Mini Apple Pies (Eggless)

Mini Apple Pies 

Recipe adapted from Padhuskitchen

Ingredients:

For short crust pastry:

Maida - 1/2 cup 

Unsalted butter (ice cold and cubed) - 45 grams

Ice water - 2 tablespoons

Salt - a pinch 

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

For the Filling:

Apples - 1 (small, firm textured apple)

Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp (a few drops) 

Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup

Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Maida -1/2 tbsp

Butter - 1/2 tsp

Method:

For the short crust pastry:

1. In a chilled bowl add maida, salt and sugar and whisk well. 2. Add chilled butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using your finger tips, rub or squash each cube of butter into the flour. Take a butter cube and a little flour and squash it. Repeat the same until all the butter is broken into fine pieces and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Make a well in the center, add 1 tbsp of ice cold water. Use your hand as a whisk and mix the flour. Add another tbsp of cold water and mix well. Stop adding water if the dough clumps together. The dough should just hold together. 

4. Dust the working space with a little flour and knead the dough gently to make it smooth. Do not overdo.

5. Divide the dough into two portions (3/4 and 1/4), flatten it a bit and wrap it in a cling film and refrigerate it for few minutes.

The basic short crust pastry dough for the pie is ready. 

For the Filling:

1. Peel, core and cut the apples to small cubes. 

2. Add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice and mix well. 

3. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, flour to the chopped apples and mix until well combined. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

4. Strain and collect the juice oozed out of the apple mixture.

5. Heat butter and add the juice. Stir on medium flame until it gets caramelized and slightly thick. 

6. Add it to the apple mixture and mix it well.

Our pie filling is ready.

For Apple pies:
1.Grease 2 small pie moulds well. 
Take 3/4 of the dough from the refrigerator.
Dust the working space with little flour and slightly Knead the dough. 
***Method 1
--Divide it into 2 equal balls. 
--In one pie mould, press one ball gently to the bottom and sides evenly to form the tart shape. The base should be 1/2 cm thick. Repeat the same for the other pie mould.
***Method 2
--After taking the dough from the fridge and kneading it, gently roll it to 1/2 cm thick slab using a rolling pin. 
--Using a cup larger than the size of the pie mould, cut out circles from the dough.
--Place it in the mould and press it gently with your fingers so that it sits well inside the cup. Remove any excess dough on the top edges neatly. Repeat the same for the other pie mould.
2. Then fill each mould with 3 - 4 tspns of apple pie filling. 
3. Preheat the oven at 180 C.
4. Take the remaining 1/4 of the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out thinly (1/4 cm thick).
5. Cut 1/2 cm width strips and length of the pie mould's diameter. Use the strips to create a hash pattern like weave. (2-3 strips horizontally and cross it with 2-3 strips vertically)
6. Tuck the ends neatly with the the bottom crust.  Instead of the hash pattern, you can also cover the pie with a smaller circle (with a cross slit in the center for the steam to escape) and tuck it with a fork joining the edges with the bottom crust. Repeat the same process for second mould. 
7. Brush the top with milk and butter mixture. 
8. Bake the pies for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is light brown. 
9. Remove the moulds from the oven, leave it to cool for 10-15 mins.
10. Finally remove the pies from the moulds. Cute Mini apple Pies are ready.