Recipe: Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie

N E W   Y O R K, Nov. 8, 2001 -- When the leaves start turning colors in the fall, Marsha Brooks of Carmel, Ind., knows it is time to start baking her Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie.

It's the perfect comfort food for cooler weather, and a hit with Carmel's potluck dinner crowd. They can smell the fresh-from-the-oven pie as soon as Brooks walks in the door (See her story below). Emeril Lagasse, also lured by the mouthwatering combination of caramel and apples, named Brooks' pie the winner of his Apple Pie of Emeril's Eye Contest on Good Morning America.

Brooks joined Emeril in New York to bake her pie at the Good Morning America studios. Enjoy her winning pie recipe, and take a look at the other apple pie recipes from our finalists, just below this one.

Recipe: Crunchy Carmel Apple Pie

Ingredients:

1 pastry crust for a deep-dish pie 9-inch (homemade or store-bought) 1/2 cup sugar 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp salt 6 cups thinly sliced peeled apples (You may need more if your family sits by the bowl and sneaks the sliced applies when you are not looking) Marsha likes to use golden delicious and fuji apples.

1 recipe crumb topping (see below) 1/2 cup chopped pecans1/4 cup caramel topping1 oz. of TLC (tender, loving care — see Marsha's love story below)

Ingredients for Crumb Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2cup all-purpose flour 1/2cup quick cooking rolled oats 1/2 cup butter

Directions for Crumb Topping:

1. Stir together brown sugar,flour, rolled oats.

2. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until topping is like course crumbs. Set aside.

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.

2. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated.

3. Transfer apple mixture to the pie shell (I remove the store-bought pie shell from the aluminum pie plate and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate of my own, but you do not have to.)

4. Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture.

5. Place pie on a cookie sheet so the drippings don't drop into your oven.

6. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil.

7. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 25 minutes. Then remove foil and put back in for another 25 to 30 minutes without foil.

8. Remove from oven. Sprinkle pie with chopped pecans then drizzle with caramel on top.

9. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Recipe courtesy of Marsha Brooks, Apple Pie Contest 2001

Finalists' Recipes

You can also try any of these four delicious recipes from the apple pie contest finalists. Click on on any of the recipes below:

What Makes America Great Apple Pie, from Mary Michener of Easton, Pa. The ingredients that caught Emeril's eye? Lard in the crust, and hazelnuts on top. "Her secret is that you don't remove it from the oven until the sugar and butter are 'bubbly' around the edges," Emeril said.

Sister's Day Apple Pie, submitted by Sandy Forbes Loomis in Fulton, N.Y. Three sisters from a firefighter family bake this pie together on "sister's day," a family tradition devoted to pie and laughter. Emeril said their mom's pie crust recipe is "one of the most tender and flaky crusts I have ever tried," and the trick is in the temperature.

My, My Miss American Pie, from Celia Rossi, of Grass Lake, Mich. This red, white and blue version of an American pie is from a family history cookbook that she and her seven daughters put together. Lemon juice, and lemon zest, along with blueberries and cranberries blend well together, Emeril said.

Apricot Apple Streusel Pie, from Maggie Zabinko, in Sitka, Alaska. She uses gala apples, apricot preserves and dried apricots soaked in apricot brandy. "The marriage of the apple and apricot flavor is outstanding," Emeril said.