Mini Apple Pies

5 from 2 votes

The best Mini Apple Pies with tender apples, a thick spiced caramel sauce (not watery), and a crunchy buttery crust. All of the warmth and flavor of a full pie but you don't have to share! Serve warm with stabilized whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Chilling Time30

Total Time1 50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 3" pies

Calories: 560kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

1 Stand mixer with the paddle attachment optional
2 Muffin tins

Ingredients

Mealy Pie Dough

24 ounces all-purpose flour (5 ¼ cups)
½ teaspoon salt
12 ounces unsalted butter grated, and cold (1 ½ cups)
2 large eggs cold
4 ounces ice water (½ cup)

Apple Pie Filling

2 pounds apples about 6 medium-sized, diced in ¼ inch cubes
1 ounce unsalted butter (2 Tablespoons)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
4 ounces brown sugar (½ cup)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
2 ounces apple juice (¼ cup)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract optional
1 Tablespoon honey
1 ounce cornstarch (2 Tbsp)
12 ounces apple juice (1 ½ cups)

Egg Wash

2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pie Crust for Mini Pies

Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment (you can also use a large bowl and a pastry cutter or whisk).
Grate your cold butter directly into the flour mixture.
Mix on low until the flour and butter resemble a sandy mixture.
Add the egg and slowly pour in the cold water while the mixer is on, mixing on low until the dough begins to form a ball. If it's still dry, add drizzles of cold water until it comes together.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it onto a piece of plastic wrap.
Flatten the dough to about 1 inch thick. Wrap the plastic wrap over the dough and refrigerate for 20 minutes (you can also do this the day before).
Remove the dough from the fridge 20 minutes before you need to use it so it's more pliable and easier to roll out.

Apple Pie Filling

Peel, core, and cube your apples into ¼" pieces. Mini pies need mini pieces of apple so the filling can fall into the small spaces in the crust.
Combine your apples and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the apples are warmed through.
Add the lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt, the smaller measurement of apple juice, extracts, and honey.
Sauté the apple mixture on medium heat until the apples are soft but still a little firm in the middle (al dente).
Combine the cornstarch with the larger measurement of apple juice in a measuring cup to make a slurry.
Add the slurry to the apple filling and continue cooking and stirring for 2 to 3 minutes until thickened.
Let the filling cool fully before you fill your pie crusts.

Assembling the Mini Apple Pies

Preheat your oven to 400º F.
Roll your pie dough to ⅛ inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
Use a 6 inch cookie cutter to cut 12 circles, you'll use 2 muffin tins, alternating spots so the pies don't touch. Re-roll the scraps, flatten, and chill again for the lattice.
Place a round of dough in each muffin tin cavity, gently forming it to the shape of the tin and pressing it snugly against the bottom edge. Smooth out the sides so the dough has a uniform width, then gently roll under the top edge to make the edge crust.
Lightly dock the bottom of each mini pie shell to help prevent big bubbles from forming as it bakes.
Place the pans in the freezer for 20 minutes. This step is very important to keep your mini pies from shrinking during baking.
Fill your pie shells with the filling to the top of the crust (don't overfill, but under-filling can cause them to collapse a bit once the apples cook down).

Making a Lattice Crust

Roll out your leftover dough to ⅛ inch thick and cut into ¼ inch strips.
Place the strips over your filled pie crusts. Weave them or just crisscross them for the sake of time, they'll look cute either way.
Press the lattice strips onto the bottom dough and trim off the excess to create a clean, round top. Flute the edges with your fingers or use a fork to seal them.
Pro-tip: If you want to skip the top crust, you can just add some crumbled leftover dough with a little brown sugar over the top of the pies, or make a little leaf shape and place one on top of each pie. Both look super cute!

Baking the Mini Apple Pies

Brush the crust with egg wash (one egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon of water) using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar if you'd like.
Bake the pies at 400º F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown. Most people underbake their pies, don't be afraid to let them go the full time.
Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack and let the pies come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Remove the pies carefully from the muffin tin and serve. To store, keep them in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the muffin tin to hold their shape. They'll keep at room temperature for a day or in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

Ingredient notes: The best apples to use are tart ones that hold their shape during baking. Granny Smith is the classic choice, but I also love the taste and texture of Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Mutsu, pink lady, and gala apples. This is a great recipe to get little hands helping, cutting the dough, filling the pies, and fluting the edges are all fun jobs for kids, and skipping straight to the fun part makes it less stressful for the parents too.

Pan options: This recipe is written for a standard 12-cup muffin tin (you'll need 2, since you're only filling every other cavity so the pies don't touch). Mini aluminum pie tins work as a substitute, just know they conduct heat a little differently than a muffin tin, so start checking for doneness a few minutes early.

Make-ahead and storage: The dough can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated, or frozen rolled into a disc. The filling can also be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Baked pies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze, cool the baked pies completely, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months, thaw and warm in a low oven before serving.

Substitutions: Store-bought pie crust works well here if you want to save time, especially for a big batch. The almond extract in the filling is optional and can be left out entirely if you'd rather keep the flavor simple.

Critical do-nots: Don't skip freezing the filled shells for the full 20 minutes, that's what keeps them from shrinking in the oven. Don't fill the shells while the filling is still warm, or you'll end up with a soggy bottom crust. Don't overfill past the top of the crust, or the filling will bubble over and glue the pies to the tin.

Nutrition