Has anyone else ever been too daunted to attempt baking a scratch apple pie? Yeah, me too. Psst, let me tell you a secret (whispering): It’s really easy. The ingredients are few and common, and the recipe is hard to mess up. But nobody makes homemade pies anymore, so when you make one, people think you’re all Martha! So silly!

This tutorial/recipe is a two fer ’cause the crust can be used for a host of other pies and treats. So here goes: how to make an apple pie. {Or in this case, how to make mini apple pies… but I’ll include the directions for a big one, too.} Wheee!

~ CRUST ~

You will need the following: 1-1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, 1/4 cup cold water

Chuck it all into the kitchen aid with the paddle attachment, and mix on low for about a minute. Aaaaaaaaand that’s it. Pretty complicated, huh? Can you believe we were ever intimidated by this??

Dust a mat & rolling pin with a little flour. Divide the dough in two (eyeball it), and roll the first half out. [If you are making one big pie, make sure you roll it out enough to cover the whole pie dish plus a little overhang. Repeat to make the upper crust for the large pie.] For mini pies, use a large round cookie cutter (doesn’t have to be scalloped, but that looks cute)–big enough the line your tart or cupcake pan opening–to cut twelve rounds for the bottoms of your pies. I’m using a tart pan, which is more shallow than a cupcake pan and makes more “pie-looking” mini pies, but a cupcake pan is fine too. If you cannot get the full twelve out of your first rolled out dough sheet, you can combine the scraps and roll it out again to cut a few more.

Then cut twelve medium round dough circles for the tops of the pies. I made these yesterday for July 4th, so I also made some with medium stars with tops and some with round tops and mini star accents. It’s a simple way to incorporate a theme if you have mini cookie cutters–numbers for birthdays, stockings for Christmas, hearts for Valentine’s, etc.

Grease your pie or tart/cupcake pan (I used spray Pam) and tuck the large circles into the openings. [If you are making one big pie, gently tuck your rolled out dough into the pie pan. You will cut off the overhang in a later step.]

Set aside the pie pan & pie top(s) while you make the filling.

~ FILLING ~

You will need the following: about 4-5 apples (give or take), 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp butter.

If you have one of those handy dandy apple cutter/peelers like my fantastic mother in law got me, then you can make quick work of the apples. But either way, peel and slice the apples. Dice the apples up pretty small for the mini pies. [Bigger slices are fine for a big pie.]

Then you can reuse the same bowl you used to make the dough (kitchen aid bowl, in my case); no sense dirtying a fresh one! Toss in the apple slices and all the other filling ingredients and stir together.

~ ASSEMBLY ~

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You already have the bottom(s) of the pie(s) in place; now simply scoop in some filling! Once you have each pie filled, cover with the round top, pressing lightly around the edges to seal to the bottom crust. To finish the edge of your pie, either 1) use a scalloped rotary pastry cutter to cut all the way around the edge, 2) straight cut then finger pinch scallops around the edge, or 3) straight cut then use a fork to “crimp” around the edge. This is simply an added, optional touch (and if you used a scalloped round cookie cutter, your edges already have a nice detail).

You can also add any cut or dough decoration/details at this point. Then cut a few slits in the top of each mini pie.

I like to glaze the top of the pies, so they brown up nicely. Brush each pie with a little egg. Then into the oven they go!

~ BAKE TIMES ~

For mini pies, bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. For a large pie, bake at 350 degrees for 36-39 minutes, but cover the top (or at least the edges) with foil for the last 5-10 minutes to prevent over-browning.

~ AND VOILA! ~

Once done baking, remove your pie pan from the oven. Remove the mini pies from the pan to prevent them cooling (and sticking); place them on a cooling rack.

Then EAT! Delicious by themselves. Fantastic with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, too. And I love the mini pies for two reasons: no slice cutting & easy to share with friends! Nom nom nom!

So, won’t you join me and bake an apple pie?! Report back (especially if this is your first time) and let me know how it turns out!!