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 perfect 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. ๐Ÿ™‚

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 perfect 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: My favorite 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 Delicious 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 easy. 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 delicious. ๐Ÿ™‚  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 easy 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!

More Apple Desserts:

4.58 from 7 votes

Mini Apple Pies

These Mini Apple Pies are a cozy treat baked right in your home. With a buttery, flaky crust and cinnamon-spiced apple filling, this dessert for two is perfect for date night!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 2 mini apple pies

Equipment

  • 2 ramekins
  • Sheet pan

Ingredients 
 

Crust

  • Cooking spray
  • 1 cup flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • cup butter-flavored shortening
  • 3 tablespoons ice-cold water

Filling

  • 2 small apples I like Honeycrisp! 1¾ cups
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • ½ tablespoon unsalted butter

Topping

  • ¼ tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 425℉. Spray two 4-ounce ramekins with cooking spray and set aside.
  • Combine flour and salt in a small bowl. With a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening until the shortening pieces form small bits. Slowly add in water 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead the dough as little as possible and shape into a large ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
  • Peel, core, and chop apples into small pieces and lightly toss them in lemon juice. In the same bowl, add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, stirring until apples are evenly coated with the spiced mixture.
  • Remove dough from fridge and roll it out. Using the ramekins inverted, cut out 2 circles of dough. Place the circle of dough in the bottom of the ramekins. Rip off some dough and place the dough around the edges of the ramekins. Make sure dough is thin so it cooks properly.
  • Stuff apple filling into ramekins and pack tightly. Cut the ½ tablespoon butter into tiny pieces and top the pies equally with butter.
  • Cover the pie with another circle piece of dough or create a lattice top (see note 1).
  • From the “Topping section,” melt butter and brush over pies with a pastry brush. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of pies.
  • Place pies on a sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes at 425℉, then reduce to 350℉ and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cover pies with a foil tent if they brown too much.
  • Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Note 1: For the lattice crust, cutting the two pastry circles for the bottom crust, cut 1/2-inch strips from the remaining dough. Moisten the rim of the bottom crust with a bit of water. Lay two strips in an X, then weave the rest in an in-and-out pattern. When finished, trim the excess dough and crimp the pie crust edges to seal. Brush the lattice crust with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 678kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 331mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

 

Meet Chelsea


Hi there! Iโ€™m Chelseaโ€“the recipe developer, photographer, writer, and taste tester behind Chelseaโ€™s Messy Apron (although my little ones help me out quite a bit with the taste testing part!). I LOVE getting creative in the kitchen and then posting my creations here for you to enjoy.

Thanks again for stopping by!

More Recipes You'll Love

4.58 from 7 votes (2 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




50 Comments

  1. Haley says:

    Can I use pre-made pie crusts for these?

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Sure ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Shay says:

    5 stars
    I loved my results using this recipe. However, it says 1/2 tbsp butter in the filling but, it doesn’t say when it mix it in. I actually left it out of the filing and just used it on the top and was still the best I ever had.

  3. Julie says:

    5 stars
    Trying these today.
    Two little pies are perfect for two people.

    I don’t like cinnamon and nutmeg in my apple pies, and I make apple pie for my husband who prefers the spices, so I haven’t had apple pie in a long time (which could be a good thing, actually.)
    Now I can make the mixture, split the mixture in half, and add the spices to his half.

    We can both enjoy apple pies now.

    Thanks. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. KUUIPOPUALANI Faletogo-Kahaloa says:

    5 stars
    Thank you for sharing your recipe I did it and it came out really good.

    Thanks again!

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Wonderful! I’m glad these were enjoyed ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks for the comment!

  5. Lisa says:

    5 stars
    I have three rentals that are for short term renters. Each one gets a special treat upon arrival. These are perfect because they’re small and easy! So far, they’ve been a hit!

  6. Isis says:

    That looks absolutely cute and gorgeous at the same time!! Question: When adding the pie dough to the ‘edges’ of the ramekin, do you mean along the “height” of the ramekin? i.e. do we need to cover the entire inside with dough?

    PS: I won’t mind serving these each with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream >.<

  7. kameko says:

    they were super yummy! except the decorations browned way faster than the top crust ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Glad to hear it! You could try to put a tin foil tent over the pies in the last bit of the baking time to keep the decorations from browning too much!

  8. Hailey says:

    You should use vary hot water not vary cold. Maybe even boling water.

  9. Amy says:

    These look great! I’m new to baking but would love to try these. When it says to lower the temperature to continue baking…how low do I go? And I’m going to buy some ramekin thingies, does the size matter? Did I mention I’m new to baking? Could you guess? Lol.

    1. chelseamessyapron says:

      Thank you Amy! Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and thank you for asking that question! That was my fault not writing that in the recipe (no matter how new or old you are to baking that’s important to be written in the instructions) When you buy ramekins make sure they are oven safe and the ones I used are 3 and 1/2 inches. Thanks for the questions and enjoy these!