These mini apple pies are an autumn favorite of mine. I love the way this lattice looks and how they taste! 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.
What You’ll Need for this recipe:
Pie Dough: You’ll need two rounds of pie dough, which could be either either store-bought or two batches of my favorite butter crust recipe!
Caramel: I use my homemade caramel for this recipe but you can use pre-made caramel as well.
Apples: Granny Smith, honey crisps, gala, mitsu and cortland apples are all great choices.
How to Make Mini Apple Pies
1. To make the caramel add the sugar, cream, salt and butter to a medium pot. Whisk together and place over medium-low heat.
2. Whisk while heating until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, cover and chill. You’ll want the caramel to be pretty close to room temperature when you brush it onto the bases of your mini apple pies.
3. Peel, core, and chop the apples into roughly one inch pieces. You’ll be giving them an extra chop later so don’t worry about the uniformity.
4. Toss the apples with sugar, spices, and lemon juice.
5. In a large pan melt the butter then add apple mixture and cook at medium-high for about 2 minutes, cover reduce heat to medium-low, and then cook until the apples soften and release most of their juices, about 7 minutes.
6. 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.
7. Return the juices to the skillet, and simmer over medium heat until thickened and lightly caramelized, about 10 minutes. Toss the apples with the reduced juice and spices. Set aside to cool completely. Chop into small pieces once cool and return to bowl.
8. Roll your pastry dough out to about 1/4″ thick or a bit less. 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 half of the dough into circles. Cut the other half of the dough into narrow strips, which you should keep this dough chilled until it’s time to assemble.
9. Brush with caramel you’ve made. Leave a border at the edge and then add about 1 tablespoon of the apple pie filling to the center of each circle. Brush edge with egg wash, which can be made with an egg beaten with a tablespoon of water, milk, or cream.
10. 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 or until golden brown.
Pro tips for this recipe
- The recipe makes a lot of filling. You can freeze the leftovers for another day and use them to top pancakes, ice cream, or make a quick batch of mini pies later.
- 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.
- If you LOVE apple pie filling then check out my Apple Pie Filling Recipe! You can jar it and use it to make all sorts of delicious apple treats, or just add it to your ice cream and call it a day!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you cook apples before putting them in?
These mini pies have a short bake time so the filling really needs to be completely precooked. The bake time is just to cook the pastry crust.
What flavors can I add?
I love adding my favorite fall spices to the crust! Try adding 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp allspice, with a pinch of nutmeg to the dry ingredients when you make your pastry dough.
Can you make these in advance?
These keep for up to three days in the refrigerator or you can freeze them after baking and then thaw and warm in the oven but I prefer to freeze unbaked pies.
Is there a quick and simple way to make these?
Yes! You can just fold the dough on itself after adding the caramel and apple filling then pinch to seal. If you’re doing this I recommend rolling the dough a bit thinner.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried these mini apple pies out then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Mini Apple Pies
Equipment
- Baking Sheets
- Bowls
- Parchment paper
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts homemade or store-bought
- 1/2 cup caramel
- 3 pounds apples baking apples like Golden Delicious Cortland or Mitsu
- 2 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2/3 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling on the pie
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg for the egg wash
- 1 tbsp milk or cream, for the egg wash
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the apples, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to simmer, about 2 minutes. Cover, reduce 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 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.
- Roll your pastry dough out to about 1/4" thick or a bit thinner. One round of the dough is for the bases and the other 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 then transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing each about two inches apart.
- Brush with centers with caramel then add about 1 tablespoon of the apple pie filling to the center of each circle. Brush edge with egg wash.
- Roll out and cut the other disk of dough into 1/2 inch strips. Arrange the lattice tops over each disk 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.
Video
Notes
- The recipe makes a lot of filling. You can freeze the leftovers for another day and use them to top pancakes, ice cream, or make a quick batch of mini pies later.
- 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.
Nutrition
