Hello everyone!

Today I did something special – I made mini apple pies 🙂 The recipe is essentially that of a normal sized apple pie that I just then split into tartelette tins.

The reason I made these is apple pie happens to be my fathers favorite dessert and I wanted to make something for him. He’s having a medical procedure done on his heart on Wednesday, so I wanted to give him something a little special. He also happens to be a diabetic, so I substituted Splenda any time white sugar was called for – and honestly, I cannot taste the difference.

These were fun, and a little frustrating to do. I realize now what my fatal mistake was (though they still turned out pretty well in the end) – I did not leave any overhang of dough for me to attach the top too, therefore it looks kind of silly with the top crust just kind of…..sitting there. This is really only my first or second time attempting pie though, so next time I’m sure I’ll do it better 🙂

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon white sugar

2/3 cup butter – cold, cut into about 1/2 inch cubes

cold ice water

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

6 – 8 medium Gala apples (or brand of your choice), peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces

1 cup white/granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup flour

2 tablespoons butter

CRUST DIRECTIONS

***You do *NOT* need to refrigerate this dough before you work it, though you may if you like***

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse 6 – 8 times, or until the mixture starts looking like coarse meal (with about pea-sized pieces of butter). Add ice water 1 – 2 tablespoons at a time, pulsing until the dough *just* starts sticking together. If you pinch the crumbly dough together and it stays, it’s ready. If it doesn’t hold together, add a little more water, pulse, and try again. Try not to over mix! It will toughen the dough. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s pretty thin (about 1/8th of an inch thick). Because of the size of the tins, I did not have an appropriately sized cookie cutter, glass, top, or anything really to make large cut out circles, so I just cut pieces I knew would be large enough and fitted them in that way, removing the excess dough. Be sure to leave yourself a little overhang to attach the top crust to! Otherwise, you’ll end up with the top just sitting there like mine lol.

Set aside – time to make the filling!

FILLING DIRECTIONS

Peel, core, and cut the apples into small bite-sized pieces. Place into a medium-size bowl. Add the white and brown sugar, stirring/mixing with a spoon until combined. Add the flour, cinnamon, and all spice; again mix until combined. Add the butter; mix. Place the contents from the bowl into a saucepan and heat over medium or medium low heat for 6 minutes, stirring constantly. I gave them a little of a pre-bake like this because I wasn’t sure how long the crust was going to take and I didn’t want raw apples inside. Put the now-cooked filling back in the bowl (easier to work with in my opinion).

Time to fill!

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Fill the tins until they are slightly mounded over the top. If you haven’t done so already, re-roll out your dough and cut pieces for the top of your crust. I found that turning over my tartelette tin and using that as a cutter was perfect. Place your top over the pie and attach to the overhang of dough you left beforehand (hindsight really is 20/20). Add a vent in the shape of your choosing, I just made a simple line because I was frustrated for not leaving myself extra dough :p I opted to add a little bit of a butter wash on top and sprinkled a pinch of sugar and cinnamon on the tops of each. I’m thinking an egg wash would have been better for a more golden color, instead of a wet look. Here is where I was a little unsure: most directions tell you to bake your average sized pies at 400 for 15 minutes, then 375 for 45 minutes. These tins are dark though, and whenever I’ve made anything (usually brownies) in a dark/coated pan, it always uses a lower temperature. SO: I baked for 10 minutes at 350 and then for 35 minutes at 325. These probably would have baked faster had I left it at 350, but doing something mini is completely foreign to me. Feel free to experiment, and if you find that perfect temperature let me know!

Overall, I’d probably give my first attempt an 8/10. The flavor and texture was definitely all there, but the look left a little something to be desired. Next time I’ll take my own hindsight advice and see if we can’t spruce these up a bit!

They were fun, if not a little frustrating to make. Venturing out for the first time doing something on my own and not following a set rule of directions was fun!…yet also a tad confusing. Though my dogs did enjoy it when a couple apple pieces “accidentally” made it to the floor. They’re quite the fans of my baking 🙂

Dad loved it! As did mom 🙂 Definitely going to make these again 🙂