Happy 2014! I hope the new year brings lots of healthy, delicious, decadent delights into your kitchen and healthy, joyous adventures into your lives.
Did you know that 2014 is a year of the horse? And what do horses love? They love apples! And with that in mind, I wanted to share with you a recipe for Individual Apple Pies baked in muffin pans. For the crust, I used purchased pie crusts from Trader Joe’s. They were buttery, flaky, and tasted homemade. If you find yourself with extra time and energy, feel free to make your own crust.
Individual Apple Pies (makes 12)
Ingredients
4 large apple, peeled, cored, diced into 1/3-inch
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 individual pie crusts
1 egg, beaten
12 teaspoons butter
brown sugar, optional
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease 12 muffin cups with butter or nonstick spray. I used two muffin trays, greasing every other cup to make it easier to assemble the pies, but you can use just one. Confession, I had a very hard time getting the pies out of the tins, so be generous with the butter or consider using silicone pans.
2. Combine apples with sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice and salt. Set aside.
3. Cut unrolled crusts into 24 circles approximately 4-5 inches in diameter. You might need to re-roll the crusts to make enough circles. It’s a great idea to chill the crusts if they get too soft.
4. Fit 12 crusts into the muffin cups and brush with a beaten egg.
5. Spoon the apple filling into each crust and top with a teaspoon of butter.
6. Fit the other 12 crust circles over the apple filling and firmly press together with the bottom crust. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and cut small slits into the top crust for the steam to escape. If you wish, sprinkle with extra brown sugar.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the crusts are golden brown and the filling is cooked through, 45-60 minutes. Cool and carefully remove from the muffin tins.
Happy New Year!