Tis the season for friends and family to gather for merriment, and these little pies make a perfect “finger sweet.” These small morsels of flakey crust pockets filled with apple bits add a sweet touch to a table of finger foods. They are quick to prepare and can be made ahead to smooth the busyness of a season of entertaining. Of course, sourcing fresh pie apples from the Saratoga Springs Farmers’ Market always will give the best flavor.
Ingredients (Makes 8 mini pies. Double or triple this recipe for larger gatherings. Items marked with an asterisk* are available at the market.)
1 refrigerated pie pastry or homemade dough for one pie
2 medium apples*
2 tsp. lemon juice
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger
⅛ tsp. nutmeg
2 tbsp. butter
1 egg*, lightly beaten
1-2 tbsp. granulated sugar
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make pie dough or take out prepared dough from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
2. Peel, core and dice apples. Put apple chunks into a bowl and toss with lemon juice.
3. In a small bowl mix brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together and pour over apple chunks, thoroughly coating the apples with the sugar mixture.
4. Roll pastry dough onto a solid flowered surface into a rectangle approximately 8 by 16 inches. Cut into eight 4-inch squares.
4. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the apple mixture onto the center of each pastry square. Top the filling with a dab of butter.
5. Brush edges of the dough squares with the beaten egg. Fold the corners of the dough over the apple filling so the corners meet; pinch to seal closed. Place the filled apple squares on an ungreased baking sheet.
6. Brush the squares with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm, or cool on a wire rack for later use.
Hints: Don’t over fill overfill. If you have more filling than squares, save to use as a topping for Argyle Cheese Factory yogurt or Battenkill Valley Creamery ice cream; or top the excess apples with Homestead Artisans crème frâiche.
A version of this recipe appears in this week’s edition of Saratoga Today.
