Individual apple pies are a fall favorite of mine. The golden brown lattice top takes a little time to achieve, but is attainable for all baking skill levels! Don’t let it intimidate you. If you don’t want to bother with the lattice top, you could also whip up a quick and easy streusel topping. For more apple recipes, try my homemade apple pie recipe, apple crumble pie recipe, and apple muffins recipe!
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Crust — you’ll need 2 disks of homemade pie crust or store-bought pie crust. Apples — peel, core, and chop about 2 large apples. You will need 2 cups of prepared apples for this mini apple pie recipe. I used Granny Smith apples. Cinnamon — cinnamon and granulated sugar are all you need to spice and sweeten the apples. Vanilla extract — use good vanilla extract, not vanilla essence. Butter — this is a must for a rich pie filling: Cut 3 tablespoons of unsalted cold butter into 24 pieces.
How to Make Mini Apple Pies
- Add the chopped apples to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the sugar over the apples and stir. Let the apples sit at room temperature for about an hour until liquid is released. Drain the liquid.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, and vanilla extract to the apples and set aside while you prepare the pie crust.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one pie crust to a ⅛-inch thickness. Cut out 12 circles using a 3 ½-inch round cookie cutter. Gently press each round of dough into a well of a 12-cup muffin tin.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of apple mixture into each dough-lined cup.
- Place 2 pieces of butter onto the apple mixture. Press the butter gently into the apple mixture to create an even layer.
- Roll out the second pie crust into an approximately 13-inch square. Cut the dough into ½-inch-wide strips and arrange the strips into a large lattice.
- Cut the lattice into 12 circles using a 2 ½-inch cookie cutter. (You may need to reroll and recut scraps.) Place a lattice circle on the top of each filling and press the edges so they meet the edge of the bottom crust.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water to make an egg wash. Brush the lattice tops with the egg wash. Bake the pies at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the tops are a beautiful golden brown. Let the mini pies cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove them from the pan, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Serve and enjoy!
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
Cut up the butter in advance to save time. Cutting the butter into 24 small pieces is a little time-consuming, so you can do that ahead of time if you like. Just store the cubes in the fridge until you’re ready to use them. Allow the apples to release some juices. After mixing the apples with sugar, let them sit for about an hour to release liquid. This will help prevent soggy pies. If you want a little extra zing to the filling, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the apples with the sugar. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of the pies. Before baking the mini pies, you can sprinkle turbinado sugar on top of the lattice for a sweet, crunchy topping. Top with a crumb topping instead of pie crust. For something different, swap the lattice top for a simple streusel topping. Like I do in my blueberry muffins recipe, whisk together ½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar (or brown sugar), and a pinch of salt. Add ¼ cup of cubed butter to the bowl and crumble the mixture together with clean fingers or a fork. You should end up with a clumpy mixture. Sprinkle the crumb topping over each mini apple pie.
If you’ve tried this mini apple pies recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
