Nothing can be more American than an apple pie, right? And recipes for a scrumptious pie crust are in plentiful! I have one recipe myself that I have been making for years and one that is absolutely delicious. I make it with a streusel on top with almonds and brown sugar and this apple pie is my family’s favorite.
This year I wanted to make a grain free, dairy free apple pie that I could eat too. One day as I was rearranging my baking items on the kitchen shelf, I saw my mini tart pans and from nowhere the thought of making apple pies in them came to my mind 🙂 I thought that would be really neat because that way you won’t make a mess when you try to slice the apple pie. Each of us could have a personal apple pie! I initially thought that I would make my original pie crust recipe for the rest of the family and make a paleo version for myself. But as I began to get things out of the pantry, I thought why not make a Paleo version for the entire family? I knew that the crust I had made when I made my Paleo Blueberry Pie was absolutely tasty. So I decided to take the risk and see my family’s reaction.
I used the same crust recipe as I had for my Paleo Blueberry Pie and for the filling I decided to cook the apples first on the stove top first since this crust needed very little time to cook and the apples would need more time. The pies came out so good! – just as I had anticipated. The conversation below describes my children’s reaction after I served them this pie.!
My daughter – “Mom, this is sooo good! What did you put in it this time?” And then “Wait, mom, you can eat this too? “(in a surprised tone after watching me eating the same pie)
I nod and say “Yes this has only things that I am allowed to eat and is grain free, dairy free and refined sugar free”
My son – “Really! Really! This is so good, man!. This crust – its so powdery, so shortbread-like and so tasty! What’s in it?”
I say “Coconut flour and Arrowroot flour and coconut oil”.
My daughter – “These mini apple pies are so cute!”
And I smiled to myself. As you can see, more than the pie, this conversation made me satiated! Now that was well worth the risk! And the bonus? This crust is such a breeze to make!
Bringing these cute mini pies to the Paleo/AIP Recipe Round up this week!
- ⅔ rd cup plus about 2 tbsp coconut flour
- ⅔ rd cup arrowroot flour
- pinch sea salt
- ½ cup coconut oil (semi solid)
- 5 medium size apples, peeled and sliced thinly (use soft variety of apples like Macintosh)
- ½ cup water
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp all spice (use cinnamon powder for AIP)
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional, use ginger for AIP)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tsp tapioca flour mixed in ¼ cup water
- Pre-heat oven to 325 deg F(160 deg C).
- In a medium size mixing bowl, add all the crust ingredients. Mix using your hands and form a dough. (You may need to add a little more coconut flour if you feel the dough is too sticky). The dough should be smooth. Divide the dough into four equal parts.
- Grease four mini pie pans with coconut oil. Place parchment paper on top. Place the dough in each of the pans and press using your hands to cover the base and sides of the pan. Prick using a fork. Bake at 325 deg F for about 5 mins until the crust looks golden brown from top. Take out of oven and keep aside. Turn oven temp to 350 deg F(170 deg C)
- To make the filling, add all the filling ingredients, except the tapioca flour slurry in a cooking pot. Heat on medium heat covered for about 10 mins stirring frequently. Once the apples start to turn soft, mix the tapioca flour with water in a small bowl and pour this slurry slowly into the pot and stir vigorously. Cook for only one more min and turn heat off.
- Spoon apple filling into each of the four mini pie pans on top of the pre baked crust. Bake the pies additionally for about 7 more mins at 350 deg F(170 deg C) until golden brown on the edges.
- Serve the individual pies while warm!
[…] Mini Apple Pies – Indu’s International Kitchen […]
Great job Indu! It’s wonderful when you can get the family’s nod isn’t it? I absolutely adore those mini tart pans and keep promising myself to get some. I’ve never experimented with arrowroot flour. Your tarts turned out beautiful!