Tiny Apple Pie Redemption

I have been a baker-girl all my life. Last Sunday afternoon, I took a risk and tried something new. I had become smitten with a minute-and-a-half video I found online that showed how to make tiny apple pies by shaping them in ice cube trays. It looked so easy and tasty; I was beguiled into making some myself.

However, if you have seen my posting from last Sunday, you may remember that the project turned into quite a hassle, or at least it seemed that way to me. And I am not one to exaggerate . . . much.

My pie crust wouldn't line the ice cube tray properly. My cinnamon-apple-brown-sugar concoction splurked out all over the table, making a great big mess. I couldn't get the pie-nuggets out of the ice cube tray; they ended up mangled. My tiny pies turned out tasty . . . but ugly.

As a maker of apple pies from way back when, I was humiliated by my failure, and I resolved to do better and redeem myself sometime soon. I didn't want to give up on the concept entirely, but I decided to try something else new. Or rather an OLD thing with a new twist: I would try my hand at making tiny apple pies in muffin tins.

Saturday night found me stewing over recipes. In one hand, I had my usual recipe for a full-sized apple pie. In the other, I had the recipe for the ice cube apple pies. I figured that somewhere in the middle was the recipe for pies in muffin tins.

I had a good idea of what ingredients to use, but my questions were: how long to bake them, and at what temperature? It was like that silly online math problem: if you have 4 pencils and I have 7 apples, how many pancakes will fit on the roof? (The answer, of course, is: purple!)

But then on Sunday morning, I awoke and did what every sane person would do: I simply googled it! And here is the recipe I found for making tiny apple pies in muffin tins, which worked like a charm!

First, I cleaned my work surfaces and got all of my tools and ingredients together. Then I peeled and chopped the apples. I made my standard double crust (2 cups flour, 2/3 cup Crisco, 1/2 tsp salt, 6-8 tbsp cold water). Then I mixed together the apples, sugar (I used about half dark brown sugar and half white sugar), cinnamon, and flour.

I used a large round lid to cut round shapes out of the crust. Into the greased muffin tin these went, one to a hole. It worked beautifully. The round crusts slid right in, and I easily filled them with the apple-sugar mixture. My muffin tin had 12 holes but I found I only had enough crust and filling for 9 holes. So be it!

I saved a bit of crust for the lattice work that goes on top. In the end, I might have been able to use even more crust. But what I had did just fine. I skimped a tiny bit on lattices; so sue me! Finally, I added a tiny mini-pat of butter and brown sugar atop each; and then into the oven they went. All told, it took about an hour of prep time.

The recipe calls for the little pies to bake at 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes, but I know I left them in for several minutes past that. I'd say 20 minutes or a bit more total; and they might have even been able to use a few minutes beyond that, to get even more golden.

The photo above is what they looked like when I pulled them out of the oven. I let them sit for just a few minutes, then used a butter knife to pry them out of the tins. They came out quite easily, I am happy to report. Success!

My husband had been watching the proceedings with great interest. He started out by shaking his head at me, and chortling behind my back: "Look out, folks, here she goes again! Here is the Methodist wife, coming back for revenge!"

But his mockery turned to excitement when he saw how cute my little pies were. Even better, the look on his face when he tried one: delicious! Just like big apple pies, really, but smaller; travel-sized, for your convenience.

He suggested - as if I needed  yet ANOTHER job - that I ought to make and sell these little pies. He says a dollar apiece would be reasonable; maybe 2 for $1.50. His other thought is that I should put together a cookbook, or rather a baking book, with a tentative working title of:

Oven Mitts of Fury: Tales from a Methodist Kitchen.

It does sort of have a ring to it, doesn't it? (I do suspect he may have watched too many martial arts movies, though.) Although, of course, it was redemption I was seeking, as always; never, no, never, revenge.

The soundtrack: Redemption Song, from the album Playing for Change. My favorite comment on the video is the one right at the top: "In this song there is a feeling of rising above the past and moving forward with love in our hearts and hope in our eyes." So let it be written. So let it be done.

P.S. Check out the extra photo for this night's bright pink sunset, which was a stunner!