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Mini Apple Pies with Caramel Filling

These Mini Apple Pies have all the flavor of their larger counterparts wrapped into an adorable tiny package! A puff pastry crust crisps perfectly in the oven while warming the gooey apple pie filling.

If you love pie as much as I do (and who doesn’t love pie!) check out these recipes. I think you’ll be head over heels for my Mini Cherry Pies, this Boston Cream Pie Horn recipe, and my favorite savory pie – the Jewish Meat Hand Pie.

Slice of mini apple pie sliced into topped with course sugar.

Mini Apple Pie Recipe

If you haven’t made mini pie before, you’re in for a real treat! Dare I say that I like this mini apple pie recipe even more than a regular-sized apple pie? The sugar on the top of the crust gives it a fantastic crunch. Let’s talk more about that crust!

This mini apple pie recipe is also super easy to make thanks to my secret trick for the pie crust. Ready? I use a pre-made puff pastry!

One container of puff pastry has more than enough pie dough to make a batch of this mini apple pie recipe. One sheet of pastry is cut into strips to create the classic lattice on the tops of pies, while the others are pressed into a muffin tin and serve as the bottom crust.

I’m using a four 5 inch tart molds for these mini pies, but they can be made in regular muffin tins instead. Just reduce the size of the circles when cutting them out, fit and press them into the cupcake mold and continue with the rest of the recipe.

If using a muffin tin, this recipe will produce about 8-10 mini pies.

How Do You Make a Lattice?

Speaking of the lattice, if you haven’t made one before, don’t worry. It’s super simple to do! Essentially, you take strips of dough and lay them spaced out on the pie, then take a second layer and weave them into the dough from a perpendicular angle. This is one of those things where you probably need a visual, so check out this video about how to make a lattice.

Prepared mini apple pie recipe being held with two hands.

Apple Pie Filling with Dulce De Leche

If you’ve read my blog before, you’ll know that I am a HUGE fan of dulce de leche. If I can put it in something, I will! This apple pie filling is no exception.

For those who have not tried dulce de leche before, you are in a real treat! It has a flavor similar to caramel. So essentially, adding it to the apple pie filling gives the entire pie a caramel apple flavor.

A little goes a long way when it comes to dulce de leche. It’s meant to be an accompaniment to the apple filling, not overpower it. Stick to the recipe below and I guarantee you’ll have the most incredible apple pie filling you’ve ever tried!

What are the Best Apples for Apple Pie?

Making the best apple pie starts with choosing the right apples. When you bake an apple, it releases more natural sugars and becomes sweeter, so the super sweet ones we love to eat may not be the best options for baking.

Additionally, when making apple pie or any other baked good, we want to make sure apples hold their shape—we don’t want them overly mushy or we’ll end up with apple sauce!

My favorite apples for baking apple pie are:

  • Granny smith
  • Jonagold
  • Honeycrisp
  • Braeburn

Apple pie on a blue decorative plate with a spoon.

How to Make the Mini Apple Pies

*For detailed recipe instructions see the recipe card bottom of the post.

Make the Mini Apple Pie Filling

  • Place the sliced apples, lemon, sugar, vanilla in a pot and cook, stirring frequently
  • Stir in the dulce de leche
  • Allow the mix to cool

Make the Mini Apple Pie Crust

  • Roll out the puff pastry and cut strips for the lattice
  • Cut out the pie crust bottoms

Put Together the Mini Apple Pies

  • Fill the prepared pie tarts with the filling
  • Transfer the lattice tops and pinch the pie together
  • Freeze the mini apple pies for about 30 minutes to prevent the crust from shrinking
  • Make an egg wash and brush the tops of the pies, then sprinkle sugar
  • Bake and unmold
  • Allow to cool then serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Try these other Apple recipes:

Mini Apple Pies

5 from 1 vote

Delicious mini apple pies filled with a delicious apple filling with caramel, baked in a crispy puff pastry shell.

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple tart, Easy apple pie
Calories: 712 kcal
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 4 apple pies

Ingredients

Easy Apple Pie Ingredients

  • 2 puff pastry sheets thawed
  • 3 large apples peeled, cored, sliced
  • 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 dulce de leche or cooked sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 tsp lemon juice

Egg Wash

Instructions

Make the Apple Caramel Filling:

  1. Place 2 sliced apples, 2/3 cups sugar, 2 tsp lemon juice and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract in a pot over medium heat, do not cover with lid. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the apples are soft, and most of the liquid has evaporated.

    Stir in 2 spoons of dulce de leche and allow to cool. Transferring the apple filling to a baking sheet and spreading the filling out will speed up this process.

    Meanwhile, work on the pie crust and lattice top.

Make a lattice top for the mini apple pies

  1. On a well floured surface lay out one of the thawed puff pastry sheet and cut it into 1/2 inch strips.

    Make a lattice pattern with the strips (see video below). Use an inverted tart mold to cut circles out of the prepared puff pastry lattice. Transfer to a floured flat surface and set aside.

Make the easy apple pies

  1. Roll the other puff pastry sheet slightly to about 10 inches x 10 inches.

    Put the tart mold upside down and press out 4 circles. Now using your fingers press the puff pastry dough into the tart mold, especially pressing into the corners of the mold. Make sure the dough is pushed up and over the sides slightly (about 1/4 inches).

  2. Fill the tarts with the cooled apple filling being careful not to touch the overhang of the dough.

  3. Transfer the lattice tops using a bench scraper or anything else that will allow you to transfer without ruining the design to the tops of the mini pies.

  4. Pinch together the edges of the tart and the edges of the lattice circle firmly together, sealing the filling inside. Trim off excess edges, or just crimp them with your fingers.

  5. Freeze the mini apple pies for about 30 minutes. This is important as it will prevent the puff pastry crust from shrinking in the oven.

  6. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the rack in the middle.

  7. Make the eggwash: With a fork whisk 1 egg and 1 Tbsp water together. Brush the egg wash on the pie tops. Sprinkle with coarse granulated sugar immediately.

  8. Place the tarts on a baking sheet and loosely tent with foil. Bake for about 15 minutes, then remove the foil and allow the tops to golden up.

  9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

    Then, carefully invert each tart into the palm of your hand lined with a folded paper towel. Next, invert the mini apple tarts onto a cooling rack.

    Be very careful about handling the hot tarts as they might seep out hot juices. But, do not allow them to cool before unmolding as the caramelized sugars might make the mini apple tarts stick to the molds and prevent you from being able to remove them neatly.

Recipe Notes

To serve:
Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or if serving chilled, top with a spoonful of whipped cream or a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Nutrition Facts
Mini Apple Pies
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 712 Calories from Fat 432
% Daily Value*
Fat 48g74%
Saturated Fat 12g75%
Cholesterol 41mg14%
Sodium 323mg14%
Potassium 236mg7%
Carbohydrates 112g37%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 53g59%
Protein 11g22%
Vitamin A 133IU3%
Vitamin C 7mg8%
Calcium 27mg3%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

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  • Vicky

    This looks really good. One question – dulce de leche says 2 spoons. Is that 2 teaspoons??

    · Reply
  • Tanya

    Hi Marina,

    Do you think I can assemble the pie the day before and keep it in the fridge? or freezer?

    Thank you!

    · Reply
    • Hi Tanya,
      Since the apples are pre-cooked, I think you should be able to freeze the pre-made pies and then just pop them in the oven a little before you want to enjoy them.

      · Reply
  • Lieke

    Wat een heerlijke recepten allemaal

    · Reply
  • Faye

    Absolutely adorable. Apples & puff pastry = heaven! I noticed yoy list lemon juice in the recipe, but not in the directions. I’m assuming it’s added to the apples during cooking?

    · Reply
    • Thanks Faye! yes it is 🙂 Good catch 🙂

      · Reply
  • Anna

    didnt get this part: 5.Cut the other pastry sheet into 1/2 inch strips. Make lattice pattern with the strips (see video below). Use a round cutter to cut out circles to match the tops of the tarts, or use another round object (smaller than the first one) and go around with a knife.

    we should make lattice pattern on the circle of dough, not right on the apple filling?

    · Reply
    • You make a large “sheet” of lattice, then use cookie cutters to cut out circles of the lattice. Or you can just make individual lattice designs right on the tarts.

      · Reply
  • Mariya

    Yummy!:) hmm I wonder could I just make 1 large pie using this recipe? I don’t have anything small 🙁

    · Reply
    • You absolutely can! I would probably multiply the amount of apples by 1.5 times though.

      · Reply
  • Adi

    Your website is amazing, I’ve just spend the last hour drooling over your pictures (it’s a good thing drool doesn’t actually go through the computer screen and ONTO your beautiful dishes). Is there a way I can “follow” it through WordPress? If not, I will just subscribe to emails…

    · Reply
    • Thank you so much Adi for such a sweet comment!
      I am not sure if there’s a way to follow me through wordpress but you can definitely subscribe to e-mails as well as add me to your social media sites (instagram, facebook).

      · Reply
  • Vera

    Perfection !!!!

    · Reply

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