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These Mini Apple Pies are bite sized apple pies with crumb topping – they’re so easy to make from scratch and so good. With a buttery crust, perfectly cooked apples, and crumble topping, they’re the perfect apple pie recipe.
I love making mini food because they’re easier to serve (no messy cutting) and they’re easier to eat (bite size!) Plus, if there are a few small dessert options people feel like they can eat a little bit of each one.
There is one recipe that I’ve made more times than I can count: Crumb Apple Pie. That pie is my thing; my specialty. It’s the pie that everyone expects at holidays (especially my husband). That pie is the reason I started blogging! I took that recipe and turned it into MINI apple pies – one of the best easy desserts ever!
How to make Mini Apple Pies
- Pie Crust – You can make my homemade pie crust recipe or use a refrigerated pack of two. I tend to go semi-homemade because it’s easier! Just don’t use a frozen crust since we need to cut small pieces for the mini muffin pans.
- Apples – I love using Granny Smith apples but you can use your favorite apple (just not red apples; they’ll get mushy.)
- Butter – for the crumble topping. You can dice it or shred it for easier combining.
- Flour – Just regular all-purpose flour. Be sure to measure it correctly!
- Instead of lining a 9-inch pie plate with a pie crust, instead I cut them into small circles to fill a mini muffin pan. Grease your muffin pans and press the crust into them. Re-roll the crust as needed on a lightly floured surface.
- The secret to my apple pie is to pre-cook the apples: I boil my apples in a little water before adding them to the pie crust. They continue baking in the oven and turn out soft and not crunchy.
Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions and below the recipe card for process shots.
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Dorothy’s Expert Tips
- I’ve seen lattice top and double crust mini pies all over the internet but I prefer a crumble topping. The crumble topping is much easier to sprinkle on top the pies making this a foolproof easy recipe you can make in no time at all.
- You can also make or buy extra crust and cut double the rounds to make a two crust mini pie. Simply lay the second crust on top of the apples instead of the crumble.
- I always use Granny Smith apples when I’m making apple pie. The tart apple stands up to cooking and it pairs nicely with the sugary crumbly topping. Can you use Gala apples or another similar apple? Yes, but you may want to reduce the amount of sugar you sprinkle on top the apples before adding the topping.
Mini Apple Pies Recipe
Recipe Video
Ingredients
For the pie:
- 2 recipes all butter pie crust or use a refrigerated pack of 2 pie crusts, readymade
- 5 medium Granny Smith Apples
- ¼ cup (50g) sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
For the crumb
- ½ cup (100g) sugar
- 1 cup (124g) flour
- 8 tablespoons (113g) butter slightly softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 3 mini muffin tins (36 total cavities) with cooking spray, preferably the kind with flour. Otherwise, grease them with butter or shortening.
- Unroll your pie crusts and use a 2.5” circle cutter to cut rounds of crust. A cookie cutter is perfect, but a glass or a jar lid will work too. Press one crust into the bottom of each muffin tin cavity. With re-rolling your dough, you will get about 36. Chill until filling is ready.
- Peel and slice apples to a small dice. Place one inch of water in the bottom of a pot. Add apples and cook, stirring occasionally, approximately 3-5 minutes after water boils. You want the apples semi-opaque but not mushy.
- Stir 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
- While apples are cooking, add the crumb ingredients to a large bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the ingredients together until they form coarse crumbs, about the size of a pea.
- Drain apples very well and divide among crusts, about 1 tablespoon each. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the apples in each pie. Add your crumb mixture evenly on top of each, about 1 tablespoon per mini pie. Place muffin tins on a cookie sheet to avoid mess in the oven.
- Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges of the crust are browned. Cool at least 10 minutes in pan and remove carefully using a knife to help you lift out each pie.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Nutrition
- Be sure to peel and dice the apples small. Cook the apples in a bit of water just until they slightly soften.
- Line your mini muffin pans with crust circles.
- Make your crumble topping using a pastry cutter.
- Fill your pie crusts with a bit of apples and crumble.
Other pie recipes to make into mini pies:
- Blueberry Pie
- Peach Pie
- Raspberry Pie
- Mini Lemon Chess Pies
- Brownie Pies
- Mini Berry Pies
- Check out all my pie recipes!
- These would also be great made with apple pie filling if you don’t want to deal with cooking apples!
You can easily make a mini apple pie from my favorite pie recipe! A crumble topping is the perfect way to finish off these bite sized pies.
I made this even easier by using tart shells and pre mixing the apples with the cinnamon and sugar before adding to the tart shells rather than cooking them and added a few extra minutes to cooking time. I loved your ideas too!
Well this didn’t work the best for me !! I steamed the apples instead of in water. I actually made a mixed fruit crumble with the left over topping WAY to much !! Taste is there thought !!
Hi Dorothy, Thanks for this great recipe! I made these for a picnic last week and they turned out GREAT. Thanks again for your great blog!
So glad you liked them!! <3
Thank you very much for your super-speedy reply about the Mini Crumb Apple Pie recipe not printing. I already have it printed out and am heading for the kitchen!
Enjoy! Thanks for alerting me to the problem! They always happen when I’m not watching. :/
Gorgeous little pies! Great little desserts for Thanksgiving 🙂
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