I hope you all are having an amazing week! No matter how well it is going ……. TGIT!!! I think Thursday’s may be my all-time favorite day of the week!

We have been freezing our heinie’s off down here in Southwest Ohio. To make matter’s worse, I am all stuffed up and my ears are doing the conga with all the snap crackle and pop! {SIGH} This will pass, but in the meantime I am flat-out miserable. I do think it is my fault as it all started when I was installing some board and batten onto our mud room walls last Sunday and Monday. All that sawdust being kicked around, and painting with a window only cracked a smidge (below zero temperatures = very small window crack). Like I said, my fault…….. but if you want to feel sorry for me just a little I will take it! 😉

Did I say that I am loving how the room is coming together? Can’t wait to get your opinion!

Hopefully you are in much better weather, OR staying safe and warm if you are dealing with snow and bitter temperatures like we are. TGIT baby!

I know something that will definitely kick the winter blues away……… Mini….. Caramel…… Apple…… Pies!

Nothing better than apple pie, right?

Kicking it up with a little something something like caramel, and making them small enough to hold in your hand takes them totally off the charts!

Now that I think about it, they really could have been called caramel apple turnovers. But aren’t all turnovers really just pie with a fancy name attached?

I made these for a Super Bowl party we went to a few weeks back. I am not much of a football person, unless the Saints are playing…..so for me it is all about the commercials and the food being offered. Our host asked me to bring the famous Upside Down Apple Pie….but I wanted to do something a little different.

He got his apple pie, and I got to play around coming up with another recipe winner!!

These are perfect for every occasion, whether you are tailgating before your favorite game, or wanting to do something nice for a family gathering. They keep so well that your child will love you even more if they found one of these in their lunch box at school. Just keep it on the down low as most States are cracking down the whip on school lunches and sweets. Which means the lunch monitor will take these yummy mini caramel apple pies right out of their hand.

Ok….. they really won’t take it our of their hands (very bad joke, I know), but you might want to pack your child 2 or 3, as they will want to share these with their friends! 😉

I made these with some refrigerated pie crust that I had on hand. If you have a fool-proof pie crust recipe, you can always swap it out for this store bought version. I have never mastered an amazing crust, so I tend to stick with the store bought variety.

BTW, if you have a wonderful (fool-proof) pie crust recipe send it my way. I would love to give it a try!!

I used a 3 inch biscuit cutter to get my rounded dough. If you don’t have biscuit cutters, you can always just flip a beverage glass over and use the rim as your cutter. Works like a charm!

As these mini caramel apple pies are so small, I cut up these apples into itty bitty pieces. They ended up being the size of a kernel of corn or a black bean. The smaller they are guarantees that they will soften and cook all the way through without burning the pies.

I placed 15- 3 inch pie crust rounds onto a parchment lined pan, and put a heaping Tablespoon of the apple filling in the center of each. My refrigerated pie crust came with 2 sleeves of dough. I rolled each out a to be a little thinner, and was able to have enough for 15 from each sleeve of dough.

Drizzle some caramel topping onto each round, sprinkle lightly with sea salt and then place another round of dough on top.

Seal the edges of each pie with a fork, cutting a slit into the top of each to allow the steam to escape during the baking process.

I finished them off by brushing an egg wash over the tops (gives the crust that golden brown color after baking) and sprinkling crystal sanding sugar over them. The crystal sugar is totally optional, but I think they give everything a little bit more sparkle, just like you would expect to see if you were buying these pies from a bakery.

Bake the pies for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown and a little bubbly in the centers…..

Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely……unless you just can’t wait; then by all means pick one up and take a bite…..just be careful that you don’t burn your mouth! 😉

Pile them onto a plate and serve with additional caramel topping as a dipping sauce. As I said earlier, these would be perfect for tailgating……just store them in a sealed container and they can tag along with you wherever you go. The caramel sauce is totally optional, but I would personally bring it along either in the existing jar, or in a small tupperware container.

What do you think? I can vouch that they taste as good as they look!!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend……..

Shaunna

Mini Caramel Apple Pies

Makes: 15 3-inch mini apple pies
Author: Tempting Thyme {Printable Recipe}

Ingredients:

2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced (about 3 apples)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp melted unsalted butter
1 tsp lemon juice
1 (store bought) box refrigerated pie crust, consisting of 2 rolls
1 egg, whisked with a little water
½ cup caramel topping (ice cream topping)
Coarse or Crystal Sanding Sugar, optional

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, vanilla extract, melted butter, flour, sugar, and 1/8 tsp of sea salt. Mix together until apples are thoroughly coated. Set aside.
Unroll the pie dough onto a piece of parchment paper or floured surface. With you circular cutter, cut out as many circles as possible. Roll out any scraps, and continue cutting out circles until you run out of dough. Place the circles onto your parchment lined baking sheet.
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of apple filling into the center of each pie circle, leaving enough of a border all around. Do not overfill!
Take a knife and dip it into the caramel topping and drizzle over each of the apple pie circles. Sprinkle the remaining sea salt over the caramel filling.
With your finger brush the edges of the dough with the egg wash. This will help seal the dough.
Repeat Step #4 and cut out the second roll of dough. Place these dough circles on top of each apple filled circle. Crimp the edges together with a fork. Brush each pie with the egg wash and cut a vent on top with a sharp knife. If desired, sprinkle the pies with coarse or crystal sanding sugar.
Bake the pies for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve mini pies with any remaining caramel topping as a dipping sauce.