Apple Pie to-go

Can you believe we are already a week into October?! Where has the time gone!?

Crazy Cooking Challenge time again! This month we are covering "Apple Pie". I have been trying out many of new recipes that have apples or applesauce in them to figure out what I like best.My recipe that I am adding to the Crazy Cooking Challenge is going to be a mini version of Apple Pies. I love baking apple pie but hate having to cut into a perfect pie! So why not have mini pies that don't need to be cut, you can just pick them up and eat them as is? Hopefully you like these as much as my family and I do.

My Apple Pies to-go are very simple and have a homemade from scratch version or a semi-homemade  version, which ever you chose or have time for these are easy to make and taste scrumptious. When I make these I prepare the apple filling and pie crust a few days in advance, this makes baking day go a lot faster.

Apple Pie Filling:
4 apples, any kind will work for this (I used Gala), peel and dice into 1/4 inch cubes
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 sugar
3 TBS cornstarch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Going in the fridge for later

1/8 tsp salt
1 cup apple juice or apple cider
1 cup water

Toss apples with lemon juice, set aside.
In a sauce pan pour in the apple juice and water, then add your remaining ingredients; stir and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes while constantly stirring. Once all the sugar is dissolved and you have a rolling boil carefully stir in the apples. Bring back to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool for 30 minutes before using it or storing it in the refrigerator. You could also freeze this for later.



While my apples are simmering I prep my pie crust. When you are ready to bake your pies roll your dough out and cut it using a 2"cookie or biscuit cutter. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the freezer until you are ready to top and bake.












While my pie crust is chilling in the freezer I make the crumble topping mixture.

Topping:

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 cup apple pie filling

Mix all your dry ingredients together into a bowl. Cut in butter until it looks crumbly. Scope out 1/4 cup of the mixture for later. In the remaining mixture stir in your apple pie filling. Set aside or store in refrigerator.


BAKING TIME!!!!

Preheat your oven to 375F

Top your pre-cut pie crusts with 1 1/2 TBS of your filling; flatten slightly to cover the whole surface of the crust. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of your reserved topping. Bake 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar.

Ready for the oven

If you are making the from scratch the way I do it may seem like there are a lot of steps to completing these, this is why I prepare my filling and crust in advance. The individual steps on their own don't take that much time so if you prep your filling one day and then your crust on another it won't seem like so much all at once. HERE IS A LITTLE SECRET.....if you don't have the time to do it all from scratch you can try the semi-homemade way and all you will be making from scratch is your topping mixture.

Semi-Homemade substitutions:
1 can of Apple pie filling, take a pair of scissors and cut the apples up into bite size pieces (you can do this while the apples are still in the can)
1 pkg store bought pie crust