Mini Apple Pies with Cinnamon Roll Crust!

If you've read my blog much, you know I have shared a lot of treats so far including various cookies, cupcakes, cakes, sweet and salty snacks, and even some hot drinks.  But, one sweet that has been largely missing has been pies.  My one previous attempt at a pie wasn't that great, and I just haven't tried again until tonight.  Going back and reading the post about my apple pie, I noticed I failed to mention the crazy events and blunders that went into making that pie. I think it's best to share the good and the bad, so here's my pie story (a little late).

In my defense, I think I took on a little more than I could handle that evening.  It was only a couple weeks until our wedding and we had just started moving stuff into our new house.  I had the evening to myself, as Tyler was out at the ballpark with some of his groomsmen.  I decided to attempt not only an apple pie for Father's Day, but also caramel apple pie cupcakes for the guys...  Let's just say that's a LOT of coring and cutting up apples!

To start with, I forgot the step where I PEEL the apples...  I mean that's not terrible, but usually preferred for apple pie. There was just SO much work between the lattice crust, apple pie filling, cupcakes, and caramel buttercream.  Once I had already cut up all the apples and was starting to prepare the cupcake batter, I realized the beaters were no where to be found.  Somehow we lost them in moving stuff from my apartment, so I got to do everything with a whisk.

My other problem was I decided the recipe must have called for too many apples. Not sure why I thought I knew more than the recipe, but it just seemed like there was no room for all the apples.  I couldn't figure out how I could get the crust on with any more apples piled on. As the apples cooked down, though, I quickly saw why the recipe called for that many apples. There was a definite lack of filling in the pie.  To make matters worse, I was deep in baking when I got a call from Tyler saying a fly ball smashed a hole in his front windshield. He had just had to replace a flat tire AND still had a dent from getting backed into. Let's just say it was a bit stressful that evening.

The cupcakes were a hit, but the pie was clearly not up to par. But, my dad appreciated the attempt at the pie. He is sadly not a big fan of cake and loves pies.  All in all, the taste was decent, there was just not enough filling and the apples were a little crunchy.  The whole experience kind of steered me away from trying pies again, until I got on Pinterest yesterday and saw this...

My mouth was watering just looking at it, I love cinnamon rolls.  I decided it was definitely time to try out pies again.  Looking around a little more, I found a recipe from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody using the cinnamon roll crust, but making mini pies. I decided to try this as a way to ease myself back into pies.  Not only was it quicker to bake, the small serving size makes you feel a little less guilty eating it. Plus this recipe only makes 6 minis, so I don't have an excessive amount of them laying around the house and tempting me.

So how did apple pie attempt #2 go?  Well...I'm still not going into the pie business anytime soon.  First of all, I forgot to cut holes in the top. (Really?!) Because of this, and the fact I didn't get a good seal on the sides of the crust, some of the filling leaked out the sides.  The second issue was the apples were still a little crisp, I'm not sure if it was the type of apple I was using (Gala), or if I should have just cooked them a little longer. I took them out when the crust had browned and looked golden (around 25 minutes). But, despite the slight crunch, the apple pies were a big hit!  These pies may be mini, but they are packed with flavor.  I'm not usually a fan of the crust, but this cinnamon roll crust is delicious!  With a little ice cream and caramel sauce, these pies are quite the treat! If I could just figure out how to fix the apple crunchiness, these would be perfect.  I'd love to hear suggestions from any of you apple pie bakers out there!

Mini Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Ingredients (6 mini pies):

• 1 box ready made pie crust (2 crusts)
• 4 1/4 tsp cinnamon (4 for crust, 1/4 for pie filling)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3-4 medium apples (original recipe called for Honey Crisp)
• 4 tbsp melted butter (2 for crust, 2 for pie filling)
• 1/4 cup sugar

Mini Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425F
• Unroll one of the ready made pie crusts
• Melt 1 tbsp butter and brush on the pie crust

• Sprinkle with 2 tsp cinnamon
• Spread out the cinnamon

• Roll up the crust tightly

• Cut the rolled up crust into 1/2 inch pieces

• Press the pieces together and flatten down with rolling pin to about 1/16-1/8 inch.

• Cut out 3 round pieces of crust using a large round cookie cutter or top of a glass (anything larger than the opening of the muffin tin)

• Repeat the process for the other pie crust
• Spray the muffin tin
• Press the cut out crust circles into the muffin tin

• Peel and core 3-4 medium size apples
• Cut up apples into small pieces

• Toss apple pieces in bowl with the 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and 2 tbsp butter and mix well
• Split the mixture between the 6 crusts
• Using remaining crust pieces, cover the top of the pies and pinch together with the bottom piece to seal them up

• Cut holes in the top of each pie
• Bake 25-30 minutes

• Top with ice cream and caramel, if desired, and enjoy!

Hope you enjoy this delicious treat! Check back later this week for a couple new posts in the works - a tutorial on Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle fondant toppers and one for a buttercream rose covered smash cake! If you are a blogger, make sure and leave a comment with your blog as I'd love to check it out.  You can also connect with me via my Facebook and Twitter accounts for the blog.