Mini Apple Pies
These Mini Apple Pies are easy to make and filled with a simple homemade apple pie filling. The perfect mini dessert for fall!
This recipe was requested by a wonderful reader named Stephanie after she tried my mini pecan pies. I loved the idea of making a recipe for mini apple pies, so I held onto it until fall was getting a little closer. I have to say that I’m glad I did because these pies are absolutely delicious.
While I love regular pie, there’s something about mini pies that make them so much better. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re perfectly portioned or they make a simple dessert you can just pick up and enjoy. Or maybe it’s that you can eat two and not feel so guilty about it.
And let’s be honest, mini desserts are just better than regular desserts. Right?
To start, you’ll need a standard 12-count muffin pan. This recipe is for mini apple pies because they’re smaller than a regular apple pie, but be sure to use a regular muffin pan (not a mini muffin pan).
You’ll also need two pie crusts, you can either use my homemade pie crust recipe or buy a box of pie crusts from the store. The store-bought pie crusts usually come in packages of two so they’re perfect for this recipe. If I’m being honest, I usually just cheat and use store-bought pie crusts when I’m making these pies.
You want to cut the pie crust with a 3.5-inch cookie cutter to make circles that are big enough to fill each cavity in the muffin pan. They should look just like the picture above and mostly fill each cavity in your muffin pan. If you don’t have a circle cookie cutter that is the right size, just measure some glasses you have at your house and use that instead.
This filling is just a simple mixture of chopped apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, and a touch of nutmeg.
When I make any kind of apple pie I prefer to use a mix of sweet and tart apples, so I use Granny Smith and Gala/Honeycrisp apples in this recipe.
You can also decorate the tops of these miniature apple pies however you like. You won’t need all of the pie crusts for the bottom, so you’ll have some left to decorate the tops. I like to use it to make a simple lattice topping (in other words, no weaving) or cut out some cute pie crust decorations for the top with small cookie cutters.
You can also make these just a bit easier and completely leave the top off and they still taste just fine! I love to serve them with a little scoop of ice cream and caramel on top.
I mean, just look at how cute those pies are up there!
Baking Tips
- You’ll need two pie crusts for this recipe, you can either use my homemade pie crust recipe (linked in the recipe below) or use store-bought. Use any leftover pie crust you have to decorate the tops of the pies however you like!
- You can use any type of baking apples you prefer in this recipe. I like to use a mix of sweet and tart apples, so I typically use Granny Smith and Gala/Honeycrisp apples.
- Be sure to use the correct size muffin pan for this recipe. These are mini apple pies, but you’ll be using a regular 12-count muffin pan not a mini muffin pan.
Mini Apple Pies
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts homemade or store-bought
- 2 and 1/2 cups (315 grams) chopped apples
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (15 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Roll the pie crusts out to 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3.5-inch cookie cutter (or a cup) cut out 12 circles from the pie crusts. Re-roll any scrap pieces of pie dough as needed to cut out the circles.
- Place each circle of pie crust in each cavity of a standard 12-count muffin pan. Gently press the dough down and around the sides, making sure the dough fits snuggly in each cavity of the muffin pan. Transfer the muffin pan and any leftover pie crust dough to the refrigerator while you make the filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the chopped apples, sugar, flour, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, and ground nutmeg until fully combined. Remove the muffin pan from the refrigerator and evenly distribute the apple pie filling between all of the cavities in the muffin pan (about 2-3 tablespoons per mini pie).
- Remove the extra pie dough from the refrigerator, cut out your designs for the tops of the pies, and place them on top.
- Bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes or until the pie crust is lightly golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove the mini pies from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Love mini pies? Try my Mini Pecan Pies next!
I have made these plenty of times and I absolutely love love love them! So does everyone I give them to. ?
Someone would like me to send them some mini pies. Can I ship these? Do you have any tips/tricks on mailing them?
Hi, Nicole! I haven’t tried shipping them, so I’m not quite sure. If you do the lattice on top, it may break during shipping. It may be better to do a whole piece of pie crust over the top of each one or cut out small decorations with the pie crust and bake them on top. I would wrap them individually in plastic wrap and make sure they’re packed tightly so they don’t move too much.
Thank you so much!
I’m guessing since it requires refrigeration after cooked and cooled, I would have to ship with ice/dry ice to keep it cool/fresh during shipment?
You can store them at room temperature, but they will keep longer if they’re refrigerated. I would recommend shipping them with dry ice so they stay fresh.
really good
An excellent filling with just the right amount of flavourings. One of my favourite recipes.
These taste good and are cute, but very dry. I followed the recipe to the gram, so was disappointed when my filling didn’t reduce and bubble. I feel like it needs more moisture somehow. I saw the other comment about this where it was mentioned if it was left sitting, and no I went straight from preparing to filling. The only liquid is vanilla. I used one granny smith and one Fuji, and then weighed them to get the right amount. Just disappointed it wasn’t more gooey.
Most apple pie recipes don’t include any other liquid (aside from a little lemon juice), since the apples release their juices as they’re baking. If you make them again, you can reduce the flour to 1 tablespoon or place a very tiny piece of butter on top of each one before baking.
Delicious! Any recommendations for how to microwave to reheat?
You can reheat for 20 to 30-seconds in the microwave. If they’re frozen, you may need to heat them a little longer and let them cool slightly. I hope that helps!
since i want to sell this apple pie and keep in the room temperature how many days it would be okay to keep it stay?
I’d recommend only storing them at room temperature for 2 days.
Hello, do you need to do anything so the pie crust doesn’t stick to the muffin tin?
It wouldn’t hurt to spray the muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. Pie crust has a lot of fat in it though, so it shouldn’t stick.
Really liked this recipe but I made my own filling. I have noticed that most pies from the store or ones people make are dry or the apples are not cooked enough. I have fixed that problem by pre-cooking the apples with about an inch of water and the spices til tender then adding in the rest of the ingredients for the filling works well. Then just add to the pies. When they cook, they are perfect. I used Gala apples for mine and had to cook them a good while before they were tender enough to use, but they were great. I did not add a top to my pies. I wanted more filling.
Interesting suggestion, I haven’t made theses yet, how long did you precook the apples, and how did you do it? Did you boil them in the water for a certain amount of time?
Can’t wait to try your mini apple pies. Can you freeze them?
Many thanks
Yes, they will freeze well for up to 3 months. You can thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for several hours.
Hello!
Do you think I could use Pillsbury crescent dough for these?
Thanks!
That would probably be fine. You may want to reduce the oven temperature and adjust the baking time though.
Hi just wondering if you could put a crumb topping on the mini apple pies?
Yes, absolutely! You can just leave off the lattice topping and sprinkle a crumb topping on each one.
Amazing ,great recipes that are understandable, easy and delicious.
It was really good and tasty, and it wasn’t that hard to make
Hi! I found mini pie pans (3″). Do you think I could bake them in there as little pies instead of the muffin pan?
I think that would be fine! You’d just need to increase the baking time.
Super easy and super great. I made it for my kids Thanksgiving feast at school! 🙂
This recipe is perfect! I followed the steps and it turned out better than imagined. I will definitely be making these again!
This recipe needs tweaking. I followed this recipe and it was so dry. It needs butter and an egg wash on the crust.
This was my first time making any kind of apple pie, and I just used store bought crust. But they were super easy and came out great! Delicious
Love them! Added a little lemon juice and reduced some granulated sugar and replaced with brown sugar. Just the right serving size.