• If using homemade pie dough, begin by making the all-butter pie crust and allowing it to rest in the fridge for at least one hour. Make the caramel sauce while the dough rests.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

• Add the sugar to a medium saucepan over medium-low to medium heat and stir about every 30 seconds until melted and turning amber. It will start to get wet, will then clump up and crystallize, then will begin to melt and change to an amber color.
  1 cup granulated sugar
• Add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring to combine before adding the next tablespoon. 
  6 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Add the heavy cream and continue mixing. The caramel will bubble up at this point, but don’t be alarmed. Once combined, turn off the heat, stir in the salt and vanilla, and carefully pour it into a heat proof bowl or jar to cool slightly.
  ½ cup heavy whipping cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Crumb Topping

• Add the softened butter, flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, and salt to a bowl and mix it together with a fork until small to medium crumbles form. Place the bowl in the fridge while you prepare the pie.
  1 cup light brown sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup rolled oats, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Pie Assembly

• Preheat the oven to 400℉/205℃ and arrange one rack in the middle and one in the lower third of the oven.
• Roll out the homemade or store bought pie dough, then set it and crimp it in a 9" pie plate. Place the pie crust in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the filling.
• Peel, core, and slice the apples into ¼" slices. Add them to a large mixing bowl and toss with the lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves until fully coated.
  6 large Granny Smith apples, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• Add half of the apple to the pie crust and use your hands to arrange the apples so there aren't any large gaps. Add the second half, following the same instructions and mounding the apples in the middle, then gently press the apples down with your hands to compact the gaps even further.
• Drizzle ½ cup of the caramel sauce all over the apples, leaving about ½" bare around the edges so the caramel doesn't bubble over the crust.
  ½ cup caramel sauce
• Remove the crumble topping from the fridge and separate any overly large chunks with a fork, then sprinkle it all over the top of the pie. Do not press the crumb topping down.
• Place the pie on a cookie sheet, then bake in the center rack and bake for 20 minutes.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 375℉/190℃ and bake for another 20 minutes.
• Transfer the pie to the lower third of the oven for the final 10 minutes of baking. If using the chopped pecans, add them to the top of the crumble at this time.
  ½ cup chopped pecans
• Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to fully cool at room temperature on a wire cooling rack. This typically takes about three hours.
• Drizzle with the remaining caramel sauce (heat it in the microwave for about 15 seconds if it's no longer a drizzling consistency), then slice the pie and serve!