Mini Apple Pies

Dave loves apple desserts, therefore for his birthday today I plan on baking something with apple.

We love basic apple pie, but I like to make different variations. A favorite in our house is my

butterscotch apple tart, but today I decided to try making mini apple pies. They are simply a bite-sized version of apple pie & they're adorable.
They're perfect for popping into a lunchbox too.

The above images are from the online recipe. The images below are my mini pies.

Ingredients:

2-1/2 pounds firm apples
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Pie Dough (make your own, or buy the roll-out kind)
1 egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water to make an egg was

• Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch wedges.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the apple wedges and saute for 3-4 minutes.
  
• Add the 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar to the apples and stir until combined. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and stir.
• In a small cup combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. Add the mixture to the sauteing apples. Stir to combine and remove pan from the heat. Let cool completely.
• Roll out your pie crust to 1/8" thick and using a 5-1/2" bowl, cut out a circle.
• Place the (extra large) circle of dough into the cupcake well of a regular-size muffin pan.
• Carefully smooth and stretch the sides to fit flat.
  
• Put a smaller round of dough on top of the filling (I did use the 4-1/2" cookie cutter for the tops), and squash the edge of the top crust into the bottom. Trim off the excess, leaving about 3/8 - 1/2" of dough all the way around.
• Crimp the top and bottom pie crust together and curl on top of the pie. Don't leave the crimped edge on the flat part of the cupcake pan or the crust will burn. Add pie dough decorations if you'd like and cut three little slits for steam venting. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Pop the minis into an preheated, 375 degree F oven and bake for 20 minutes (or until the crust is golden brown).

YUM!

Happy Birthday Dave!