thanksgiving

After hosting our brunch, I found these Mini Apple Pies were the perfect, hand-sized treat for party goers, no mess, easy and delicious! So I just had to share the recipe with all of you, either for a fun and easy weekend treat or an upcoming tray to bring to Thanksgiving! Of course, I first found the idea for Mini Apple Pies on Pinterest – but quickly adapted the recipe based on my mom’s go-to apple pie recipe! I did try and attempt to make these with the homemade ‘push’ crust (see original recipe below), that did not workout, so I was forced to make a normal sized pie (which turned out amazing!) … after testing and trying, I think I found the perfect combination of crust, filling and topping.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Will make 24 Mini Apple Pies

Crust:

2 boxes of Pillsbury Pie Crust (they come in 2-packs)
Take a wide coffee mug (I used a Starbucks mug – or a mason jar) to cut your circles for each pie crust, try to get 6-circles out of one crust
Grease cupcake pans
Place circles into cupcake openings

Filling:

Skin and chop apples (6-large apples) I used McIntyre
Top 1/2 cup sugar and 1-teaspoon cinnamon with a pinch of salt over chopped apples
Fill your cupcake tin with filling

Crumb Topping:

In a mixing bowl; use 1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of flour
1/3 cup of butter
Mix until forms pea-sized crumbs
Sprinkle generously over each mini pie

Bake for 18-20 minutes – once cooled, use a fork around the edges and they should glide right out!

Enjoy!

Original Recipes: Genesee Valley Apple Crumb Pie (NY State) || Mini Apple Pies

With the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, there is no doubt that everyone is thinking about all of the wonderful things in their life. For me it’s simple. I am thankful for the wonderful people in my life; family and friends, co-workers and furry friends. No one big thing stands out, but it’s all of the small ones.

“Sometimes, the Best Way to Make a Big Difference is Adding Up Lots of Small Ones.” – Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan

This time of the year is always fun, family comes together because of tradition, and with tradition new memories are made. For my family, the tradition is as simple as getting together, and as I’ve gotten older, traditions are starting to change. People can’t always make a weekend, too many things are going on, the weather prohibits travel, work isn’t as flexible… I am not always a fan of change, especially when it comes to traditions and holidays, but I’m trying to look at it as an opportunities for new memories and traditions. With all the change, it reminds me to be more thankful for the time I do get to spend with my family and friends.