Country Comfort Foods~ Apple Pie Tart Recipe

Who doesn't love a simple country comfort foods? Apple pie tarts are a tasty comfort food for any time of year. This dessert is easy to make even for a novice cook. If you have 45 minutes you have plenty of time to create an apple pie tart.

This dessert can double as an in a hurry breakfast. They can be eaten hot fresh from the oven or even cold as left overs. A fast breakfast for the daily commute. Apple pie has long been a staple comfort food for southern and 'country' folks. Tarts are just a smaller version of this classic.

Whatever meal you want these have a place. They make great gifts and a welcomed choice for any potluck or book club meeting.

Friends often ask me to share recipes and this one is no exception. I made them recently for a dinner party and since I was asked for the recipe I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to publish it for others to enjoy.

To save you time here is a full list of ingredients needed to prepare the crust and filling. Time in the kitchen is better spent when you gather everything ahead of time and stay organized. I have ran into times where I was almost done with a recipe only to notice I was missing an ingredient. Gathering all items in advance can eliminate any last minute panicking because you don't have something needed.

Ingredients to Gather

• 3 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup warm milk (can be whole or 2%)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 eggs - beaten
• Approximately 5-6 large apples - Granny Smith or Golden delicious are optimal but any will do
• 1/4 cup sugar (I use brown, regular will do)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup water or apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2-4 table spoons cold water
• Optional spices to taste preferences

Cooking Tools Needed

• Muffin tin
• Large pot

Not ready to step into preparing your own dough? Don't be afraid to still try this recipe you have options.

Homemade Dough Alternatives

• Frozen pie crusts
• Phyllo dough
• Pre-made pastry cups

If you have a go to pie crust recipe you can use it, or even a pre-made frozen crust will work for these tarts. You can find alternatives to making your own dough in the freezer section at your local market.

I personally make the crust first this way it is chilling in the fridge while I prepare the apples. Chilled dough is easier to work with and shape.

Go ahead and prep a muffin tin or tart cups by greasing the cups. Any cooking spray works great for greasing. Once prepped set it off to the side.

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup warm milk (Whole or 2%)
• 1/3 cup butter (melted)
• 2 eggs - beaten

You can add a dash of ginger, nutmeg or allspice, totally up to your taste buds and I do add those variations occasionally. Dry ingredients are listed first because you should mix them all together before combining with the others.

You can warm the milk in the microwave, just to take the chill off. I melt the butter and then add to the milk. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and then add to the milk and butter mixture, give it a quick stir before adding to your dry ingredients.

Dough Prep

If you have a mixer with a dough attachment, by all means use it! I use a wooden spoon until it could not handle the mixture and then I proceeded with my hands, kneading until I had formed a ball.

Once your dough has formed a ball (by hand mixing or a mixer) place it in a covered dish or container in the refrigerator. A Tupperware container with a lid works well for me. You may use a whatever is handy in your kitchen.

The best time to begin rolling out the dough is when you have the filling cooking. Since this is a country or rustic treat we are not going for perfection. Pinch of chunks of dough and roll them with a rolling pin on a floured surface.

Rolling fairly thin but not too thin. Rolling too thin can make your dough will easily break. Transfer one at a time to the muffin tins as you roll them out. By the time the apple filling is done you are ready to assemble!

New to cooking? Even a novice can prepare apple pie filling. It is simple and not something to over-stress about. Canned pie filling as as substitute is fine if you do not have apples on hand. I often use apple pie filling I have canned from our apple trees.

If you have any on hand apple pie filling it will really cut down on prep time for this recipe too. I preheat my oven to 350 degrees when my pie filling is cooking on the stove. It makes things go faster once assembled and ready to bake.

Ingredients for Fresh Apple Pie Filling

• Approximately 5-6 large apples - Granny smith, or Golden Delicious are a great choice!
• 1/4 cup sugar (white can be used, I prefer brown sugar)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice (to prevent browning)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup water or apple cider vinegar - this is a taste preference
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (small amount of COLD water to mix it in)

Apple Prep

• Peal
• Core
• Cut

Peal, core and cut your apples. Slicing or dicing is up to you. Put them in a bowl and tossing with the lemon juice as you go. I find slices are a great time saver over dicing. Lemon juice will prevent browning. It is not a requirement you can skip it if you like.

Cooking Instructions

• Melt butter over med/high heat
• Add apple
• Stir to coat apples
• Add additional ingredients
• Add a small amount of water or apple cider vinegar to prevent sticking
• Continue cooking until apples begin to soften
• Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch in cold water until dissolved
• Once apples have begun to soften stir in cornstarch mixture
• Simmer for a few minutes until cornstarch begins to thicken
• Remove from heat

For this step be sure to not overcook the apples, add the cornstarch mixture when they just begin to soften up. Since these will be taking a trip through the oven, you don't want to overcook at this stage.

Gradually add the cornstarch mixture to the softened apples while stirring. Be sure to use cold water when making the cornstarch mixture. Using cold water prevents clumping.

Allow to simmer until the cornstarch mixtures begins to thicken and remove from heat. Allow some cool down time so you do not get burnt on the next step.

Gradually add your cornstarch mixture to the apples while stirring. Allow to simmer for a few more minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat, allow to cool a bit so you do not burn yourself.

If you want to use a store purchased filling, skip this and just focus on your dough and then fill and bake.

Fill your prepped muffin tins with your apple mixture. I used approximately two heaping tablespoon fulls to fill each cup. It will be more if you decided to dice the apples.

Easy Assembly instructions

• Fill cups
• Fold over dough
• Trim off any excess

Since tarts are open topped you may notice excess dough. Don't fret just trim off excess. You can even store it in the fridge if you have other recipes you can use it with.

Trimming Instructions

• Fold Dough over
• Pinch, pull off or cut any excess
• Leave an open top

There is no perfect trimming. You just want uncovered space that allows the steam to vent amid baking.

If you choose not to trim you may end up with spillage that leads to a smoke filled kitchen. Nothing worse than cooking and hearing the dreaded 'beep' of the fire detector because something has dripped into the bottom of the oven.

Tip

• Brush with melted butter

By no means do you have to brush the top of the dough with melted butter. But it gives a nice appearance to the finished dessert.

Baking Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Bake for 15-18 minutes

Once you have filled and prepared all the tarts. Place them in the 350 degree preheated oven for approximately 15-18 minutes. No recipe should give exact times as altitudes and ovens vary.

The best idea is to start with 12-15 minutes whenever your trying a new recipe, and check to see how they look and judge if they need any additional time from there.

Once you have completed your apple pie tarts, you have many choices in how to serve them! These little guys are a great on the go breakfast once they have cooled! They fit in your hand and are much better than stopping for some fast food on the way to work!

You can serve them warm with vanilla ice cream, or take advantage of all the snow and make yourself some snow cream! With only three ingredients snow cream is a delicious seasonal treat!

Whipped topping is another great way to serve these little delicate apple pie tarts, you can opt for Cool whip, or a homemade version of your choosing.

I must say I made these last night, and enjoyed a leftover one from the fridge this morning with my coffee! They are amazing cold, and a great compliment to my morning cup!

Let us not forget, these are delicious little goodies all on their own!

I want to thank you for taking the time and reading my recipe, and my experience with making apple pie tarts.