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YAY!! We made it to Friday!!!
And Friday means it’s time for PIE!
Oh heck yeah, I am more than ready!
So I feel like each and every post this week has been a million and one words long. I think since it’s Friday, I will keep it short and spare you guys all my mindless rambling and jump right into the pies.
The pies NEED to be chatted about. This is apple pie, but apple pie on a whole new level. I don’t know if you guys know this or not, but I think sweetened condensed milk is a magical little ingredient, it makes everything… perfection.
I always say, when in doubt, drizzle on some sweetened condensed milk. It will save any sweet recipe, I swear by it.
Believe it or not, I have had these mini apple pies in the back of my head for months now. Originally I was thinking about posting them in September, but they just seemed so perfect for Thanksgiving that I decided to wait. I know, craziness, but they really are the perfect Thanksgiving dessert. These cute little pies are hand-held, making them EASY for snacking on – before, during or after the big meal. Which we all know that come Thanksgiving Day, snacking is a huge must. It’s the one day of the year when you can get away with eating everything presented to you… bring on the stretchy pants… right?!?!
AND not only did I make these little pies with sweetened condensed milk, but I also went a step farther and covered them in cinnamon sugar
Ya, I went there. It may seem like a lot of sweet for an apple pie, but I promise it’s all good.
Although, apparently everyone in the family has cavities at the moment….ooops. My younger brother actually just had a root canal on Wednesday. I promise though, it had nothing to do with sugar bugs on his teeth. Apparently he broke his front tooth when he was a kid and the tooth is now infected. His whole face has been killing him for the last week. He finally called our family dentist (and my dad’s college roommate) back in Ohio, who told him that he thought he needed a root canal. Long story short, Kai went to see a dentist in LA (cause that’s where her goes to school). The dentist then confirmed that he did indeed need a root canal. Kai was in so much pain that he did the procedure the same day. It was also the same day my dad was getting his cavities filled and my mom had hers done on Monday!
Man. I don’t know what’s going on here, but the Gerard’s are having teeth issues and I’m up next. Luckily I am all good on the cavity front, but if you remember, my wisdom teeth NEED to come out ASAP. Soooo, I have that to look forward to in the new year.
yay? 🙁
But ahh anyway, these cute little pies!
They may not be awesome for your teeth, but they will surely make you the happiest person around… and that I know from personal experience. Here’s the deal, these pies are pretty basic and simple. Think apple pies, but moister, sweeter and just well…better. It’s hard to explain, but the caramelized condensed milk adds the most awesome, buttery, sweet, caramel flavor. I pretty much just adore it.
The first step is to slowly start caramelizing the condensed milk. This does take some time and patience, but it’s easy. You just pour the condensed milk into a saucepan and simmer over low heat, stirring often until it’s light golden in color. See, simple, just takes a little time, but while that’s happening, you should be caramelizing the apples on the stove. Why cook them before baking?
While for one, since these are mini pies, the baking time is much less than if it were a traditional apple pie. Two, the apple release juices as they cook and we want to cook those out before we bake the pies so that the pies don’t turn out all soggy.
Once you have those two steps done, just make my favorite pie dough, assemble the pies, chill the pies and then bake. If you wanted to make things easier, you can absolutely use store-bought pie dough OR pie pastry. If you decide to go the store-bought route, I personally would go with puff pastry. It’s kind of my favorite and it’s EVERYTHING when paired with apple pie. Just saying.
Once the pies come out of the oven, you brush them with just a little butter and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon sugar…wow, that excites me just typing the words!
YUM.
Obviously, I like these bestest (my word) warm and straight out of the oven. I mean, it really doesn’t get better. All you need is a scoop of ice cream and a cold glass of milk. OR, maybe a boozy creamy drink? Like a Bailey’s spiked coffee or a hot chocolate!? Ohh, I bet that would be good, you should maybe try that.
Remember, it’s Thanksgiving.
Anything goes!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Hooray for mini pies… and thank God for November. 🙂
PS. I just realized I said I was going to keep this post short….sorry, that was so not short. I guess I just can’t help myself, I like to ramble.
These look beautiful! We’ll be making them this week!!
Yes! I hope you love these pies, Peggy! xTieghan
Hi! Love HBH and can’t wait to make these tonight! I tried searching for it but didn’t see it anywhere… do the apples need to be peeled? Thanks so much!
Hi Nellie! No, the apples do not need to be peeled! I hope you love this recipe and please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
hi! I made the pie and its in the fridge right now, waiting to be baked! I have so much apple and condensed milk filling left over.. am I supposed to have this much left over? Did I do something wrong?
Hi Erika,
You shouldn’t have that much leftover, but you can always make more! I hope you love the recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hello!!! Can I use canned coconut milk or cream of coconut milk as a substitute for the condensed milk?
Hi Taylor,
I would use condensed coconut milk, that should work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Hello!! Is there a way to make this recipe as one big pie instead?
This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it out, Thank you!
Hey Brittney! I would bake everything together in a 9-inch pie plate. I bet that will be awesome. Great idea! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Looks amazing! Can’t wait to make these. I have so many apples and want to keep some of these in the freezer? Would that work?
Hi Alyssa! Yes, freeze the pies works so well! Perfect for an easy dessert at any time! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Is that 1 ounce of condensed milk or one 14 ounce can of milk?
Hi there! You need 1 (14 ounce) can of condensed milk. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Can you make these pies a day in advance?
Yes, you can! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
I made these on Thanksgiving day and they looked the same, but all of the caramelized condensed milk oozed out, and I was really left with just the apple pies with no filling. Not sure what happened but I was so disappointed.
Oh no! So sorry the filling leaked out. Did you seal the pies well? that is all I can think that might have happened. So sorry for the trouble. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope I can help. Thanks! 🙂
Hi! I was really excited to try this recipe, but when I simmered my condensed milk, at first it thinned out, but then it started getting really thick and by the time it cooled it was like a hard candy… I am not really sure where I got wrong, could you help? (But the rest turned out fine!!)
Hi! I was really excited to try this recipe, but when I simmered my condensed milk, at first it thinned out, but then it started getting really thick and by the time it cooled it was like a hard candy… I am not really sure where I got wrong, could you help? (But the rest turned out fine!!)
HI! I am sorry for the trouble. It sounds like you just simmered the milk a little too long. Try cooking the milk for less time next time. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Please let me know if you have other questions. Thanks! 🙂
Hi!! These look so LOVELY. I tried to make them, & they were almost perfect but they were a little dry. Do you have any idea why that is? I think I was nervous about rolling my dough to thin, so maybe the crust to filling ratio was off/not enough filling. Cant wait to try again as practice makes perfect
HI! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! It is hard to say why they might have been dry without knowing exactly how you made them. Maybe try rolling the dough a little thinner so you bake them in the oven for less time. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
I made the hand pies today but it was not actually a success. I ended up with way more apple than I needed, and I wish you would have written down in what size you chop the apples because mine were apparently too big. The dough had barely any stretch so it kept on tearing whenever I tried to put the top part on the pies. I hope that for the next recipe you can include the thickness of the dough because as a European reader I do not own a 16 inch round and even though I used a ruler to measure everything I have lots of dough left. I have them in the oven now but I am scared they are not going to be good 🙁
Hi Hannah, I am so sorry for the trouble!! the dough should be about 1/4 inch thick and the apples diced. Please let me know if there is any other way I can help and I do hope they turned out for you. Please let me know. Thank so much! Tieghan
Can you tell me if I use puff pastry how many of the sheets would I use for the circles since they are much lighter?
HI! I have not made these with puff pastry so I can’t say for sure, but I think around 4 sheets. Let me know if you have more questions. Hope you love these! Thanks!
How much in advance can I bake these and still taste yummy?
I would say a day or possibly two for best results!
I baked these according to the recipe and they were great, plus are pretty darned cute. I took them to a group of young guys at work and they were a big, big hit. Thanks for the recipe – you earned me points with my co-workers. I will keep this one in my permanent collection.