My dad won't stop buying apples. And not even the cool kind. No iPhones, iPods, iPads, or Macbooks. Nope, none of that. Instead, he's spending his hard-earned money on McIntoshes, Granny Smiths, Galas, and Golden Delicious..es. And you'd think I wouldn't mind because of my unnatural love for apples. But too much of something is never a good thing. In fact, too much of something can make you sick of that thing.
Fortunately, I haven't reached that point yet. I still have at least one unpeeled, nutrient-packed apple a day to keep the doctor away. When I'm not eating my apple raw, I'm enjoying it in a savory dessert like this one. Or this one. Or this one. Or this one. Or this one. Or this one. Wow, I didn't even realize that I had that many apple desserts on here.
No matter how many apple desserts I make, I will never love anything more than good old fashioned apple pie. Why? Because there is nothing better. Nothing. And if you believe that there is, then please, by all means, enlighten me on what it is. I challenge you to that actually. Find me something that tastes better than two buttery, flaky crusts encasing soft, tender apples coated in a sweet and gooey filling. Take your time. I'll wait. Meanwhile, I'll just talk about these adorable snack-size Dutch apple pies I made this week.
They're actually supposed to be made in a mini muffin pan, which would make them bite-size. But I didn't realize this until I was pressing the individual crusts into my standard muffin pan and I thought to myself, wow, I'm running out of dough....this recipe is supposed to make 24? So I went back and read the directions and I don't even know how I missed it the first three times I read it over before I started baking because it clearly said 24-cup mini muffin pan. Nonetheless, I was still able to make 16 of these sweet little treats.
For those of you who have never used cream cheese in your pie dough, you are missing out. Tried and tested, it really does make your dough much more pliable and easier to manipulate...and you're definitely going to want a dough that is easy to manipulate because fitting the dough into the muffin cups is no piece of cake. It took a couple of attempts before I finally
Post baking, the wonders of cream cheese showed as well. The pie crusts were noticeably softer and tender and they browned more when baking, giving them a beautiful, rich golden color. Together with their signature Dutch streusel toppings and smidgens of apple filling, these pies were absolutely scrumptious. And if you're worried that my opinion might be biased, I'll have you know that they were a hit at the dinner party I brought them to. So, it's really not just me!
They're super high on the cuteness scale, low on effort, and perfectly portioned to satisfy your pie craving. It really doesn't get any better than that.
They're super high on the cuteness scale, low on effort, and perfectly portioned to satisfy your pie craving. It really doesn't get any better than that.
Dutch Apple Mini Pies
Yield: 16 mini pies
Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 and 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
3 oz. cream cheese, cut into chunks
1 large egg yolkFor the filling:3 to 4 medium apples (Golden Delicious)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
For the topping:
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, and cream cheese. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk and pulse until dough comes together.Pull off a heaping tablespoon of dough and flatten it into a disk Press the disc of dough onto the bottom and up the sides of a muffin cup. Repeat for all the cups (about 16). Put the prepared muffin cups in the fridge while preparing filling and topping.Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. In a small bowl, combine the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Toss to coat the apples well. Set aside.Mix together all topping ingredients until you form pea-sized pieces.
Fill the prepared muffin cups with apple mixture. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples. Bake for 18 minutes or until crust is golden. Cool on wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan.
Recipe from Some the Wiser
This blog doesn't just teach its readers about food. It teaches us about love and passion for food. The recipes aren't followed, but doted on. Ingredients are selected for the memories they will create. Our writer-cook is really a matchmaker of ingredients. In sum, taste is not just a sense on this blog, it is a feeling. MashaAllah!
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