I got my muffin tin today and my mother took me to costco which could only lead to one thing: Mini pies. I own this book about mini pies and I love it, but it still lives in my old apartment with Chev, while I have since moved to the house with Dr. Rubrub and Spider. This meant I had to improvise a bit, but if you have the inclination to make mini pies a regular part of your baking repertoire, I highly recommend buying it from your local bookstore.
For today, I used this pie crust recipe I found online. It seemed like it was pretty heavy on the butter, and I am trying to up the healthy in my cooking and baking, so I broke out my secret weapon for better baked goods:
That's right. Ground Flaxseed. I use it in everything from oatmeal to cookies to pie crusts and it works beautifully, adding richness, fiber and good fats without the animal products. I get a giant bag from costco, but 1-pound bags are easy to find at any grocery store. Substitute 3 tablespoons flax for every 1 tablespoon butter. (I would say up to a cup, maximum) I used a cup of flax instead of 1/2 cup of butter in the recipe I linked, which meant it was a bit drier than the dough needed to be so I added a little extra water to compensate (less than 1/2 cup.)
If you're super in to buttery crusts, by all means, use the full butter. It's tasty and lovely and flaky. But if you are looking for a healthy alternative, this lends a nutty taste and tender crumb to crusts that I think is lovely.
First up! Assemble your ingredients:
For the filling:
1 (1!) large apple diced (and peeled if you're fussy. More on that later.)
zest and juice of one lemon
1/3 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon (to taste)
Cloves (to taste)
Ginger (to taste)
(nutmeg, cardamom, allspice would also be tasty in this)
1/2 cup grated cheese
I used a lovely raw milk cheddar for this, but that's only because it was already open. I would strongly suggest a cheese like Dubliner, which is nuttier and great for pairing with sweet recipes like this one.
Mix the dough first, as it will need resting time. If you mix it by hand, great. I use the food processor because it's easier and I never seem to have the patience to properly crumble butter into flour. Just don't use a mixer that's too small, like I did:
Once you have your mixture in an appropriately-sized mixer, pulse until the butter is about pea-sized, making a very course meal:
Transfer to a bowl, slowly and gently add the ice water until the dough starts to come together. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before rolling out.
While your dough is resting, prepare your filling. This recipe should probably have 2 apples but I hate having leftover pie filling so I went with one. It worked fine, thought it was a little thin. Also, I understand that some people insist on peeling their apples before baking, but I like the texture and added nutrition of apple peels so I don't. If you do, definitely go for a second apple. I used several teaspoons of each spice but apparently some people feel weird about too much ground cloves in baked goods so if you are one of those people, 1/2 tsp should suffice.
Form the pies by rolling out the dough and cutting it with a juice glass. I left mine a little thick so I could squish them into the cups (don't worry about it sticking, they always pop right out.) patch any holes that form, and leave the excess attached to press down later, like so:
If you spill some dough, I hope you have a good cat friend like Dr. Rubrub's to clean up for you:
Spoon apple filling into pies and top with cheese:
Yes, I'm sure there's a much prettier way to do this but I left mine fairly rustic. Brush the tops with butter or eggwash if you want them to brown up. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until tops are starting to brown.
Inside you'll get a not-too-sweet mix of warm spices, bright lemon and gooey cheese:
These might be good with walnuts, if you're into that, and I've made some pretty good variations with brie, or tomatoes, pesto and cheese. You can also just up the apples and do a standard mini apple pie, if you like, in which case I suggest sprinkling the top with sugar before baking.
For today, I used this pie crust recipe I found online. It seemed like it was pretty heavy on the butter, and I am trying to up the healthy in my cooking and baking, so I broke out my secret weapon for better baked goods:
That's right. Ground Flaxseed. I use it in everything from oatmeal to cookies to pie crusts and it works beautifully, adding richness, fiber and good fats without the animal products. I get a giant bag from costco, but 1-pound bags are easy to find at any grocery store. Substitute 3 tablespoons flax for every 1 tablespoon butter. (I would say up to a cup, maximum) I used a cup of flax instead of 1/2 cup of butter in the recipe I linked, which meant it was a bit drier than the dough needed to be so I added a little extra water to compensate (less than 1/2 cup.)
If you're super in to buttery crusts, by all means, use the full butter. It's tasty and lovely and flaky. But if you are looking for a healthy alternative, this lends a nutty taste and tender crumb to crusts that I think is lovely.
First up! Assemble your ingredients:
Ok. I know there are 2 apples in that picture and no lemons. Pretend, for a second, that that second apple is a lemon. More on that later.
For the Crust:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt (I like more salt in my baked goods)
1/2 cup butter very cold and cut into pieces
1 cup ground flax
1 tsp sugar
3/4-1 cup very cold water (don't add this all at once!!!)
For the filling:
1 (1!) large apple diced (and peeled if you're fussy. More on that later.)
zest and juice of one lemon
1/3 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon (to taste)
Cloves (to taste)
Ginger (to taste)
(nutmeg, cardamom, allspice would also be tasty in this)
1/2 cup grated cheese
I used a lovely raw milk cheddar for this, but that's only because it was already open. I would strongly suggest a cheese like Dubliner, which is nuttier and great for pairing with sweet recipes like this one.
Mix the dough first, as it will need resting time. If you mix it by hand, great. I use the food processor because it's easier and I never seem to have the patience to properly crumble butter into flour. Just don't use a mixer that's too small, like I did:
Once you have your mixture in an appropriately-sized mixer, pulse until the butter is about pea-sized, making a very course meal:
Transfer to a bowl, slowly and gently add the ice water until the dough starts to come together. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before rolling out.
While your dough is resting, prepare your filling. This recipe should probably have 2 apples but I hate having leftover pie filling so I went with one. It worked fine, thought it was a little thin. Also, I understand that some people insist on peeling their apples before baking, but I like the texture and added nutrition of apple peels so I don't. If you do, definitely go for a second apple. I used several teaspoons of each spice but apparently some people feel weird about too much ground cloves in baked goods so if you are one of those people, 1/2 tsp should suffice.
Form the pies by rolling out the dough and cutting it with a juice glass. I left mine a little thick so I could squish them into the cups (don't worry about it sticking, they always pop right out.) patch any holes that form, and leave the excess attached to press down later, like so:
If you spill some dough, I hope you have a good cat friend like Dr. Rubrub's to clean up for you:
(Just don't open bottles of gin around her and everyone is happy.)
Spoon apple filling into pies and top with cheese:
These could actually have taken a bit more cheese but I was trying not to overwhelm them. Fold the extra dough over the top, leaving a little vent for steam:
Inside you'll get a not-too-sweet mix of warm spices, bright lemon and gooey cheese:
These might be good with walnuts, if you're into that, and I've made some pretty good variations with brie, or tomatoes, pesto and cheese. You can also just up the apples and do a standard mini apple pie, if you like, in which case I suggest sprinkling the top with sugar before baking.
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