Dress up you holiday table by making these beautiful acorn, pumpkin, and leaf shaped Mini Thanksgiving Apple Pies. See how easy they are to make in this video tutorial.
You were all so excited at Halloween when I shared my tutorial for making Stuffed Pizza Skulls in a skull shaped baking pan. It was such an easy recipe and so many of you had fun making them for your parties and holiday dinners.
One of you suggested I try using the pan to make apple pies. Being Thanksgiving is coming up I figured I’d use a fall themed pan.
I found an Autumn Treats Pan by Nordic Ware. This sturdy baking pan has six cavities with two acorns, two leaves, and two pumpkins that all have an incredible amount of detail. It’s great for making mini cakes, muffins, or quick breads and it even worked perfectly for making these festive apple pies.
I had to experiment with a few things before I got this one right. I tried traditional pie dough, but it wasn’t flexible enough to drape into the pan. Then I used crescent rolls and just didn’t like the flavor. I finally decided upon puff pastry which worked perfectly.
Well, perfectly once I decided they looked best in their natural state. Originally, I tried to make them colorful using colored sugar which stuck to the pan and food coloring which just looked muddy once the pastry browned.
After all that playing around, the technique I used is about as easy as it could be. I took a short cut and used store bought puff pastry and a can of apple pie filling. You can make everything from scratch if you have lots of extra time, but I wanted to keep this project quick and easy knowing how much work goes into preparing Thanksgiving dinner.
If you make your own pie filling be sure to cook it on the stove for a while to soften the apples otherwise they will be a bit crunchy. These mini pies don’t bake long enough to fully cook fresh apples.
Check out this video to see just how easy these holiday dessert are to make.
Easy right?
Wouldn’t you love to have a nice platter of these to serve for Thanksgiving.
You can find items needed to make these Mini Thanksgiving Apple Pies on Amazon (affiliate links).
- flour for dusting
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 1 1/2 cups apple pie filling, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon water
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
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Dust a cutting board and rolling pin with flour.
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Un-fold the puff pastry sheet on the cutting board.
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Roll out the dough to about 12 inches by 14 inches.
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Cut the dough sheet into six squares.
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Drape one square over the pumpkin cavity in the baking pan.
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Wiggle the dough into the cavity leaving the excess to hang over the top edge.
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Spoon in about 1/4 cup of pie filling.
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Whisk together egg white and water to make an egg wash.
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Fold the excess dough over the pie filling brushing it with egg wash as needed for the pieces to stick together.
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Repeat.
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Brush egg wash over the tops of the dough and sprinkle sugar over top.
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Freeze for 15-20 minutes.
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Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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Bake pies for 20-26 minutes until the tops are deep golden brown.
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Remove pies from pan immediately.
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Let cool slightly before serving.
You might also like to make some of these other festive Thanksgiving recipes too.
Rice Krispie Treat Turkey Pops • Cheese Bread Leaves
Candy Filled Corn on the Cob Cookies • Chocolate Turkey Truffles
3-D Turkey Cake • Pilgrim Cupcakes
Candy Filled Corn on the Cob Cookies • Cheesy Crescent Roll Leaves
If you recreate these Mini Thanksgiving Apples Pies in Leaf, Acorn, and Pumpkin Shapes
be sure to link to this tutorial and send a picture to beth@hungryhappenings.com,
so I can share it in my Readers’ Gallery.
Be sure to check out all of my amazing Thanksgiving Recipes
Hi Beth!
I going to try those pie in apple Carmel and peach pie filling I hope it turns out good I’m making mine in the early morning because I’m traveling to my daughters on Thanksgiving will it still be OK if I cook them in the morning and eat them in the late afternoon or evening! Thank you for all the great recipes I’m really excited to try those pies have a happy Thanksgiving Chris
Thanks Chris,
Sounds delicious! Puff pastry is really flaky and crispy just out of the oven and I prefer to eat these right out of the oven, but they will still taste great several hours later. You can pop them in a warm oven to crisp them up just before serving. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your family enjoys these cute treats.
How long will these keep? Can you make these the day before and put in fridge? Concerned the pastry will get soggy if made the day before..
These are definitely best the day they are baked. I’ve reheated them after refrigerating some left overs but they definitely did not taste as good as the freshly baked pies.
Oh man…….how creative are those!!! I would never have seen that pan and though of something like this! As usual – you’re a genius. Everyone can have exactly as much pie as they want and it would be great on a buffet table.
Tavette – S. Fla.
Thanks Tavette, I am in love with making mini pies and meals using the Nordic Ware pans. They are great.
Hi Beth, cute idea. Do you think the silicone mold that I use for your cheese breads would work; I really do not need yet another baking dish, even one as cute as the one you used.
Yes, you can definitely use a silicone mold for this recipe. Just be a little more gentle when putting in the dough and filling. You don’t want your mold to bow out too much or your pies will have odd shapes. Have fun!!!
I wonder if store bought crust would work?
If you allow the crust to soften enough it might. Just be careful it doesn’t tear.
Such a great idea for those who want just a little bite of dessert after a big meal! Kids would really get a kick out of these too.
Thanks! They are really a great size dessert. I shared some with my friend’s kids and they loved them. 🙂
The little mini pies would be the perfect compliment to any Thanksgiving table, or anytime!
Thanks!
What a great way to use that pan!! LOVE it!
Thank you, I hope you give them a try. 🙂
I love it when you give us super simple desserts but WoW us at the same time!! These are awesome, Beth!
I’m so glad you appreciate it! Sometimes it hard for me to simplify things because I have so much fun decorating my treats and I don’t mind spending time but I love when I come up with something so easy that looks so great.