Every year, my sister and brother-in-law take the children apple-picking during the month of September. They always return with a nice supply of apples and even a few pears. This year, we were given Fuji apples for baking and some other varieties for eating. Although I enjoy baking, I only bake a pie once a year. It is too much work compared to cake, cookies, and brownies. Luckily, I can usually convince my husband to core and peel (and sometimes even slice) the apples for me. He is a huge fan of apple pie.
This year, instead of using the same old recipe, I searched Pinterest for an alternative easy apple pie recipe. I finally came upon one by Pillsbury for Mini Apple Crostatas. It looked tasty, so I gave it a whirl. I must say that I was very pleased with the results and so was my family. Even our 8 year, who claimed that he did not like apple pie, admitted that it was delicious. The only thing I did differently was to cute the refrigerated pie crust into quarters rather than cut circles out of them. I thought my mini pies would come out triangular in shape, but they turned out round anyways and I didn't waste any of the crust.
(Click photo to enlarge)
If you try this recipe, you should know it is for making 4 mini pies with one pie crust. I doubled the recipe to use both pie crusts. Also, my baking time was 3 or 4 minutes less than the time suggested, so you may want to set your timer for less time and keep a close eye on the crust to prevent burning. This recipe was so easy that our 8 year old son was able to help cut the pie crust into quarters and to spoon in the apple filling. Even if you do not consider yourself a baker, if he can do it, so can you!
NOTE: Just wanted to add that, for the caramel sauce, I used Smucker's Caramel Sundae Syrup. It worked out perfectly and was not too sweet, even with vanilla ice cream added on top.
