Ingredients
For the cheddar cheese crust
- 1 cup all purpose flour (same as plain flour -UK OR cake flour)
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt (add ½ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter)
- ⅓ cup salted butter
- 3 tablespoons of ice water (plus a little more as needed)
For the apple pie filling
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 5 cups apples, cored, peeled and diced
- ½ cup white or brown granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons diced candied ginger. (If you do not have candied ginger, you can use ½ teaspoon ground ginger instead)
Instructions
- Make the pie dough: In a large bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, shredded cheddar cheese and salt (add ½ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter). Combine well.1 cup all purpose flour, ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Mix in salted butter and cut in with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.⅓ cup salted butter
- Add ice water. Incorporate with a fork until the flour is just mixed with the water.3 tablespoons of ice water
- Bring the mixture together into a dough. If it is very crumbly, add another Tablespoon of ice water, a little at a time, until a soft dough is formed. The dough should feel a little sticky, but not overly wet. Do not add any more water than you need
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20-30 minutes. During this time you can prepare the apple filling.
- Make the apple pie filling: In a large bowl fresh lemon juice, diced apples, white granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, salt and diced candied ginger. (If you do not have candied ginger, you can use ½ teaspoon ground ginger instead)2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 5 cups apples, cored, peeled and diced, ½ cup white or brown granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon salt, 3 Tablespoons diced candied ginger.
- Mix all together until thoroughly combined. Set filling aside as you roll out the pie crust.
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface, and then roll out the first half of the dough until it's about ⅛ inch (3mm) thick. Use a 4-inch (10cm) cookie cutter or a cup to cut out circles.
- Re-roll the dough and cut until you have 12 circles (these are measurements for a standard muffin pan and will make 12 standard individual mini pies )
- The pictures in this post display apple pies that were baked using a jumbo muffin pan.
- If you prefer using a jumbo muffin pan, simply cut the pastry into larger circles, roughly 6 inches (approximately 15 cm) in diameter. This adjustment will yield six jumbo individual apple pies
- Grease with butter or spray the muffin pan with cooking spray. Press each circle of pie crust into 12 cavities of a standard muffin pan (or 6 cavities if using a jumbo muffin pan) You want the crust to fit in the bottom and snuggly around the sides.
- Take the remaining half of the dough and cut it into strips if you're going for a lattice pattern, similar to the images in this post. Alternatively, for a quick and simple pie topping, use small cookie cutters to cut out decorative shapes.
- Fill and bake: Divide the apple pie filling evenly among the pie crusts. Add cut-out shapes on top or create a lattice pattern if you've cut strips. Lightly brush the surfaces with either a small amount of milk or a blend of milk and one beaten egg. Optionally, you can sprinkle a bit of brown sugar over the crust.
- Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven , and preheat to 356° F / 180° C (160° C fan).
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes (if you used a 12 - cup standard muffin pan) or 30 -35 minutes (if you used a 6 - cup jumbo muffin pan)
- You can serve these mini apple pies either warm or after they have cooled. For an extra treat, pair them with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Storage
- Once they've completely cooled, store them at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Alternatively, you can refrigerate them in an airtight container for 5-7 days for extended freshness.