Mini Apple Pies

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So I was perusing Pinterest — in an effort to try something new — when I stumbled upon these miniature, apple pies. I had to give it a go! That said, I differed from the original recipe in the respect that I didn’t want to use canned apple pie filling or pre-made pastry dough. That wouldn’t be the “preppy” way to go about it! Long story short… the extra steps were totally worth it! Don’t you agree?

PRO tips for making mini apple pies

• 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.

If you LOVE apple pie filling 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!

These mini apple pies are an autumn favorite of mine. I love the way this lattice looks and the taste! I can’t explain how delicious they are and a huge part of that is the home made caramel. Each bite has the perfect combination of apple, caramel and flakey crunch.

MAKING PIE DOUGH WITHOUT A FOOD PROCESSOR

• Use the same recipe but after mixing the dry ingredients together in a large bowl you will use a cheese grater to grate the FROZEN butter into the flour.
• Gently mix the butter with flour as you grate so it doesn’t clump up.
• Once all the butter is grates mix well with a couple knives so the butter breaks into smaller pieces.
• Drizzle with the ice water vodka mixture and mix again.
• Transfer to pastry mat or plastic and knead together 2-3 times then flatten into a disk, cover in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

How do you Make Pastry Dough?

1. Add the all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and spices in a food processor. Give it a few pulses before adding the butter.
2. 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!
3. 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 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 apples with sugar, spices and lemon juice. 

5. In a large pan melt butter butter then add apple mixture and cook at medium-high for about 2 minutes, cover reduce heat to medium-low, and 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. 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. Add about 1 tablespoon of the apple pie filling to the center of each circle. Brush edge with egg wash.

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 until golden brown.

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!  

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5 from 2 votes

Mini Apple Pies

Delicious home made apple pie filling and caramel surrounded by flakey pie crust. These mini pies are absolutely additive. Ingredients

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 12 Mini Pies

Calories 434kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
• 3 pounds apples baking apples like 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 ground nutmeg

For the Egg Wash:

• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp cream or milk

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
• 1 egg for the egg wash

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

• 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.

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.
• 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.

Video

Notes

• 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 51g | Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin C: 3.3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1.1mg