Mini Apple Pies With Puff Pastry
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.These mini apple pies with puff pastry are the perfect fix for all of your sweet cravings. Fresh apples, a touch of brown sugar and warm spices are wrapped in a golden-brown, flaky puff pastry to make homemade little apple pies you won’t be able to resist!
Apple pie is a classic dessert and is total comfort food. But as much as I adore regular homemade apple pie, I don’t adore the massive amounts of calories or refined sugar that come along with it!
So I decided to makeover this classic apple dessert recipe, into perfectly sized, individually portioned, mini apple pies with puff pastry! Apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla all come together to make these apple mini pies a staple in your kitchen. And the best part: they are much healthier for you than a regular piece of apple pie!
These mini puff pastry apple pies are the perfect treat for any occasion. They’re so easy to make, you’ll have these mini pies ready in no time!
Whether you enjoy them warm or cold, on their own or with a scoop of ice cream, these mini apple pies are sure to impress.
Feel free to enjoy them on their own, or as part of a mini dessert spread like with these mini chocolate tarts, mini fruit tarts, and mini cheesecake bites. Grab your puff pastry, slice those apples, and discover why this simple yet delicious dessert is a must-try!
👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Quick Prep Time: Indulge in the flavor of apple pie with puff pastry sheets for a quicker alternative to a homemade crust.
- Special Treat: Impress guests with these individual apple tarts for birthdays, special occasions, or holiday gatherings. It’s the perfect fall recipe, but honestly tastes great any time of year too!
- Simple Ingredients: Create a mouthwatering dessert with basic pantry staples and a buttery, flaky crust.
- Make It Your Own: Swap apple varieties and experiment with fillings and spices for endless variations.
- Easy Beginner Recipe: Novice bakers can effortlessly master this recipe for mini apple tarts with step-by-step instructions.
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🥘 Ingredients
To create this mini apple tarts with puff pastry recipe, you will need the following simple ingredients:
- Puff Pastry Sheets: While you can use homemade puff pastry dough, I like using pre-made puff pastry sheets because they’re ready in a fraction of the time and effort, and give you a buttery, flaky crust. Just make sure to thaw them as directed on the packet to unleash their full potential.
- Apples: Apples are the star of the show with this mini apple pastries recipe. I chose sweeter apples but you can use tart apples too (see our substitutions recommendations below). They add a burst of natural sweetness and delightful juiciness to every bite.
- Brown Sugar: This sweet wonder is like a caramel hug for your taste buds. It adds a touch of richness and balances out any tartness from the apples. Go ahead and adjust the amount based on your sweetness meter. We won’t judge if you sneak an extra spoonful or two.
- Spices: Any of your favorite apple pie spices work well in this recipe! I chose cinnamon and nutmeg – but you can try allspice, cloves, ground ginger, or even cardamom!
- Slivered Almonds: These crunchy wonders bring a whole new dimension of texture to your mini apple puff pastry pies. They add a delightful little crunch that’ll make you go “Mmm!”
- Cornstarch: This humble ingredient helps bring your apple filling together, making it thick & gooey, creating a luscious and velvety blend of flavors. It’s like a culinary superhero, making sure your pies stay intact and easy to eat.
- Powdered Sugar (optional): This is the finishing touch that’ll make this mini apple pies with puff pastry recipe feel extra special. A delicate dusting of powdered sugar adds a touch of sweetness and makes your creations look pretty too!
🍲 Substitutions
- Apple Varieties: While Pink Lady apples work wonderfully in this simple recipe, feel free to try Gala apples, Granny Smith apples, Fuji apples, Red delicious, Golden delicious, or Jonagold apples for their unique flavors and textures.
- Alternative Fillings: Try out your own fillings with whatever fruits you have on hand. Chop them into small pieces and make your own filling flavor!
- Homemade Puff Pastry: You can always make your own puff pastry dough for a more ambitious baking project instead of using store-bought sheets of puff pastry. It will take your mini apple pie tarts to a whole new level of flakiness and flavor.
- Slivered Almonds: For nut-free options, you can omit the almonds or replace them with chopped walnuts or pecans for added crunch.
- Brown Sugar: You can use any sugar you have available for this delicious recipe. White sugar, coconut sugar, and castor sugar are all great options.
🔪 How To Make Mini Apple Pies With Puff Pastry
Here’s how to make these super simple individual apple pies with puff pastry! With just a couple of steps and no hard work involved, they will be ready in no time!
Thaw Pastry, Prep Apples: Thaw the puff pastry pie dough as directed on the packet. Peel, core, and finely dice the apples with a sharp knife. Use an apple corer if you have one to make this easy recipe even easier.
Sweet Apple Filling: Next, make the homemade apple pie filling by placing the diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, slivered almonds, and cornstarch into a large bowl and mixing until well combined.
Puff Pastry Sheet Prep: Lay a sheet of puff pastry flat on a baking sheet and cut it with a pizza cutter or sharp knife into small squares large enough to cover the holes of the mini muffin tin.
Create Mini Pies: Line the muffin holes with the puff pastry pieces, pressing down into the cavity to make room for the filling. Repeat with the remaining puff pastry in muffin tins until 32 holes have been lined. When all holes have been lined, ¾ fill each hole with apple filling.
Bake: Bake the puff pastry mini apple pies in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Allow to Cool: Cool the puff pastry apple pie bites on a cooling rack. Lightly dust with powdered sugar if using.
Serve and Enjoy! Enjoy your mini apple puff pastry tarts either warm or cold.
💭 Expert Tips
- Quick Cooking Time: Dice the apples into small cubes to ensure they cook quickly and evenly in the puff pastry mini pies. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to keep the apples from going brown.
- Handling the Puff Pastry: Ensure the store-bought puff pastry is soft and flexible before using to prevent tearing when lining the muffin holes. Chill it in the fridge for 10 minutes if it becomes too warm.
- Don’t Overfill: Make sure not to overfill the puff pastry – this will cause them to break while baking and all of that delicious filling will ooze out.
- Preventing Sticking: Lightly spraying the mini muffin tray prevents this apple pie using puff pastry from sticking, so don’t skip this step.
- No Need to Peel: Feel free to leave the apple peels on for added texture and nutritional value.
- Freshness: These individual apple puff pastry pies are best enjoyed within 24 hours for ultimate freshness.
- No Egg Wash: A lot of recipes for small apple pies with puff pastry use a pastry brush to brush an egg wash over the tarts, but there is no need for that in this recipe!
📖 Variations
- Apple Hand Pies: Shape the pastry into hand-held mini apple turnovers, creating a portable treat perfect for picnics or on-the-go snacking.
- Apple Pie Cups: Create deeper pastry cups by using a muffin pan with larger cavities. Fill them generously with the apple mixture for a classic pie experience.
- Mini Apple Pie Bites with Puff Pastry: Use a cookie cutter to cut out small shapes from the puff pastry, place a dollop of apple filling on top, and bake until crispy.
- Apple Phyllo Turnovers: Replace puff pastry with delicate phyllo sheets for a lighter alternative and make easy mini apple turnovers!
- Other Fruits: You can easily swap the apples for other fruits. Peaches or pears would both be excellent options. They are sweet and delicious as well. You can try out other fruit fillings, but just know that the results may vary and that’s to be expected.
👨👩👧 Serving Suggestions
- Rich Toppings: Serve these individual puff pastry apple pies on their own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for extra indulgence. They are perfect for afternoon tea, dessert, or as a sweet treat on the go. Drizzle a luscious chocolate sauce or homemade caramel sauce over the top of each pie for a quick treat. Or top each mini apple pie with a dollop of freshly whipped heavy cream.
- Coffee Or Hot Drinks: A cup of freshly brewed coffee or a creamy latte makes for a perfect companion for a puff pastry apple pie recipe. Try my Biscoff latte recipe, golden latte, or my creamy mocha latte. They are all great companions for these mini apple pies with puff pastry. Not a fan of coffee drinks? No problem! Try these pies with my dairy-free oat milk hot chocolate for a decadent treat.
- Serve With Ice Cream: Take your apple pies to the next level by serving them with a scoop of your favorite dairy-based or vegan ice cream. I love them with this caramel nice cream, or my vegan matcha ice cream or coconut milkshake!
🫙 Storage Directions
At Room Temperature: These hand held apple pies with puff pastry can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
In the Fridge: Store any leftover apple pies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
In the Freezer: If you wrap each apple pastry with foil or plastic wrap, and then place them into an airtight container, you can also put them in the freezer. They will last for 2-3 months in the freezer and can be thawed in the fridge
Reheating: These mini apple pies with puff pastry can be enjoyed warm or cold. For a warm apple pie experience, pop the individual pies in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F / 180 C for a few minutes until gently heated.
❓Recipe FAQs
Yes! There are 4 main benefits to pre-cooking apples for apple pie:
1) Texture: Precooking the apples can help soften them, resulting in a more tender filling.
2) No Shrinking: Apples have a lot of water, so they shrink in size when cooked. If you precook your apples you know exactly how much filling you have before assembling your pies.
3) No Extra Water: Precooking can help release some of the moisture from the apples, reducing the risk of a watery pie
4) Flavor: Precooking the apples enhances their flavor as it allows the spices and other ingredients to penetrate the fruit more thoroughly.
While this puff pastry with apples is still a dessert, it’s much healthier than traditional apple turnovers or apple pie.
Here’s what makes this apple pie with puff pastry dough healthier:
1) Less Sugar: Each apple pie has only 6 grams of sugar per serving!
2) Low Calorie: Each apple pie has only 114 calories!
3) Whole Apples: We make our homemade apple pie filling from scratch in this recipe, reducing extra added sugars, preservatives, and stabilizers while maintaining great flavor.
🥧 More Tasty Pie And Apple Recipes!
- Keto Apple Pie
- Easy Apple Curd
- Blueberry Strawberry Pie With Top Crust
- Vegan Apple Crisp
- Pumpkin Apple Pie
- Apple Carrot Muffins
- Cinnamon Apple Tea Cake
- Cherry Pie With Frozen Cherries
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🎥 Watch How to Make It
Mini Apple Pies With Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 17 oz prepared puff pastry sheets
- 5 apples
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ cup powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Thaw the pastry as directed on the packet.
- Peel, core and finely dice the apples.
- Place the diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, slivered almonds and cornstarch into a bowl and mix until well combined.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- Lightly spray a mini muffin tray with spray oil.
- Lay a sheet of puff pastry flat and cut into squares large enough to cover the holes of the mini muffin tray.
- Line the muffin holes with the puff pastry pieces, pressing down into the cavity to make room for the filling. Repeat with all remaining pastry until 32 holes have been lined.
- When all holes have been lined, fill each hole ¾ of the way with apple filling.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Cool on a cooling rack. Lightly dust with powdered sugar if using.
- Enjoy either warm or cold.
Notes
- I used Pink Lady apples to make this recipe however you could also use Gala, Granny Smith or Jonagold apples.
- No need to toast the slivered almonds, they cook up really well in this recipe as they are.
- Lightly spraying the holes of the mini muffin tray prevents the pastry from sticking so be sure to not skip this step.
- Dice the apples into small cubes to help with a quick cooking time. Use frozen pastry sheets to save time.
- Ensure the pastry is soft and flexible before using other wise the pastry will tear when lining the muffin holes. If the dough becomes too warm and hard to handle place the pastry sheet back into the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.
- It’s not essential to peel the apples, you can just leave them on if you prefer.
- Store leftover apple pies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Apple pies are best enjoyed within 24 hours.
These apple turnovers are looking so cute and I bet they are delicious! We will be trying them this weekend. Looking forward for this fun activity with my daughter!
Thanks so much Julia! I can’t wait to hear how these turn out for you and your daughter!
First of all, I want to say that these came out yummy!! However, I did something wrong: the egg roll didn’t come out as crispy as I thought they would. Want to make these again for sure but should I use less filling & less goo?
Ps the name is perfect as I feel 0 guilt
Oh great! I’m glad you liked them. For the egg roll to become super crispy, make sure the wrapper is super dry before it goes into the oven (with the exception of the butter spray on top). And yes, not overfilling is important as well! Hope that helps!
It looks amazing!! Can I use phyllo pastry sheets for this recepie?
Thanks Deepthi!! I think you can probably use the phyllo pastry sheets for this recipe – I’m not sure how long it would take to bake them, but it would definitely work as a substitute! Let me know how it turns out!
ooh. Think I’ll try this with my Sunbeam pie maker!
awesome! how did it turn out?
I really appreciate your post and you explain each and every point very well. Thanks for sharing this information. And I’ll love to read your next post too.
how long will it take to make?
No longer than one hour!
Yay! Thank you for giving me a recipe with all the sweet stuff and none of the guilt. I am always always eating out (for my blog, so I say) but still want treats at home, even though I can’t really afford (weight wise, haha) to overindulge. Love this option!
Haha! That’s awesome – I love eating out as well, but this is a great DIY option! 🙂 Hope you enjoyed it!
What a great idea! I’m getting hungry just looking at those. Definitely a great way to have the dessert without worrying that you’re going to eat an entire pie. Beautiful!
Thanks Alissa!! Hope you loved this recipe when you made it!
That looks great. My daughter would love it.
Oh good! Yeah – this is a great recipe for kids!
Very cool! I’m definitely going to try this out!
Yay! Hope you liked it!
I love those little apple handpies, sadly I know how bad they are for you and I rarely buy them. Yours look light and delicious, love it!
Yup – totally agree – these remind me of those little handpies, or even McDonald’s apple pies (which are also really bad for you). I love that these are a healthier version that taste the same!
These apple turnovers look so delish! I want to eat them off of my screen. Love the tips to make them healthier!
Thank you so much Neha! Enjoy!
Wow these little pies look amazing and love the healthy spin on them too. Yum!
Thank you!! 🙂 I love how they just fit in my hand and are super easy to eat!
this is perfect. I wanted to make pie but then didn’t wanted to make a huge big one .. this is perfect .. really!
yay!! hope you enjoyed your personal apple pie! 🙂
These pies look really good … I love using apples in baking recipes (well we have to make use of the apples from our trees somehow, right?). You may also like my apple strudel … a step by step is on my site .. you’ll find it under italian recipes.
I love using apple in recipes as well – it’s one of my husbands favorite dessert fruits!
These look delish and I can’t believe they are around 100 calories. What a great use of left over spring roll wrappers too. I might make mini ones with won ton wrappers!
Won ton wrappers would work great!! I also love that you can freeze the leftover wrappers and use them for other recipes!
These look soooooooo delicious!!!!! I want one sooooo badly!!!!
Did you end up trying these?? If so, hope you loved them! 🙂