Mini Apple Pies

I've officially started university this week and I am now in my senior year. Feels a little crazy how the time's just flown right by me. I still remember my first day at university; I was nervous and lost for the most bit. I had missed the Open House a few days earlier which meant I didn't get a tour of the campus. So I decided to check it out for myself and wander. I found myself in classrooms that weren't mine, walking into professors' offices mistaking them for the library (don't ask), and forgetting my locker code combination with all my belongings locked inside. Yeah, not a very good thing when you're already 5 minutes late to your class and need to take another 20 minutes to go get help and finally figure it out. The professor of that class wasn't very pleased with my tardiness.

Thankfully, I met a lot of great people along the way. I made some friends, professors came to know that I wasn't a slacker after all, and I participated in a lot of the activities in university. And soon after, I started working with the Students Services department which I did for the next 2 years. I learned a lot and appreciated every bit of the experience that I gained from my job. It was a lot of work, sometimes I'd find myself staying late till 11:00pm just to get things done! But I loved it.

On my third year I decided I just wanted to be a student. I wanted to play more of my favorite sport, badminton. I had more time to spend with my family and friends and I focused a lot more on my studies. Sometimes I would find myself with nothing to do and think to myself, "So.. This is what it feels like.." Ha!

So, here I am, welcoming my final year of university. It still feels surreal. I'm not sure what to expect but I'm ready for whatever's in store!

I've been daydreaming about mini apple pies for the past two weeks ever since I watched a cooking show on Fatafeat where a chef made them. I was so intrigued and thought that this would be perfect to make for my mom who has been constantly asking me to make her apple pie. Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to make one for her but I've been messing them up so much in the past 2 months that I've been ashamed to try them out again (or share any of my disasters with you). But after being inspired to make them in mini form, I thought maybe I could tackle this!

Only thing that's missing is a big scoop of vanilla ice cream

This a wonderful recipe for mini apple pies that I found on Zoom Yummy, a very helpful blog that you should check out. The pies come out nice and crispy with a soft, juicy filling. I warn you, though, they are very addictive. The first time I made these, I had 15 of them sitting in the kitchen in the morning and then came back home to find just 2 left in the evening!

Mini Apple Pies adapted from Zoom Yummy

For the crust:
2½ cups (350 gr) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (30 gr) sugar
1 cup (226 gr) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ - ¼ cup (60-120ml) ice water

• Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of your electric mixer. Stir with a spoon until combined (don’t use the mixer yet) 
• Add the butter and mix (with hook attachment) until the mixture resembles coarse meal. 
• Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) water in a slow, steady stream until the dough holds together when pinched. If necessary, pour more water. Mix for only about 30 seconds 
• Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour before using. 

For the filling:

5 medium apples; peeled, cored and diced
½ cup (100 gr) brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon (15 gr) cornstarch

Softened butter/butter spray for greasing the pan

• Peel the apples, core them and cut them into teeny tiny dices. Place the dices into a bowl.
• Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt, cornstarch and cinnamon.
• Mix altogether until all the diced apples are well dressed into the mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 356 F (180 C).

Assembling:

• Grease your regular sized muffin tin with softened butter/butter spray 
• For the mini pies, you'll need the bottom crust and the top crust – the bottom circle 4 1/2 inch (11 cm) being slightly wider than the top one 3 1/2 inch (8.5 cm) 
• Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out to about 0.1-inch (3 mm) thickness. Cut out circles (big & small) from the dough. Repeat this step until you run out of dough. 
• Press the large circles gently into the muffin cup 
• Fill the dough with the apple mixture so that it comes over the top of the pan. 
• Take a small circle and put it on top of your pie. With your finger, press the edges down gently. Use a fork or your fingers to seal the top circle to the bottom circle. 
• Using a sharp knife, make two slits in the centers of your cute pies to allow the steam to escape. 
• Continue doing this process until you've run out of the dough and apple filling. 
• Place in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Once they are done take them out of the oven and let them sit for about 15 or 20 minutes so they get cool enough to handle.

Happy Baking!