Mini Apple Pies

Our brother Jonathan is a picky eater. Like us when we were 13, he likes plain pasta, French bread pizza, and not much else. He’s also our biggest critic and he doesn’t sugarcoat his feelings – if something’s not sweet enough, he’s the first to pull out the chocolate ice cream. “It just needs a little something to accent the flavor,” he says as he piles spoonful after spoonful on top of our delicate creations. But there’s one thing he can’t resist, and that’s a delicious apple pie. Whenever we come home from college, that’s the first thing he asks me to make – no chocolate ice cream necessary.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and we’re drowning in desserts, but Jon had a craving for apples. I told him that if I was going to make him a fleet of baby pies, then he would have to help me. So we ran to the grocery store, picked out eight perfect Golden Deliciouses, and set to work peeling and coring and slicing.

In the end, he was a great sous-chef and our pies turned out great. I only had to bribe him with the promise that he could get any girl to date him if he knew his way around a kitchen. 

Maybe, like us, he’ll outgrow his picky habits and turn into a food lover. And if not, at least he now knows how to make a mean apple pie (or at least direct his future girlfriend to this blog post).

PIE CRUST

Makes dough for two single-crust pies, or 12 4-inch ramekins

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Check out her Rolling and Crimping Tutorial while you're at it!

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups white flour

1 tsp. sea salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and very cold

2 tbsp. ice water

Method:

In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and butter in a food processor and pulse for 5 seconds. Add the water one drop at a time until the mixture starts to combine. Place mixture in a big bowl and kneed until dough-like.

Divide the dough in half and place each half on large pieces of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a flattened disk and allow to sit in the fridge for at least one to two hours. 

MINI APPLE PIES

Serves 12

Ingredients:

8 golden delicious apples; peeled, cored, and sliced

1 cup raisins

¼ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

2 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ginger powder

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. almond extract

1 pie crust recipe

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F (200 C).

In a large bowl, combine cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger powder, vanilla and almond extracts. Add sliced apples, raisins, and coconut, stirring until the spice mixture fully coats all of the apples.

Remove the pie crust dough from the fridge and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece until ¼ inch thick, lay it on top of a ramekin and press the dough lightly into the bottom. Place 3-4 spoonfuls of the apple mixture on top of the dough, pressing down gently to fill the ramekin. Cut off the excess dough around the edges and re-roll the dough. Cut the dough into 6 thin strips and arrange in a lattice pattern.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown.