Ultimate Caramel Apple Pie

I've tried several caramel apple pies and this is by far the winner (as determined by friends and family).

I'm typically short on time and I'm a better chef than a baker, so I usually buy my crust at the store. I will also buy the rolled, refrigerated pie dough and use that as my topper, which I then brush with melted butter and sprinkle with a tiny bit of sugar.

When doing your apples, I recommend peeling them, removing the core and then letting the slicing blade on your food processor do the rest. It's a HUGE amount of apples and the food processor not only does them in seconds but makes sure all the slices are the exact same width, allowing for perfect baking.
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Caramel Apple Pie - 2003 1st Place (courtesy of Marles Riessland via footnetwork.com)

Pie Crust: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter flavored shortening, chilled 1/3 cup ice water 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 egg, beaten Filling: 6 cups apples (Jonathan or Granny Smith) 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup all-purposeflour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 tablespoons heavy cream 4 tablespoons butter Streusel Topping: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon butter 2 toffee bars or 3 ounces chocolate covered peanut or pecan brittle, crushed Pie Crust: Chill all ingredients, including the flour and vinegar. Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles cornmeal. In another bowl, mix water and vinegar with the beaten egg. Add the liquid mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork to form a soft dough. Filling: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Peel and slice apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 8 minutes, to soften apples. Turn into pie shell. Streusel Topping: Combine the flour and sugar. Mix in butter with fork until coarse crumbs. stir in the crushed toffee bars. Sprinkle over pie. Add top crust. Seal, flute edge and vent top. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 45 minutes longer.