These classic mini apple pies baked in a muffin tin are a hot and sweet treat to enjoy anytime! They are made with a buttery, flaky puff pastry then filled to the brim with a deliciously gooey apple filling and finished with a decorated pie top.
Remove puff pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw for 30 minutes (or according to package directions). The dough should still be cold, yet easily soft enough to work with.
In a medium sauce pan cook the apples, cinnamon, sugar, flour, vanilla and water for about 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat. Set aside.
Cut the thawed puff pastry sheet into 12 squares. Flatten out with a rolling pin or your hands and shape it into each muffin cup, ensuring the dough covers the entire muffin cup.
With the remaining dough, cut up pie topping decorations like heart shapes, leaves, or thin strips for a lattice design.
Fill each muffin cup with the cooked apples, then spoon the sauce ¾ of the way up each cup.
Cover each pie with a puff pastry shape cut out.
Make the egg wash, crack an egg into a small bowl, add the water and whisk it together.
Brush each pie top with the egg wash. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the top puffs up and is golden.
Notes
*Nutritional facts provided are only an estimate, accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets works the best for this recipe, it cuts perfectly into 12 squares with enough dough leftover to make cutout designs for the tops.
For decorative tops, flatten the dough out as much as possible, because the puff pastry will puff up when baking! Flattening the dough will make the dough thinner and the cutout shapes will keep their shape better.
For a lattice design, you can easily just cut out strips of dough and lace it on top of the pie.
Work quickly with the dough - when it gets too warm, the dough gets sticky. If this happens, put it back in the fridge until it firms up again.
The cook time for these mini apple pies is about 20 minutes, so raw apples may not soften enough in the oven. Pre-cooking the apple filling solves this issue and also yields a delicious gooey sauce to spoon in each pie.