Mini Caramel Apple Pies

Who doesn’t want their own little dessert? Mini Caramel Apple Pies use a couple of great shortcuts, and are heavenly served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Another seasonal favorite you might like for dessert is a Pumpkin Spice Milkshake, dairy optional. Delicious!

Jump to:

• Why Make this Recipe?
• Ingredients You’ll Need
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• Cook the Apples, Make the Crumb Topping
• Assemble the Pies
• Bake the Pies
• Expert Tips and Serving Ideas
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Recipes to Try:
• Mini Caramel Apple Pies

Why Make this Recipe?

There is nothing in the entire world that says “home” like a warm piece of salted caramel apple pie. On chilly days, a good cup of Creamy Pumpkin Soup and maybe a Celery Salad with Hazelnuts or Superfood Salad makes for a great meal before tucking into one of these absolutely delicious little pies.

It’s practically mandatory to serve some kind of apple dessert in fall and winter (but great year-round too) so here’s a great recipe and fun take on apple mini pies to add to your repertoire:

• This recipe uses two shortcut ingredients, refrigerated pie crust and store bought caramel sauce.  Yay for this!
• These pie bites are always a huge hit with everyone, and the flavors are warm and caramel-y and so, so good.

Ingredients You’ll Need

For full details about the ingredients, please scroll down to the recipe card.

One of the best parts of this recipe is we’re using two big shortcut ingredients for these delicious little Muffin Tin Caramel Apple Pies.

• Refrigerated pie crust:  Roll out over a lightly floured surface…. these are usually sold in packs of two… just freeze one for later!
• Caramel Sauce:  Any store-bought caramel sauce will do.  You’ll gently warm it in the microwave before spooning it over the pies.
• Apples:  For the apple pie filling, use slightly tart Granny Smith apples or the less tart Golden Delicious cut into small chunks so they fit easily in the muffin tin.
• Kitchen Staples:  Butter, salt, a half cup sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, salt and vanilla extract are all needed for this recipe.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Prep your apples by peeling them, then quartering them, then cut the quarters length-wise.
2. Cut the length-wise pieces with a sharp knife into rough 2″ pieces.

Cook the Apples, Make the Crumb Topping

Please see the recipe card below for step-by-step instructions on each process.

1. Cook the apple slices with the butter, salt, water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and vanilla extract until golden brown, they’ll be soft with a little bit of syrup left in the pan.  It’s really important to completely cool the apples before proceeding. Otherwise the pie dough will fall apart as you (try in vain) to assemble them.
2. Use medium-high heat to cook until the water evaporates from the pan and the apples are golden and fork tender.  The length of time will vary depending on the ripeness of your apples, about 20 minutes total.  If the water evaporates and the apples aren’t fully cooked, just add more water 1/2 cup at a time until they are soft.
3. Taste the apples to for sweetness, and feel free to add a bit more sugar if needed, but note the crumb topping and caramel sauce will add sweetness too, so shoot for a slightly tart outcome on the apple step.
4. Make an easy crumb topping in a food processor for the top of the pie. Just whiz together cold butter, flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon then set aside in a small bowl. You can also use two butter knives or a pastry cutter for this job.

Assemble the Pies

1. Cut a large piece of parchment paper into rough 5″ squares, this doesn’t need to be exact, and go for a rounded edge if you can.
2. Use a little non-stick cooking spray on the bottom of each well of the muffin tin, then also spray the parchment paper.  You’ll be placing the pies on the parchment, then setting them in the muffin tin.
3. PRO TIP: You must spray the muffin pan (to make the parchment paper stick) AND the parchment paper that you’re going to set the pie on (otherwise the pie will stick to the paper)… trust me on this 🙂
4. Roll the pie crust to an approximate 12″ x 12″ rectangle, then cut into 6 pieces.  Fold the pointy edges in toward the center, then press the seams together to make a rounded edge.
5. Spoon the cooled apples in the middle of each crust, followed by a generous tablespoon of the crumb topping.
6. Gather the pies into a little purse, starting with the edges and using both hands to keep the pie together before carefully transferring to the parchment paper square.  Carefully set the bundle into the muffin tin.
7. Set the muffin tin on a large baking sheet (cookie sheet) and bake.

These don’t need to look perfect, because they’ll look rustic and fabulous and taste absolutely delicious when they’re done 🙂

Bake the Pies

1. The left shows what the pies look like unbaked.  See how I gathered each pie individually and carefully set it in each muffin cup?
2. The right photo shows how they look just out of the oven.  Be sure to wait 15-20 minutes to let them cool in the muffin tin. Then just lift them out by the edges of the parchment paper and serve with warm caramel sauce and ice cream.

Expert Tips and Serving Ideas

• When cooking the apples for these pie cups, use medium heat until the water evaporates from the pan and the apples are golden and fork tender.  The length of time will vary depending on the ripeness of your apples, about 20 minutes total.  If the water evaporates and the apples aren’t fully cooked, just add more water 1/2 cup at a time for a few additional minutes until they are soft.
• Use pure vanilla extract, and Trader Joe’s Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract is one of my favorites.
• SUPER important to let the apples cool completely before assembling the pies…If they’re warm, the pie crust will fall apart and be very hard (impossible) to work with.
• Use a jumbo muffin pan like this.  Please promise to heed all advice about baking spray 🙂
• I love Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Salted Caramel Sauce.  Scoop from the jar into a microwave-safe bowl and heat for a few seconds to spoon it over the pies.
• This crumb topping makes more cups than you need, but it freezes beautifully for several months. Use some to make a Summer Fruit Crisp.
• Vanilla ice cream is practically mandatory for all apple desserts in the world, but you already know that, right?
• A little pitcher of warm caramel sauce is nice to serve alongside a big platter of mini pies, let everyone pour it on themselves!
• Serve these mini caramel apple pies after a casual dinner of  Taco Skillet Bake, Turkey Burgers with Pepperjack and Cranberry, or Blackberry Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Recipes to Try:

Mini Strawberry Pies Recipe: Easy and delicious!

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: Beautiful and super fun too!

Roasted Nectarines with Caramel Sauce: Tastes as wonderful as it sounds

Cantaloupe with Ice Cream: And most importantly, caramel sauce too!

Apple Upside Down Cake: One of my very favorite cakes, SO good!

Waffles with Spiced Apples: Great year-round, these are DELICIOUS

If you’ve made Mini Caramel Apple Pies or any recipe on Studio Delicious, leave a recipe rating and tell me all about it in the comments below!

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This post was updated in October, 2021 with new text and instructions.