Last weekend I purchased a few apples from the farmers market in Union Square, and had a couple of large ones left this weekend. Usually when I have a bunch of apples on hand I’ll make apple crisp, but I wanted to do something different. Considering I only had two apples, I couldn’t make a full apple pie, so I decided to try making single-serving pies. I had no idea if it would turn out okay, but hooray – they’re great!
I’ve decided I want to expand my apple horizon, and try some other varieties. I’ve only really been acquainted with the standard grocery store apples – Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji, among others. It’s high time that I branch out (no pun intended).
The apples that I purchased last weekend are called Idared, or Ida Red. They are a cross between the Jonathan and Wagener varieties, and have a mostly sweet flavor with just a hint of tart. They are supposed to be great when baked, so I forged ahead with making these little pies.
Mini Apple Pies
For the crust:
- 1 cup white all-purpose flour
- 6 Tbsp. butter I used Soy Garden
- 2 Tbsp. cold water
For the filling:
- 2 large baking apples, peeled and sliced into small pieces
- 1/3 cup sugar I used turbinado
- 1/8 cup white all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- dash of salt
In a medium-sized bowl put 1 cup of flour. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender/cutter until the mixture has small lumps. Sprinkle the cold water over the flour and butter and stir together until the dough pulls together and away from the sides of the bowl. If the mixture doesn’t seem to be doing this you can add another tablespoon of water. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, then place it in the refrigerator for 20 or 30 minutes so it becomes firm. This will make it easier to work with.
Mix together all of the filling ingredients except for the peeled and sliced apples. After they have been mixed add in the apples (or vice versa depending on your bowl situation) and stir until the dry ingredients have been well incorporated with your apples. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 345 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take your dough out of the refrigerator and split into two. On a floured surface roll out the dough until it is thin (not too thin otherwise it will tear).
Use a small bowl as a guide and slice around the bowl like so:
Then take the circle of dough and press it into your muffin pan:
Score the bottom of the dough with a fork a few times. Fill the dough with the apple mixture so that it comes over the top of the pan (when the apples are baking they will loose a lot of their water and sink down).
Cut the excess dough, but don’t do what I did in the following picture. I should have left more dough, so I’d say leave a centimeter of dough on the outside.
Now cut a smaller circle of dough and put it on top of your pie. Pinch the top dough together with the bottom dough (the centimeter part). Score the top with a knife. If you get really creative you can cut little leaves out of your scraps of dough and place those on top. They may fall off, though, so you’ll need to make sure they are secure (gently mashing the ends into the top pie dough).
Continue doing this process until you’ve run out of enough dough or apple filling. There is bound to be leftovers of both so you can just bake the remaining apples in a separate pan, make a pie with no top pie crust, or make a small apple crisp after all.
Place the muffin pan in the oven, and place a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack below to catch any liquid that may fall from the pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, and check to make sure the apple pies are done.
Once they are done take them out of the oven and let them sit for about 15 or 20 minutes so they get cool enough to handle. It’s not easy taking these little pies out of the pan so you may have to be careful while coaxing them out with a knife.
Now you can serve with some vegan clotted cream (I’d suggest doing more cream cheese than butter) or just eat the little things plain.
I’m not that good at making pies but these turned out so well. It’s probably a more intensive process to make a bunch of little pies than one big pie, but they are so cute and it’s such a good idea for serving to guests. Of course, it’s great for making just for yourself. It’s also a good way to not feel guilty about eating a whole pie (or two or three) by yourself.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
If I remember correctly, I believe that this was six mini pies. I didn’t really have a goal when I set out to make these, but I think I was able to fill the entire muffin pan which has molds for six regular sized muffins.
I enjoyed making these little suckers. I should make them again and vary the filling – blueberries, cherries, chocolate (oh my that would be good)…
Hello! I just found these today and they looked too cute and simple to not make right away! I used Gala apples and really liked the apple/spice mix, it tasty strangely gingerbread-y, and I did half white sugar and half dark brown sugar. The dough was simple and tasty.
Unfortunately I made me dough too thick when making the little guys (I only had enough dough for 4), so the taste was too doughey. Oh well, lesson for next time I make these, which will hopefully be soon!
I suggest doubling or even tripling the recipe. Only makes about five or six mini pies. But by far, this is the most delicious mini pie recipe, and a beautiful tutorial so us fumbly-fingers know exactly what to do. ;)
Thanks so much for the recipe! I’ve never made pie from scratch, but with your help, my girlfriend and I made the most amazing Apple Cup-pies in celebration of Pi Day (3/14).
Samantha – These are the cutest mini pies ever. A quick tip for those making them. I went through 3 test rounds and finally nailed them. The problem… I was leaving too much dough on the cupcake pan and thus when I went to pop them out of the pan, the top came off and the bottom stayed in the pan. The fix (THIS IS IMPORTANT) make sure to cut that bottom crust bigger and the top crust smaller. I folded the bottom crust into the top crust to make a rustic rolled edge. And again make sure the crust diameter does not exceed the side of the muffin tin by too much or you risk “popping the top” and not the whole pie out of the tin. I used Trader Joe’s frozen pie dough and made 9 mini pies with two pie crusts. I would recommend a mix of granny smith & mcintosh (from America’s Test Kitchen recipe). Delicious!
I was just wondering how many mini pies does this recipe make?
I’m going to try making them. How many mini pies does the recipe make?
What cute little pies! I made a similar thing a month or so ago, called them “cup pies” — like “cupcakes.” I love the leaf decorations on the tops of yours!
Absolutely adorable! I’m not a fan of leftovers so making individual mini pies is ideal. Also, I simply like “small food”, just so cute!
Beautiful post! Makes me sorry I don’t eat cooked/baked any more…but not enough to try them. I know you and your DH enjoyed them and that’s enough.
Try Ambrosia apples if you are fortunate to run across them. I got some organic ones and they are delicious! They’re a sweet variety so they might not be as good for apple pie. They’re great for eating out of hand, though.