Mini Apple Pies
Lucious boozy Brandy Apple Hand Pie Recipe with cornmeal crust. Fabulous Mini Apple Pies make a perfect fall treat!
Why We Love Mini Apple Pies
Fall is my favorite season by far. Vibrant fiery colors blanketing the slopes, crisp air, and jackets. I love jackets.
I also love all the fall activities… Hay rides, apple picking, corn mazes.
And the apple harvest creates the perfect opportunity to make apple baked goods in all their glory! We love puff pastry baked apples, apple beer bread, apple brown betty, curried apple turnovers, apple spice cornbread muffins, easy apple upside-down cake, and of course, apple pie recipes!
In the Asheville area, the Eliada Corn Maze is the best corn maze we’ve visited. It is massive, with areas sectioned off for children and beginners.
There are also elaborate mazes that may take over an hour to get through. The kids, who have no irrational fear of the stalks, look forward to the corn maze every year.
When you return home from the corn maze, a fresh fall treat is well deserved. Try these Brandy Apple Hand Pies with CORNmeal Crust as your reward!
These easy-to-make Mini Apple Pies are as close to perfect as any pie I’ve ever made.
Mini Apple Pie Recipe
The cornmeal crust has a hearty flavor, but delicate texture. The Brandy syrup saturates the apples and wafts through the house with an intoxicating perfume. If only you could bottle the aroma!
Brandy Apple Hand Pies would be a great dessert for fall parites, or even your Halloween party this year. Just use a spooky cookie cutter for the tops!
Ingredients for Mini Apple Pies
For the Cornmeal Crust Recipe:
- all purpose flour
- yellow cornmeal
- powdered sugar
- salt
- vegetable shortening
- ice cold water
For the Homemade Apple Pie Filling:
- tart green apples (granny smith apples or honeycrisp)
- unsalted butter
- all-purpose flour
- brandy liquor (liqueur)
- granulated sugar
- light brown sugar
- apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice or clove)
- pinch of salt
How to Make Mini Apple Pies
- For the Crust: Add the flour, cornmeal, powdered sugar, and salt to the food processor. Pulse a couple of times. Then cut the shortening into cubes and pulse it into the dry mixture. Add 3 tablespoons of ice-cold water and pulse until the dough comes together.
- Dump the pie crust onto a sheet of plastic wrap and divide it into a large and small piece, about an 80/20 split. Shape the dough into two disks, then wrap both pieces and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and dice the apples and place them in a bowl.
- For the Filling: In a small sauce pan, add the butter and remaining six ingredients over medium heat. Stir and bring to a simmer. Then pour the syrup over the chopped apples and toss.
- Take the larger disk of dough out of the fridge. Roll it out on a well-floured work surface to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Using a drinking glass with a wide rim, or a large round cookie cutter, cut out dough circles. Press the dough circles into a muffin pan.
- Fill each crust with an equal portion of the apple mixture.
- Roll out the smaller piece of dough for the top crust. Using a 2-3 inch decorative cookie cutter, cut out tops for each pie. Place each top on the mini pies and brush them with the remaining syrup from the apple bowl.
- Bake the mini pies for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, and bake another 15 minutes. If the tops are already golden brown after the first 15 minutes, lay a sheet of foil over them.
Mini Apple Pie Tips
- Make sure to chill the dough well, and that it is still slightly cold when it goes in the oven. If you are a slow worker, it’s worth placing the prepped pies back in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking to ensure the dough is firm.
- Dice the apples into even cubes so they bake evenly.
- Use a small thin metal spatula to move the dough.
- Allow the pies to cool completely before trying to remove them from the muffin tins.
Mini Apple Pies Recipe (with Brandy)
Ingredients
For the Cornmeal Crust:
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teapoons salt
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 3-5 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
- 3-4 large tart green apples, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 5 teaspoons flour
- 2 tablespoons Brandy liquor
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- For the Crust: Add the flour, cornmeal, powdered sugar, and salt to the food processor. Pulse a couple times. Then cut the shortening into cubes and pulse it into the dry mixture. Add 3 tablespoons of ice cold water and pulse until the dough comes together. Add a little more water if needed.
- Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and divide it into a large and small piece, about an 80/20 split. Shape the dough into two disks, then wrap both pieces and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and dice the apples and place them in a bowl.
- For the Filling: In a small sauce pan, add the butter and remaining six ingredients over medium heat. Stir and bring to a simmer. Then pour the syrup over the apples and toss.
- Take the larger disk of dough out of the fridge. Roll it out on a well-floured work surface to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Using a drinking glass with a 3 ½ – 4 inch wide rim, cut out dough circles. Press the dough circles into muffin tins. If you gather the extra pieces and re-roll, you should be able to get 14-16 circles.
- Fill each crust with an equal portion of apple mixture.
- Roll out the smaller piece of dough. Using a 2-3 inch decorative cookie cutter, cut out tops for each pie. Place each top on the mini pies and brush them with the remaining syrup from the apple bowl.
- Bake the mini pies for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, and bake another 15 minutes. If the tops are already golden after the first 15 minutes, lay a sheet of foil over them. Allow the pies to cool completely before trying to remove them from the muffin tins.
I laughed about the corn mazes. I am a bit freaked out by them too. So scary. These little pies sounds delicious and they are oh so cute.
Simply lovely, Sommer. There’s nothing like a good apple pie, and these are the perfect handhelds, with a little kick.
Well done.
-Glenn K.
Pingback: Cornbread Stuffing Muffins with Apple and Pancetta | A Spicy Perspective
Fantastic! I can smell them now :). I’m with you on the corn fields. So many movies come to mind!
nice finding your site! lovely apple treats. how awesome to have during a great rainy day during tea time!
Mmm, these are so cute and look so yummy!:)
Oh! I just luv the portion-controlled size of these little pies and the cornmeal crust sounds like great texture. Definitely trying this and saved to recipe file!