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!
If you’ve been around for a while, you may recognize these adorable mini apple pies! I originally shared this recipe in 2017 and since then it’s become a reader favorite, especially around Thanksgiving.
Just like with my carrot cake recipe, I decided it was time to give this recipe a little update. I’ve included more step-by-step photos and tips and tricks to ensure that these mini apple pies turn out perfect for you!
I promise this is one recipe you will want to keep on hand for the upcoming holidays. And besides, mini desserts are just better than regular desserts. Right?
What You Need
The ingredient list for these pies is surprisingly short and simple. It’s very similar to my classic apple pie recipe, but scaled down.
Here’s a quick overview of what you will need:
- Pie Crust: You’ll need two pie crusts for this recipe. You can either use my homemade pie crust recipe or buy a box of pie crusts from the store.
- Apples: I prefer to use a mix of sweet and tart apples, so I used Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples in this recipe. Some other great options are Braeburn, Fuji, or Pink Lady apples.
- Sugar: To keep things simple this recipe uses just 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Feel free to use light or dark brown sugar if you prefer though.
- All-Purpose Flour: This helps to thicken the apple pie filling. Make sure that you measure your flour correctly, otherwise you can end up with a dry filling.
- Vanilla: This adds a little more flavor. I highly recommend sticking with pure vanilla extract, imitation vanilla does not taste nearly as good.
- Spices: There’s a blend of cinnamon and nutmeg in this recipe. If you prefer more spices, feel free to adjust to your personal preference!
- Butter: This ingredient is technically optional, but I’ve since added it to this recipe to add a little more moisture and flavor to the filling.
How To Make Mini Apple Pies
Prepare The Pie Crust
- Roll the pie crusts out on a lightly floured surface until they are about 1/8-inch thick. Then, use a 3.5-inch cookie cutter (or a cup) to cut out 12 circles from the pie crusts. 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.
- Press each circle of pie crust into 12 cavities of a regular muffin pan. You want the crust to fit in the bottom and snuggly around the sides. Transfer the pan and any leftover pie crust to the fridge while you prepare the filling. This will keep your pie crust cold and ensure that it turns out nice and flaky!
Make The Apple Pie Filling
- Add your chopped apples, sugar, flour, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, and ground nutmeg to a large mixing bowl and stir until the apples are fully coated in the mixture.
- Remove the muffin pan from the refrigerator and spoon about 3 tablespoons of the filling into each pie crust. If adding the butter, go ahead and dice it into 12 small pieces and place one piece on top of each one.
Assemble and Bake
- If you have any leftover pie crust, you can use that to add some decorations on top of the mini pies. I like to use it to make a simple lattice topping. In other words, no weaving. You could also cut out some cute pie crust decorations with small cookie cutters. If you want to make these a little more intricate, I have a post that shows you how to make a lattice pie crust.
- Bake for 18 to 23 minutes at 425°F or until the pie crust is lightly golden brown and the filling starts to bubble around the edges.
- Let the pies cool for 10 to 15 minutes in the pan, then carefully remove them and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (or until they’re cool enough to eat!).
Storage & Freezing Instructions
These will keep just fine in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, you can store them in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
To freeze them: Wrap each pie tightly with plastic wrap and freeze in a large freezer bag/container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or place on the counter several hours ahead of time to bring them to room temperature.
Baking Tips
- Pie crust has quite a bit of fat in it, so it won’t stick to a muffin pan. Feel free to grease your pan with some nonstick cooking spray or butter if you’re worried about them sticking.
- You can make these just a bit easier and completely leave the top off and they still taste just fine! I personally love to serve these with a little scoop of ice cream and salted caramel sauce on top.
- If the tops of your pies brown too much before the filling is cooked, place a piece of foil over the pan until it’s done.
- I personally skip using an egg wash on top of these pies. If you prefer to add one, whisk together one egg with 1 tablespoon of milk and brush it over the top of the pie crust.
- If you need to reheat the pies, microwave them in 20 to 30 second increments or heat in the oven at 300°F until warmed through.
Even More Apple Recipes To Try This Fall!
- Apple Crisp
- Apple Crumble Pie
- Apple Bread (with cinnamon sugar topping!)
- Homemade Apple Fritters
- Apple Hand Pies
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!
Ingredients
Servings: 12 mini pies
- 2 pie crusts homemade or store-bought
- 2 ½ cups chopped apples (315 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour measured correctly (15 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (15 grams) optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Roll the pie crusts out to 1/8-inch 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 (about 3 tablespoons) between all of the cavities in the muffin pan.
- Dice the tablespoon of butter into 12 small pieces and place one piece on top of the filling in each 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 for 18 to 23 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 to 15 minutes. Carefully remove the mini pies from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Storage Instructions: Store any leftover mini apple pies in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave before serving.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @livewellbakeoften on Instagram or tag #livewellbakeoften.
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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.
They taste very good! I did add a few other things like ginger, allspice, and cloves it gives it a bit more flavor. I also added a tiny bit of water to the filling and some brown sugar, since it was a bit dry, after I added that it was a lot more moist. But otherwise this recipe is great and I definitely will make them again! Definitely recommend making them, so worth it!!
I modified this recipe for a mini muffin pan and it turned out great! Very simple and tasty. The only changes I made were turning down the oven to 400 and baking them for 17-19 minutes instead.
I am no cook, just starting during retirement. I’ve blown up the last 3!things I’ve tried, but I am stubborn. This is the first dish that actually turned out, in fact I bought ice-cream and taking dishes of them to my neighbors, lol. Nest will be Cherry. Thank You!!!
I havent made apple pie in years and this was fun and goooooooooddddd omg like super good had everybody in the kitchen asking me for a lil cookie pie…im definitely making this again and you should too. 5starrrrrrr
I followed the recipe, and added a tiny bit of butter on top of each one but these were much too dry. The apples never got bubbly so this wasn’t good. I may try and do it again, but cook the apples first as one other person said in the comments.
I just made these for my son’s Mother Goose day at school. I did a whole pie crust top with a 1/2 measuring cup and it worked perfect. I was able to make 24 pies using two store bought pie crusts and doubling the filling. They were a huge hit!!
Could y I you use the can of pie filling
That would be fine, you may need to adjust the baking time though.
So good, I did have a small amount of liquid as I drain the apples after they were cook, and I added small amount of corn flour/ flour to make a sauce and added to each pie..x
Love these little mini pies! Perfect snack size for the kids.
A tip for the reader who found them too dry. Try a different type of apple. Some are much juicer than others. Also, an apple that has been stored longer tends to be dryer. The best apples are very hard to find unless they are grown locally. The others are popular because they are pretty, and/or store and ship well.
I love your recipes! I will definitely be trying this one!
Made the mimi apple pies. Love them. Could I put an oatmeal crumb topping on them? Thanks
Yes, that would be fine!