Mini Apple Pies

Mini Apple Pies

Oven Temperature: 425 Degrees

Prep. Time: 1 Hour

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Total: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

I have something to admit. I have never made a pie before. It wasn't until last month that I made my first pie. Of course, the credit has to go to Pinterest. You see, I lovvvvvveee babies. Personally, I think if you take any regular size anything and make it into a mini baby size, it's just automatically cuter. So, you can imagine how I ooooohed and awwwwed when I saw these babies. I was determined to make them. Fortunately for me, we had a ton of apples and enough butter to make these little masterpieces. I'm not gonna lie; I was more enthusiastic to try making a pastry crust for the first time then I was to actually eat the pie. It's not that I hate Apple Pie. I like Apple Pie; I really do. I'll eat it if it's the only dessert there, or if I have to choose between it and some baby food pie like pumpkin. That being said, I'm not crazy about it. I mean, if you say Apple Pie, I don't drool like I would over a doughnut, or a lava cake. However, I was still really excited to make it. And, boy am I glad I was, because this has changed the image of Apple Pie in my mind forever.
This Apple Pie has the perfect amount of sweetness. The Granny Smith apples sweeten it perfectly while the Jonagold apples add the perfect texture to it. The brown sugar and cinnamon caramelize the apples so nicely leaving them sticky, tart, and delicious. The apples plump up as they cook and retain the perfect balance of texture. The nutmeg gives this gooey caramel mess a nice little kick. Then, you add the lemon juice. It sizzles. It adds a freshness, and just puts the cherry on top. The dough is ever so flaky and just welcomes the filling as it is poured into these little crust cups. As they bake, the filling sizzles, it bubbles out the top of the crumb topping and a golden brown color shades the top of each pie. You can hear the gooey bubbles as they sizzle and slowly pop. Then, you take a bite. That bite. The crust flakes. The crumb topping crunches perfectly. The apples are soft with a bit of texture. You get the cinnamon, and then the hint of nutmeg. The whole thing together just marries in your mouth. The spices bring in the warmness of the holiday season, and the light crispness of the apples welcomes the cold crisp weather outside. It's the perfect feeling, the best feeling. Nothing can ruin it. Nothing.

Ingredients:

Piecrust
2 1/2 Cups Flour
3 tsp Sugar
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (Cubed and Chilled)
6 tbsp Vegetable Shortening (Chilled)
5-6 tbsp Ice Water

Filling
2 Pounds Apples (Personally I use whatever I have. Granny Smith and Jonagold work great!)
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
2 1/2 tsp Cornstarch
1 tsp Lemon Juice

Egg Wash
1 Egg
1 tbsp Cold Water

Directions:
Start by peeling, coring, and cutting the apples. You want them to be about 1/4 inch slices. In a pot, add the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cornstarch. Cook covered on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until the apples are tender. Uncover and continue to cook stirring occasionally for another 10 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and set aside in a bowl until cooled.

You can do this step in a food processor or in a bowl. I did it in a food processor. I will include instructions for doing it by hand.

Begin by pulsing the flour, and sugar together. Add the butter and shortening and blend until you have coarse crumbs. You want this mixture to look like crumbs. If you are doing this by hand, mix the sugar and flour; with a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the butter and shortening through the flour. Now you will add the ice water. Whether you do this by hand or with the food processor, you need to add the ice water slowly. Drizzle the water in and pulse the food processor If doing this by hand, just continue to cut the water through the crumbs. You want the dough to come together. In the food processor, the dough will just all combine and stick to the blade. By hand, you will have to knead the dough to allow it to combine nicely. Either way, do not over-knead! Wrap the dough, and place in the refrigerator or two hours, or in the freezer for 30-40 minutes.
When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly flour a surface and roll the dough to 1/4" thickness. Spray the cupcake tin and set aside. With a cookie cutter or glass or tupperware or anything you have on hand, cut circles slightly larger then the cupcake opening. Work quickly so the dough doesn't dry. Fit the circles into the cupcake openings and gently fill with the apple filling. Fill it generously because the filling will shrink as it bakes. Dot the top of each pie with a little butter.

You can make the crust topping in many different ways. You can use small cookie cutters and just place shapes, or you can lattice the top crust. Personally, I have recently found it easier to place the leftover dough in the food processor to get little crumbs. I top each pie with a generous amount of crumbs, and OMG they are perfectly crisp when they come out of the oven. Whichever route you decide on is fine, just make sure to blend the egg with the water to make an egg wash and brush the tops of each apple pie. This will help the crust to brown evenly.
Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow the pan to cool for 5-10 minutes. With a knife, go around each pie to loosen. Use a spoon to gently remove the pie. Enjoy!