When I asked my four-year-old son what he wanted to take to his class Valentine's Day party he quickly said "nothing pink." Then he told me he didn't want cake because everyone brings cake. I started thinking about Rice Krispies squares dipped in chocolate and he turned to me and said "Apple pie, Mommy. That's what I want to share with my friends."
Who can deny a man his apple pie?
Part of me considered buying a pie from the store. But I still suffer a bit from that "I Don't Know How She Does It" complex and am not completely ready to succumb to store-bought baked goods. I am, however, prepared to share with you how the Canned Soup Mom makes mini apple pies in the amount of time it takes my husband to give the kids a bath! The most difficult part of this recipe is finding the perfectly-sized round item to cut the crusts—so look for that before you start (I used a sugar bowl).
Ingredients
1 Box Pillsbury pie crusts (at room temperature—approx. 15min out of fridge)
4-5 large baking apples
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1-2 tbsp cinnamon (depending on how much you like it)
1/3 cup butter divided into 12 equal parts
Egg yolk (optional)
1 tbsp water (optional)
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 400F.
Peel and chop apples into small pieces. I peel and chop one apple at a time then put the apple pieces in a large bowl then squeeze some of the lemon juice into the bowl and stir. This prevents the apple from browning. Squeeze a little lemon juice and stir after chopping each apple.
Add flour, 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon to the apples and mix well with wooden spoon.
Roll out both Pillsbury pie crusts flattening slightly with a rolling pin. Using something that will cut circles big enough to fit into muffin tins (I used a sugar bowl but a glass or Tupperware lid would work well), cut 12 circles and press into prepared (buttered) muffin tins.
Fill each mini pie with the apple mixture (to the top of the crust), top with one small piece of butter.
With remaining dough cut out 12 hearts (using a heart-shaped cookie cutter) and place on top of mini pies.
Optional: Mix egg yolk and 1 tbsp water and brush onto heart and top of base crust.
Optional: Sprinkle glazed crusts with sugar.
Bake in 400F oven for 15-20 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove carefully and continue to cool on baking rack.
Yield: 12 mini pies, but the recipe can easily be doubled.
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