Mini Pies - Apple Chai

I got a chance to make my first batch of Mini Pies. The recipe that caught my eye first, and probably made me buy the book in the first place - Apple Chai. I have never had Chai Tea before, so I can't verify the authenticity of the flavors. However, I loved these perfect little bite size pies, regardless of the name. I can say they've got quite a bit more spice than a traditional apple pie. More spice is good!

I may have mentioned previously that I've never made pie crust from scratch? It's true. I'm extremely intimidated by the whole process. There's so much stress on making sure everything is very cold, and don't roll it too much and make sure there's enough flour when you roll it out, etc. Once I finally decided to get over myself, I followed the very easy recipe for the "Perfect Pie Crust" and then did the filling. It really wasn't as complicated as I thought it was going to be. And to tell the truth, I have the perfect kitchen for it. My kitchen is at least 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house, even butter doesn't soften in my kitchen, no matter how long you leave it out. I think it's the perfect environment for pie making, see - looking on the positive side!

I will say, it's messy. All that flour all over the place. But, totally worth it. The tart pan was a little too big, so my little pies didn't look as perfect as the ones in the picture.

All ready to go in the oven. What I realized after I got them all prepared, I didn't use enough apples. The recipe only called for two apples, I should have used three. The filling should come up to the top of the pie crust. I know for next time.

Aren't these the cutest little things? Besides looking less than perfect, the taste was incredible. I highly recommend these. There are a quite a few more on my list to make. I'm thinking Pink Lemonade next?

(And by the way, this counts as 2 recipes - pie crust and the filling! I'm all about multi-tasking.)

 

Perfect Pie Crust - as adapted from Mini Pies

8 Tbsp. butter (1stick)

6 Tbsp. shortening

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp salt

4 tsp sugar

6-8 Tbsp ice water

 

1. Chop the butter and and shortening into 1/4 inch pieces. Place in the freezer to chill while you prepare the other ingredients.

2. Blend the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add the chilled shortening and process until the mixture climbs the walls of the processor bowl. Add the butter, one piece at a time, and process thoroughly.

3. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together in a ball and makes 2 laps around the processor bowl.

4. Remove the dough, divide it in half, and flatten each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

 



Apple Chai - as adapted from Mini Pies

2 apples peeled, cored and diced into 1/4 inch pieces (Granny Smith, I would recommend 3 apples)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Perfect Pie Crust (recipe above)

1/4 cup soy milk

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter or cooking spray.

2. Combine the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, vanilla and lemon juice in a large bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

3. On a thoroughly floured surface, roll out the pie crust to a thickness of 3/16 inch. (I didn't have a ruler that measured out that size, so I just guessed) Using a 4-inch diameter round cutter, cut 12 crusts (I used a tart cutter) Re-form and re-roll the dough as necessary, keeping plenty of flour on your work surface.

4. Using the mini cookie cutter of your choice and leftover pie crust, cut out 12 shapes to use as pie toppers. (I used stars like the ones in the pictures in the book)

5. Carefully shape the crusts into the wells of the muffin tin, crimping the edges with your fingers.

6. Fill each mini pie with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the apple mixture. The filling will settle while baking, so it's best to fill the pies higher than the top of the muffin tin. Top each mini pie with a pie topper.

7. With a pastry brush, lightly brush the pie crusts with soy milk, then sprinkle with sugar.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crusts are golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin, then carefully remove the pies from the tin and place on the wire rack to finish cooling. To remove, first try to spin the pies in the muffin wells. If they need a little extra help, run a butter knife along the edge of the crusts to pop them out of the tin.

9. Serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

 

Enjoy!