Easy Mini Apple Pie Recipe in Muffin Tin
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
An easy mini apple pie recipe in your muffin tin. With a simple sugar cookie crust, a quick homemade apple filling, a drizzle of caramel, and a buttery streusel topping. A bit like apple crisp in cookie cups!
Making mini apple pies in your muffin time is time-saving and perfect for smaller gatherings or portion control!
I enjoy giving precise details in my recipe posts to lead my readers through any questions. If you’re just here for the printable recipe, feel free to click “Jump to Recipe” right under the title of this post, and you’ll head straight there!
Why You Will Love this Mini Apple Pie Recipe
- Common Ingredients – The three main components of the recipe share most of their ingredients, the most common being brown sugar, flour, butter, and warm spices.
- Portion Control – Great for any time you are craving a little classic apple pie.
- YUM – With authentic cinnamon sugar apples, a buttery mini apple pie recipe.
Simple Ingredients Apple Crisp Cookie Cups
Ingredients, directions and nutritional information in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.
Quick Apple Pie Filling
- Butter | Butter adds to the silky texture of the apples.
- Apples | I prefer green and subtly tart Granny Smith apples, but others, like honey crisp, gala apples, or your favorite apple variety, will also work.
- Brown sugar | Balance the tart green apple with light brown sugar. If desired, use dark brown sugar for a more molasses flavor.
- Spices | Warm the overall taste of the filling with ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
Fresh Tip
- If peeling and slicing your apples ahead of time, squeeze a little fresh lemon juice and toss to coat to keep them from turning brown.
Sugar Cookie Crust for Mini Apple Pies
- Butter | Use real butter for the most tender sugar cookie crust.
- Brown Sugar | Adjust the sweetness by adding more or less light brown sugar.
- Egg | I use large eggs in my baking; bring to room temperature.
- Vanilla | I love pure vanilla extract, or if preferred, use almond extract (just ¼ teaspoon) or bourbon vanilla.
- All-Purpose Flour | I like to use organic unbleached flour in my baking.
- Salt | Bring out the sweet flavors of the crust with a contrasting pinch of kosher salt.
Crumble Streusel Topping
- Butter | The butter will bind your streusel together, start with it soft and then refrigerate to firm it back up so it doesn’t melt into your apples.
- Flour | Use regular or gluten-free flour if needed.
- Brown sugar | Use light or dark brown sugar, depending on your preference.
- Cinnamon | A must-use spice in your individual apple pies
- Caramel sauce | Try making homemade salted caramel bourbon sauce!
How to Make Individual Caramel Apple Pies
Step 1 | Preheat and Prep
Begin by preheating the oven to 350° F (175° C), then spray a 12-cup cupcake or muffin tin with cooking spray.
Fresh Tips
- Make removal easy by generously spraying the pan with baking spray, avoiding paper liners. During testing, things stuck to paper liners. Silicone cupcake liners might work better.
Step 2 | Mix the crumble topping
Use a pastry blender or your hands to mix butter, cinnamon, flour, and light brown sugar in a separate small bowl, making the delicious crumble topping for your mini apple pies. Place crumb topping in fridge while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Step 3 | Make the apple mixture
Melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Add small pieces of apples, brown sugar, and spices to the butter and cook over medium heat for about three minutes.
Once the apples are tender, remove the filling ingredients from the heat and set aside for later. May be made ahead of time and cooled until ready to assemble.
Step 4 | Combine crust ingredients
Then, beat the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until they are light and fluffy 2-3 minutes. Add the room-temperature egg and vanilla, beating slightly. Next, add the flour, salt, and mix until just combined.
Step 5 | Assemble the mini apple pies
Spoon two tablespoons of the crust batter into each cupcake tin cup and press with fingers or the back of a spoon to form the crust, then add two heaping teaspoons of the apple pie filling mixture.
Finally, lightly drizzle a couple of teaspoons of caramel sauce on the apples and sprinkle the tops with the buttery crumble mixture.
Step 6 | Bake, cool, and serve!
Next, transfer the muffin tin of mini apple pies into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the tops of the pies are a light golden brown.
Carefully remove the muffin tin from the oven and let the dessert cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then, loosen the mini pies by gently wedging a butter knife or tablespoon between the edge of the pies and the tin. Remove the warm apple pies and move them to a plate.
Finally, it’s time to serve these delicious mini desserts! Enjoy with a creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream and an extra drizzle of rich caramel!
Fresh Tips
- Don’t overfill the muffin cups; removing the treats will be challenging.
- Slice the apple pieces into small chunks of the same size to ensure even and thorough cooking.
Don’t you love it when a classic dessert is made mini? Not only are they cuter than ever, but they are just the right size for serving a crowd.
Try these adorable Chocolate French Silk Pies, gooey and warm Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookies, or mini King Cakes easily made with crescent rolls for more delightful mini desserts like these little pies.
Variations & Substitutions
Gluten-Free Mini Apple Pie Recipe
Swap the all-purpose flour for a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour (I like this one). Feel free to use almond flour or oat flour too.
Salted Caramel Apple Pies
Add a pinch of kosher salt to the topping mixture, then sprinkle the tops of the pies with flaky sea salt after drizzling with the caramel when you’re ready to serve. You can also buy a salted caramel sauce and use it instead of classic caramel.
Lattice Crusted Mini Apple Pie
Make a little more sugar cookie dough, roll out the dough and slice strips of cookie dough, then weave creating a lattice the top of the mini pies.
Mini Apple Pies with Flaky Classic Crust
Use store-bought pie crust (or homemade pie crust) instead of the sugar cookie crust for a more traditional take on the muffin tin apple pies. Roll out the flaky pie crust on a lightly floured surface, use a round cookie cutter, and press into muffin tins.
Recommended Tools
- I love these Muffin Tins – made in the USA!
- This pastry cutter makes quick work of the streusel.
Frequently Asked Questions
When you use apples for baked goods, the type will affect the overall texture and flavor. Crisper apples and slightly tart apples work better for apple pie, preventing the filling from being overly soft and mushy.
In this case, Granny Smith apples are a popular pick. Their sweet-tart flavor is also preferred to avoid an overly sweet dessert with a balance of flavors. Honeycrisp apples are another common choice for classic apple pie. Also, many people combine the two apple variations.
Choosing the right apple variety is the most critical part of the process. Overly ripe apples can lead to unwanted results. Cutting the apples evenly and the correct size also affects the end results.
Technically, cooking the apples before adding to the pie to bake depends on your preference. If you like crisp baked apples rather than soft ones, skip precooking the fruit. On the other hand, the more traditional way to make a classic apple pie is first to saute the fruit to release the sugars and produce a soft and sweet filling.
Typically, you would ‘blind-bake’ the pastry crust of an apple pie before adding the filling and baking again. This prevents a soggy crust. However, this recipe uses a sugar cookie crust and bakes well without pre-baking the crust in the muffin tins.
Storage Tips
Can you Keep Apple Pie on the Counter? Yes! The mini apple pies can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap for a couple of days.
Refrigerate – First, allow the leftover apple pies to cool completely, then store them in an airtight container for up to three days.
How to Freeze Mini Apple Pies – This dessert recipe also freezes well. Start by placing the cooled pies on a tray or cookie sheet to freeze, then remove them from the freezer and move them to a freezer-safe bag or container to store. Before serving, let the pies thaw overnight in the fridge.
Reheating Leftover Pies – Once thawed, the pies can be warmed up in the microwave for 30 seconds or in the oven set at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes.
What to Serve with Mini Muffin Pan Apple Pies
For picture-perfect pies, be sure not to overfill the muffin tin!
Best Drinks to Serve with Apple Pie
Enjoy these mini apple pies with a delicious drink! You would love it with a White Hot Chocolate, this Christmas morning chai, and these great drinks:
Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail
This Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail recipe will warm your soul on these chilly autumn evenings. Fresh apple butter, classic apple cider, rich vanilla, and orange flavors beautifully blend with bourbon's sweet and bitter notes.
Hot Buttered Rum
Hot Buttered Rum is a soul warming winter cocktail! Rich and buttery, this delicious batter with butter, sugar, ice cream, nutmeg, and cinnamon is a classic American drink.
More favorite apple recipes
You are going to love these apple recipes too!
Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing {& Marinade}
A simple recipe for Apple Cider Vinaigrette dressing, 5 minutes is all it takes! Made with simple ingredients, yielding extraordinary flavor. With zest apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, a bright citrus flair with orange juice and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. What I love the most about this dressing is it also doubles as a marinade!
Easy Instant Pot Apple Butter Recipe {Low Sugar}
This velvety and sweet Instant Pot Apple Butter recipe is perfect with all the fall flavors and warm spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice – it's low sugar too. Using an instant pot, your cooking process is finished in a fraction of the time, making it a great gift!
Easy Apple Pecan Chicken Salad with Tarragon
Classic Apple Pecan Chicken salad will become one of your favorite go-to chicken salad recipes. Loaded with must-have crunchies like apples, buttery pecans, shallots, and celery; then lightly dressed in a bright lemon, tarragon mayonnaise dressing.
More Fun Twists on Classic Apple Pie
- Gluten-Free Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
- Old Fashioned Apple Crisp- Gluten-Free Option
- Air Fryer Apple Crisp Recipe- Low Fat, No Refined Sugar
- Easy Caramel Apple Dump Cake Recipe
- Amazing Apple Crumb Cake
I hope you loved this Easy Mini Apple Pie recipe — if you did, would you share your creation on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest? And be sure to comment below!
Like this recipe?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and comment below the recipe!
Easy Mini Apple Pie Recipe in Muffin Tin
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Pie Filling
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1 1/2 cups apples, peeled, chopped same size. I used Granny Smith, but Honeycrisp would also work well
- 2 tablespoons light Brown Sugar, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
Sugar Cookie Crust
- 1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
- ½ -1 cup light Brown Sugar, packed (for more sweet, add more)
- 1 large Egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose Flour, I used unbleached (replace with gluten-free flour if preferred)
- Pinch Kosher Salt
Streusel Crumb Topping
- 3 tablespoons Butter, softened
- 1/2 cup all-purpose Flour, or replace with GF flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ – 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Caramel Sauce , for drizzling
Instructions
Make Streusel Crumble Topping
- In a small bowl, mix the butter, cinnamon, flour and brown sugar together with a pastry blender or by hand. Store in fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Make Apple Pie Filling
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175° C), and spray a standard cupcake/muffin tin with cooking spray. Do not use paper liners because they will stick. If using silicone liners, spray well.
- Make quick apple pie filling; in a small sauce pan, melt the butter and add the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat until apples are tender. Remove apples to cool slightly.
Make the Sugar Cookie Crust
- In a mixing bowl, cream (mix well) the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour and salt and mix until just combined. Set aside.
Assemble the Mini Caramel Apple Pies
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of cookie dough into muffin tins, spreading with the back of spoon, slightly up the sides of the muffin tin. Then add 1-2 heaping teaspoons of apple pie filling.
- Drizzle 1-2 teaspoons of caramel on the apples, then sprinkle the top with streusel crumble topping.
- Place mini apple pies in the preheated oven and bake for 14-16 minutes or until tops are slightly golden brown.
- Cool for 15 minutes in the cupcake pan. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges before removing and then a spoon to ease them onto a plate. Serve warm, and enjoy with ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce!
✱ Kathleen’s Tips
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Fresh Cooky is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Kathleen Pope
Recipe Innovator | Food Photographer | Food Writer
Hi, I’m Kathleen Pope. Here at The Fresh Cooky you will find easy, mostly from-scratch, trusted recipes for all occasions. From speedy dinners to tasty desserts, with easy step-by-step instructions. I am here to help teach you how to make mouthwatering recipes without spending hours in the kitchen. Read more about Kathleen here.
Have you tried this with store bought sugar cookie dough?
I have not, but it really should work. Try it and let me know!
I love this recipe and plan to make it for my daughter’s rehearsal dinner dessert board. Do they freeze well? And if I make them in muffin papers, do you think the paper will peel away easily? Thanks!
Hi Hettie, congratulations first off. They do not peel away well from muffin papers. I tested that and because of the caramel they stick pretty badly.
Maybe if you purchase more of a parchment non-stick style cup they might work? I’d say make a test batch, trying some different papers. And also try freezing them to make sure you like how they thaw. Let me know how it goes.
These are the ultimate mini apple pies. The flavors are so yummy, and I love that they can be easily made in a muffin tin. That drizzle of caramel sauce takes them over the top!
Thank you so much, Eliza!