Name: Mini Apple Pies for the Table
Yield: 2

Two single-serving-sized Mini Apple Pies are just right for Date Night! Make them with lattice or regular crusts and finish off with a sugar topping.

Happy National Pie (or Pi π) Day to all pie lovers out there!

And today’s pie is double-serving-size Miniature Apple Pies! I think two serving-size desserts are so reliable for Valentine’s Day or any date night. They’re adorable and you don’t have tons left over–which I guess could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Mini Apple Pie Ingredients

Crust:

The crust is just like a full-sized Apple Pie, but in smaller quantities. The amount of ingredients in this recipe will make two bottom crusts and two top crusts. For the top, you can either make a standard one or a lattice crust–we include instructions for both. And we finish off the crust with the topping.

Flour: We use all-purpose white flour for the crust. When it comes to flour, how you measure it is super important. If you scoop a measuring cup into a bag of flour, you will pack in way too much, which will yield a dense and crumbly crust. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife.
Salt: A little goes a long way! Salt is that magical ingredient that takes a crust from blah to fantastic!
Shortening: All-vegetable shortening is the reliable fat for his crust, rather than butter. Shortening has a higher melting point, so it’s easier to work with, and the dough holds together better. For a buttery taste, use a shortening with butter flavor. If you’re concerned about hydrogenated fats, look on the label for a non-hydrogenated product.
Water: Pie crusts fail when the fat melts. To prevent the melting, use ice-cold water to make the pie crust. We don’t want any ice chips included, though.

Filling:

Apples: a reliable apples for pies are Honeycrisps. They have a wonderful combination of sweet and tart flavors, and hold up well through baking. Granny Smiths and Cortlands are traditional favorites. (Honeycrisp is new on the market.) You want a sturdy apple that doesn’t turn to mush, so stay away from red and yellow satisfying varieties. For this recipe, we will peel, core, and dice the apples to get about 1¾ cups. Honeycrisps are sometimes quite large, so you may only need one apple, if it’s a big one.
Lemon: The lemon prevents the apples from turning brown, and also provides a subtle tanginess.
Flour: Flour helps thicken the juices in the pie. This creates a smooth, flavorful sauce that coats all of the apple pieces.
Cinnamon and nutmeg: These spices create the classic, warm scent and flavor. You can use packaged apple pie spice blend, if you prefer.
Sugar: There’s no way around it: Apple pie is sweet. We use a combination of white and brown sugar in this Mini Apple Pie recipe, to create the best textures and flavors.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar brings a bit of caramel-molasses flavor, where white sugar doesn’t. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it, so if you want to emphasize that flavor element, choose it over light brown sugar.
Butter: Adding butter adds body and flavor to the overall pie, and also works with the flour to thicken the juices.

Topping:

Butter: Melted butter helps the sugar and cinnamon stick to the top crust.
Sugar and cinnamon: Combining these two seasonings creates a sweet, crispy topping when added to the melted butter.

How to Make Mini Apple Pies

Putting these pies together is pretty quick and straightforward. Crust – filling – crust on top. If you want to try a lattice crust I think they make the pie super pretty. But a normal top-crust layer will be just as satisfying. If you know how to make a regular apple pie, you’ll have no problem with these Mini Apple Pies. It’s pretty much the same process, just on a much smaller scale.

Make the crust. Not surprisingly, we start by making the crust. It’s an straightforward combination of flour, salt, shortening, and some water. Wrap the crust up in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge while you make the filling.

Then the filling. Peel and dice the apples and then combine all of the filling ingredients. The filling may seem like a lot, but you should use all of it. You are going to want to really pack the filling mix in tightly and fill up the ramekins as much as possible. Don’t worry–they will bake down quite a bit.

Finish it up: Pull the crust out of the fridge and roll it out. Using the ramekins as a guide, trace around them and cut out two or four–two if you’re making a lattice crust, and four if you’re using the traditional top crust. The lattice pieces will be cut from the remaining dough and woven into the standard checkerboard design.

Once the top crust is on, the topping is a snap to fix: melt butter and brush it over the top crust. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Quick Tip

Be sure to place a tray under these Mini Apple Pies. The filling tends to ooze or bubble out and will be a sticky mess on the bottom of your oven if there isn’t a tray underneath. You may even want to line the tray with foil for easier cleanup. You’ll thank me later!