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Caramel and the holidays go together perfectly and this Caramel Pie is no exception.
With caramel made from scratch, it really is hard to resist a slice. Rich and dense, the flavors of buttery caramel are pronounced in every single bite. It is definitely a caramel lovers dream pie and not for the faint of heart.
Although this caramel pie is a bit time consuming, it is worth the effort. You’ll start by baking a pie crust and setting it aside to cool. As it is cooling, begin making your caramel. Be sure to keep all other distractions at bay – such as the telephone or having to run an errand – while making the caramel as nothing is more disappointing than caramel that doesn’t turn out right when you are making a dessert.
Once you’ve made your caramel filling, pour it into the prepared pie crust, cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed to the top of the pie and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the caramel filling to firm. Once ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and allow to warm for about 15 minutes before topping with dollops of very lightly sweetened whipped cream and serving.
Served with a warm cup of coffee, this caramel pie will certainly be a memorable addition to your holiday dessert selection.
Here’s the recipe for my Caramel Pie.
Caramel Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Whipped Cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place pie crust into pie plate and bake for 8 minutes. Remove pie crust from oven and set aside.
- To prepare the caramel pie filling, add brown sugar, flour, salt, milk, half and half, and egg yolks to a heavy bottomed, 3-4 quart saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together to combine. Continue to whisk until thick and creamy. Remove from the heat, add vanilla extract.
- Add granulated sugar and butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has melted and caramelized. Slowly pour, whisking as you do, into the warm cream mixture until well combined.
- Pour into prepared pie crust and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Place a piece of plastic wrap onto the caramel portion of the pie and place into the refrigerator for 1-3 hours to overnight to allow the pie to firm.
- When ready to serve, remove the pie from the refrigerator and carefully remove the plastic wrap from the top of the caramel.
- As the pie is resting, pour whipping cream and granulated sugar into a medium glass bowl. Whip until stiff peaks have formed in the whipping cream. Use to top the caramel pie.
- Store pie in the refrigerator to keep the caramel firm.
Nutritional Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
For even more caramel deliciousness, you may enjoy:
This is so unique and looks lovely! Great recipe!
A whole pie dedicated to caramel?! I wonder if this is a southern thing because I’ve never heard of this type of pie before.
My mother grew up in Iowa/Nebraska and she made caramel custard pies with a meringue topping for years. 50-70’s that I knew of.
Oh my goodness – doesn’t this look amazing. I’ve not had caramel pie in YEARS! My Grandmother used to make it every Thanksgiving. Can’t wait to give make it myself this year.
I couldn’t agree more that caramel and holidays go together like two peas in a pod! I’ve never tried caramel pie and need to add it to my list asap. I love caramel cake, caramels, caramel apples, so I will add caramel pie to my list soon. 🙂
Absolutely beautiful pie!! Great recipe. Thanks!!!
How is it I’ve never heard of Caramel Pie?? TRAVESTY, I tell you!!!
I’m sitting here with a fresh cup of coffee waiting to be served a piece of this pie Robyn! it looks and sounds amazing!! You should come line it up to Love the Pie! (I’m giving away a Whirlpool range!)
A whole pie dedicated to my favorite dessert (caramel, dessert in and of itself)!!!
What a great flavor for a pie. Nothing says Thanksgiving like pie. This would be a great addition to the celebration. Come and visit us. We are having a wonderful giveaway this week – a $75 swank bag from Pick Your Plum.
There is nothing in the world that I love more than caramel, how have I never heard about this pie before? I need this served to me right now.
Oh yum!!! I think if you should decide to make and sell these, they would be a major hit! I’ll order right away. 😉
Where has this been all my life?!
Caramel PIE?!?!?!?!? Oh my word.
This looks so good! Is the filling like a pecan pie or more like a custard?
Thanks, Shelly. The filling is more the consistency of a very soft caramel.
carmel pie….a yeah! never have had but sure want to try!
I have to say – I think caramel and pumpkin are in love. The best combination!! Ever.
I’m having trouble getting up to 250 degrees! How long dies this take? Yes, I am very impatient.
Robyn,
Just wanted to let you know that, thanks to you, tonight I made my first homemade pie crust and my first caramel pie. I am licking my sauce pan right now. This stuff is Super Delicious. I am letting my pie cool for the 10 minutes. Thanks for making this an easy and enjoyable lesson of cooking for me. I have a question for you. I used my index finger to pinch around or make prints/decorations on the edges of my pie crust to try and make it pretty. When I baked it in the oven for eight minutes, almost all of the print work that I did disappeared. How do I keep the print work in mine because yours looks so pretty. Congratulations on being on the Food Network for their Thanksgiving Communal Table. You will have the best desert. I’m excited about this pie because I did good on it. I will try to catch that particular episode of Food Network and watch it.
So I followed this receptor exactly, cooking it to 250 and when I took it out of the fridge it was rock hard. It sat out on the counter for a good 5 hrs and never softened so there was no was to cut it. Should it be cooked to the soft ball stage instead? Or even lower? Thank you.
Mine also came out rock hard, and I used a tried and true thermometer. Had to pry it out of the pie plate in one “brick” and throw the whole thing away. On the other hand the Coconut Pie came out simply DIVINE, beyond my best expectations!
What are ” egg yolks heavy bottomed”?
Hi Laura,
Thank you so much for catching that! I left of “to a” after egg yolks! I’ve updated now! xo
Help! I was making this for our Thanksgiving dinner, and was soooo excited to try it. Your recipe says 2 tbsp. butter and 1 c. sugar… With that ratio, all that happened was I have caramel colored clumps of hard buttered sugar. Was it supposed to be 12 tbsp. Butter instead of 2 or something, because I cannot “pour” these clumps into the pudding like part. 🙁 Also, people are talking in the comments about 250 degrees when I do not see any mention of that in the recipe at all.
Okay, now it is starting to melt more … I have never done this before… Hoping it turns out okay. Maybe you can add to your recipe pictures and description of what the different stages of the process look like so people won’t panic like I did. 😉
I think you should tell everyone that the first pot takes about 15 minutes of whisking to get it done. The sugar/butter combo takes another 10 minutes. Also, when I was pouring the caramel into the mix, it seemed to be hardening on contact. It said to remove the first pot from the heat, so it was cooling that whole time. I’m sure it will taste great, but I’m wondering if I have small chunks of hardened caramel in the bottom? We’ll find out this evening. It smells great! And, my forearms are buff from all the whisking!
This caramel pie is better than my grandmother’s! This was my first time making caramel pie and I was shocked at well it turned out. It’s delicious!
This is better than my grandmother’s caramel pie! This was my first time making caramel pie, and I’m shocked at how well it turned out. I’ve always heard it’s difficult to make. This pie is delicious.
Thanks so much Heather! So happy you enjoyed it! xo
so yummy! but mine never set up properly. wondering if i need to cook the creamy mixture longer?? any tips would be appreciated:)
Hi Lyndsey,
I’m so happy you enjoy the pie – isn’t it delicious?!
As far as it not setting up as it should have, it could either be that it didn’t get thickened enough while cooking in the saucepan…or either it did not set up long enough in the refrigerator. I hope this helps! Thanks! xo
Well I made this exactly as the direction say to the end now it been in fridge for 3 hours and it didn’t set up did I do something wrong ? First time making this . It taste and looks wonderful but it didn’t set .
Kasie, it could be that the cream mixture didn’t thicken enough in the saucepan or that it hasn’t cooled in the refrigerator long enough. Sometimes, it can take longer than 3 hours for it to set properly.
Hi there! Am hoping to make this for a bake-off 4 days from now so I would really appreciate an answer. I want to know if I can use whipping cream instead of half and half. I learned it is a good sub but I want to know for sure. And then, I’m seeing quite a few comments about it being rock hard. Should the filling reach a temp below 250? Thanks.
Bella, I haven’t made this pie with whipping cream so I can’t tell how it will work. You don’t want this to come to a heavy boil or reach the hard ball stage. Just cook it on medium heat until thick and creamy then add your caramelized sugar into it. Since this is for a bake-off, I recommend you do a trial run with this exactly as you would for the bake-off to make sure it turns out like you wish, especially if you are substituting ingredients.