybe I should keep filling and crust and crumble all separate? What Would Mel Do?
Hi Jessica – I make pies like this style all the time up to a day in advance. Once baked and cooled, I cover them with saran wrap and let them sit at room temperature (unless it was a cream filled pie or something like that – then I refrigerate). Sometimes with apple pies like this I gently warm it in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes or so before serving but that isn’t mandatory. Good luck!
I actually made it first thing Sunday morning but didn’t bake it. I wrapped it in Saran Wrap and put in the fridge for about 7 hours. I pulled it out, set them on the counter for 30 minutes and then baked as directed. So so perfect and yummy. My guests were raving and I keep picking at the leftovers today.
ohh I’m making this for book club! Looks so yummy 🙂 Dumb question… to peal or not to peal these apples? I’ve made apple stuff both ways but never with honey crisp apples.
crystal – I peel the apples.
This pie looks so good! Anyone who doesn’t eat apple pie would probably reconsider after seeing your photos – yummy!
Absolutely hilarious!! I love apple pie, but alas my family has issues with cooked fruits and vegetables, and yes, they certainly have WAY more issues than I can deal with! 🙂
It was also supposed to read allrecipes. Here is the link http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/12275/fresh-pear-pie?ast=pear%20pie&asas=Mobile%20Search%20Results&asat=Quick%20Search&ase=event10,event8 I am excited to hear what you think :). Or if you look up fresh pear pie.
Just pinned it – thanks EmmaLee!
I do like to make Apple Pie. Let me give your recipe a try.
This pie looks absolutely amazing!!! Ran into this pie on Food Gawker 🙂
That was supposed to read danjou pears. Autocorrect!!!!!
Hi EmmaLee – I’d love the recipe for the pear pie if you have it!
I have been reading your blog for awhile now and making things from it also. And they have been mostly awesome. I haven’t tried your apple pie recipes but I wanted to tell you about pear pie. It is super good. Every time I make it people come and ask for the recipe. I like it better than apple pie. My husbands family made it and then I found a recipe for it on appreciates that is amazing and super simple. Our store (small-town Tooele, ut) has tons of pears available right now. I have used Danni and they were fine, but I think the best flavor comes from Bartlett. They don’t even need to be fully ripe. But mostly yellow is best. A woman at my husband’s work bought one from me for a special dinner because she loves them so much and it is my most requested pie at Thanksgiving, even from my brother who dislikes fruit pies. I also rarely have the lemon zest and it still turns out amazing everytime. (I also use the food processor pie crust recipe from the pioneer woman, just because it is so much more simple than the lion house recipe. But I love crust more than anything.) I am making the hot chocolate balls with peppermint marshmallows for some neighbor gifts. They sound wonderful.
I will be making this (as soon as possible).
I LOVE the flow chart! How can I go wrong when all roads lead to apple pie! Thanks for the laugh today & cannot wait to try this 😉
HAHA your flowchart is priceless! Please make more!
Lol!
This flow chart is fantastic and hilarious! I can’t wait to try this delicious recipe 🙂
Almost forgot… I love caramel and apples so will be trying your recipe, it sounds delish!!!!
Iv baked a lot of apple pies, some that won 1st prize at our county fair. My favorite go to apple for pies is always Rome Beauty. They stay white and their shape longer and have just the right sweetness for a pie. Also, sometimes the red from the skin bleeds into the white of the apple, very pretty.
Hahaha! Yep, totally made me laugh out loud. Still smiling. This is awesome. And the pie looks awesome, too!
The flow chart is absolutely priceless!!!!
and of course, the pie got the best advertisement in the known blogosphere world!
You had me at flowchart. LOL! My husband’s birthday is on Sunday, I might have to make this for him.
Ha! Love the flow chart, Mel! This looks so delicious!
If anyone asks what my favorite dessert is I always say apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream. I literally can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m going to the grocery store today for toffee bits! Thank you!
I love the flowchart! We love apple pie and have apples on hand all the time as we live in the heart of Washington state. Keep those pie recipes coming, we love them 🙂
Hahahahhahahhahah!!! The flow chart(and post commentary)just made my day!
Love the flow chart!
Okay, Mel, the flowchart really is an art form, and one I never appreciated fully until. right. now. STOP it. Too funny! And of course I’m guessing it would take me way more than 45 minutes to put that together. But I’d still have enough steam left to make that gorgeous pie. 😉
xo Nicole
I love flow charts. I just bought my 13 year old a book of flowcharts for Christmas and my husband thinks I have lost my mind.
Obviously, you’re chart led me directly to making this pie, so that’s what I shall go do now!
How would you adjust the cooking time if baking from frozen, unbaked?
I think it would need another 45 minutes to an hour (I’d bake covered for the first hour and then uncover the rest of the time).
Omg this was sooo funny
You made my day :))
Love the flow chart! This pie looks delicious. Thank you for sharing!
What a delight your writing is . . .so creative and humorous! And this 45 minute flow chart was truly of great value. I now realize that my husband needs professional help because of the serious symptom of disliking crunchy toffee in anything. You are one special lady and I am thankful you share “the best” recipes with us so we can pass these blessing on to our family and friends
I *LOVE* Apple Pie..my husband doesn’t eat it (clearly there are issues beyond my control here). This one looks absolutely FABULOUS!! Yet another reason you need to come live with me.