While I am quite a fan of free stuff, I am not a moocher. I’m a lot more interested in give-and-take than just take, take. take. There are probably a few people in my life who would beg to differ, but for the most part, I try to practice gratitude.
As a token of my appreciation for the apple tree and truck to transport it in, I baked a few desserts. Since I was dreaming of homemade homegrown apple pies at the time, it seemed that there was only one option: miniature apple pies.
I took inspiration from several recipes that I enjoy for these little treats. Here’s what I came up with:
Billie’s Oil Pie Crust:
3 c flour
4 T sugar
1 t salt
1 c vegetable oil
4 T milk
Mix all ingredients together. Press into pie pans. Form edges.
I used this recipe for 6 mini pies (approximately 4.5 inches in diameter). I usually use half this recipe for one regular-sized pie.
Filling:
5 large granny smith apples (peeled and diced to 1/2″)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 flour
3/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla extract
juice from 2 limes
Topping:
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/3 c butter
Mix all filling ingredients and then put in the crusts. Bake pies at 350 for 15 minutes.
Combine topping ingredients in bowl of a food processor and pulse until size of peas or use a pastry cutter to make topping by hand.
Add Topping to the pies and bake 30 more minutes.
Serve warm.
My friends who tried the pies seemed to like them quite well (one even described it quite graphically… yikes! and another offered to let me borrow his truck everyday in exchange for a pie). To be honest, I personally think they need to be tweaked a bit for next time. Feel free to try them as is or make these modifications:
• Use 1/8 c flour in the filling instead of 1/4
• Use this recipe for 8 crusts (not six) or alternatively use 3/4 of the dough
• Use brown sugar instead of white for the topping.
