I’ve been meaning to try these out for a while and I’m happy to report back that they were possibly one of the easiest desserts I’ve made… and one of the yummiest!
I am a pie fan. I love a good slice of homemade American apple pie (my mom’s especially) over most desserts and I was really excited to give these a go after seeing them over here.
No, I didn’t make a homemade crust (which is usually the golden pie rule) but that’s also what made these so easy. And when in little turnover batches like these pie bites, the pre-made, rolled out crust sold in the frozen food section of the grocery store is quite tasty. Mmmm that bite above was delicious. 100% as good as it looks!
This is a must try – they’re cute, tasty and unique. The girls at the baby shower I brought them to loved them!
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Apple Pie Bites
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Ingredients: Pre-made pie dough, 1 apple (I used a granny smith), 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1 T brown or white sugar, water, flour for rolling dough, 8 lollipop sticks (found at Michaels or a craft/baking store), glass or cookie cutter, parchment paper
Makes 8 pops (the average pre-made dough round makes 16 rounds – or 8 pops total – so double or triple as necessary.) Preheat oven to 375.
1. Peel and core your apple(s), chop up into small 1/2″ pieces and mix with cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. (There’s no science to the amounts I chose here, season to taste or even use an apple pie spice. I like to bake in ‘pinches’ and ‘dashes’ measurements myself).
2. Cook over low heat until the apples are slightly soft, but remember they’ll finish cooking in the oven. Add 2-3 T of water to your raw apples as you’re cooking to help the apples break down.
3. While the apples simmer, unwrap your dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Add a small amount of flour to the top to keep your rolling pin from sticking.
4. The dough is a bit thick right out of the box so I recommend a good roll, flip, roll to get your full 16 circles for 8 pops. Super thick crust is more likely to split at the seams while baking, too.
5. I found the perfect size circle in a beer glass that we have from a favorite local pub, but a round cookie cutter or water glass would have worked swimmingly.
Gather up your scraps and kneed another flat layer out one last time to get a full 16 circles (plus scraps for covering in sugar and baking).
6. Parchment paper is really useful here and I generally just dig how easy it makes baking and clean up. I staggered my circles in windows so that there was plenty of room for the long lollipop sticks.
Be sure to press those sticks over half way up through the circle for maximum post-baking support.
7. Now it’s time to add just a bit of filling to each circle. The pie bites that stayed together best were those with just a tablespoon or so of that yummy apple goodness. Of course you could add berries, cherries or even a square of chocolate here for an entirely different flavor.
8. Place your second round on top of the circle and gently press together the edges to seal up those seams.
9. Using the end of a lollipop stick, create a little ribbed design in the edges (further sealing that seam):
Voila! One down.
Looking so delicious already! What a fun little packet of yumminess.
10. Add a dash of cinnamon and sugar just before putting in the oven. (Optional: brush on a glaze of whipped egg whites for a more crackled pie crust look. I completely forgot this step but they ended up still looking tasty). Bake for 10-15 minutes.
You really must try these, I insist. Between rolling out the dough, assembly and cooking, these guys could not have taken me more than 30 minutes (that’s including baking).
Here they are straight out of the oven. Give them a little time to cool and then enjoy!
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Speaking of the shower that I brought these pie pops to, here are some fun ideas that the hostess thought up:
The table with its jars of candy, alphabet letters and vintage books was adorable. A simple piece of plexiglass over wooden puzzles turned them into the perfect trays (love that idea):
A little foam puzzle was strung up to create unique bunting, likewise with paper dixie cups over Christmas lights:
The craft for the evening was handmade alphabet blocks using modge podge and cute cut outs on wooden blocks, it was so creative and such a neat gift for the mom-to-be, Sarah. Great job, Cassie!
