These mini apple pies are an autumn favorite of mine. I love the way this lattice looks and the taste is BEYOND! I can’t explain how delicious they are and a huge part of that is the homemade caramel. Each bite has the perfect combination of apple, caramel and flakey crunch.
Pro Tips to make DELICIOUS Apple Pie Cookies
- The recipe makes a lot of filling. You can repurpose the leftovers into extra for topping pancakes, ice cream, or snacking.
- It’s easiest to assemble the cookies on the prepared baking sheet as they can be difficult to transfer.
- If you’re short on time you can use frozen pastry dough; pre-made caramel and/or even store bought pie filling. That said, all the components are easy to make and you will DEFINITELY taste the difference if you take the time to make these from scratch.
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- You can make a FAST version of this by forming the pie crust into a dumpling shape as explained in the recipe video below.
WHAT ARE THE BEST APPLES FOR APPLE PIE?
Apples with a nice balance of acid and sweetness are best for baking pies. Honey crisps, granny smith, braeburn, golden delicious, and cortlans apples are all great choices. Use your favorite and enjoy! Never use red delicious…
How to make Pie Dough
- Add the all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and spices in a food processor. Give it a few pulses before adding the butter.
- Cut the COLD butter up into tablespoon sized pieces and add it to the flour mixture. Pulse a few times until the butter is in pea-sized clumps. In a small bowl mix together the ice water and vodka. Drizzle the mixture into the processor while pulsing. If you can squeeze the dough into a clump that stays together it’s done. If not, add in another tablespoon of ice water. P.S. The vodka will bake off so don’t worry about adding it in!
- Transfer the dough onto a pastry mat or another floured surface and knead 2 to 3 times just to help it come together a bit. Gently flatten the dough into a one-inch thick disk and cover it in plastic wrap or a ziplock bag, then place it in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes to an hour.
How to Make Apple Pie Cookies
1. To make the caramel combine the sugar, salt, and cream in a small pot and heat over medium-low heat while whisking. Cook for 7-8 minutes until the caramel begins to thicken.
2. Once caramel has thickened and is bubbling remove it from the heat and pour into a bowl, then set it aside to cool off. Because this is getting baked in the cookies you don’t have to worry about crystallization.
3. Peel the apples then cut the flesh from the core and chop into smaller pieces. Don’t worry about chopping perfectly. You can drizzle some lemon juice on top of them to keep them from browning.
4. Once your apples are roughly chopped, put them in a bowl and add the sugar, spices and lemon juice. Toss them around to make sure they are evenly coated.
5. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook stirring until the sugar dissolves and it begins to simmer. Cover it up, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples soften, about 7 minutes.
6. Strain the apples in a colander over a medium bowl to catch all the juice. Give the colander a good shake to get as much liquid as possible.
7. Return the juices to the skillet, and simmer over medium- high heat until thickened and lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Toss the apples with the reduced juices and spices. Make sure everything is evenly coated. Go ahead and set them aside to cool completely. Once the apples are fully cooled, dump them out on cutting board and chop them up into small pieces then return them to the bowl.
8. Now to prepare the pie crust! Roll your pastry dough out to about ¼” thick. One half of the dough is for the bases and the other half is for the lattice tops. You will probably want to chill the dough for the lattice tops until just before cutting the strips and arranging on top. First, cut your circles.
9. Use a ruler to help you cut straight lines for the lattice tops. You will probably need 6-7 small strips to drape over the top of each pie. Once you have all of your pastry dough cut out, it’s time to grab that apple filling! Place each base on a baking sheet and brush the caramel on top. Make sure you leave a boarder at the edge. Add about 1 tablespoon of the apple pie filling to the center of each circle and brush the edge with egg wash.
10. For the egg wash mix an egg and dash of cream in a small bowl. Brush the edge of the cookie with the egg wash then arrange the first rows of the lattice on top and brush with the egg wash. Place the perpendicular strips on top. Using the same size cookie cutter, cut and remove the excess pastry dough. Brush a final egg wash on and sprinkle with sugar (and cinnamon if desired) and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried these apple pie cookies out then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Apple Pie Cookies
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 30mL
- 3 pounds apples Honey crisp, Golden Delicious, Cortland, or Mitsu
- 2/3 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling on the pie
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg
For the Dough:
- 2 1/2 cups flour plus more for rolling
- 4 tbs granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 16 tbs unsalted butter chilled
- 4 tbs ice water
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp all-spice
- 1/2 tsp ginger
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp cream
For the Caramel
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 5 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt generous
Instructions
For the Caramel
- Combine ingredients in small pot and heat over medium-low heat while whisking. Cook 7-8 minutes. You will notice when the caramel begins to thicken.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
For the Filling
- Once your apples are roughly chopped, put them in a bowl and add the sugar, spices and lemon juice. Toss them around to make sure they are evenly coated. Now in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples and cook stirring until the sugar dissolves and it begins to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover it up, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples soften and release most of their juices, about 7 minutes.
- Strain the apples in a colander over a medium bowl to catch all the juice. Shake the colander to get as much liquid as possible. Return the juices to the skillet, and simmer over medium heat until thickened and lightly caramelized, about 8-10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the reduced juice and spices. Set aside to cool completely. Chop into small piece once cool and return to bowl.
For the Crust
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and spices. Whisk together. Grate in chilled butter and drizzle in ice cold water. Mix using a fork. You can also whiz together in a food processor.
- Shape into two disks, wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes.
- Crack an egg into a small bowl and add a tablespoon of cream them mix well and chill until ready to use for egg wash.
- Roll your pastry dough out to about 1/4" thick. One half of the dough is for the bases and the other half is for the lattice tops. You will probably want to chill the dough for the lattice tops until just before cutting the strips and arranging on top.
- Cut into circles.
- Brush with caramel.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of the apple pie filling to the center of each circle. Brush edge with egg wash.
- Arrange the lattice top and brush with egg wash again.
- Cut and remove excess with the same round cutter you used for the base.
- Sprinkle with sugar (and cinnamon if desired) and bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
