Lovin' From the Oven

Mini Apple Pies

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Normally, I’m not much of a pie maker because of all the time it takes to make one. Not only that, but it’s such a hassle to eat one. You need a knife, forks, plates, plenty of napkins, and lots of patience to not make a huge mess. That’s why when Chef’s Choice asked if I’d like to try their PetitePie™ Maker Model 860 by EdgeCraft, I was more than thrilled to give it a shot. It makes four 4″ individual pies with “Baking” and “Ready” LED lights to let you know what’s going on inside.

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Baking individual pies would be a lot easier than making one huge one. They’re also a lot easier to eat; People can just pick up one and put it on their plate. There’s no portioning or cutting involved.

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Each pie mold has a built in crimper that will seal your pie together, making your job a lot easier. It’s all about efficiency, folks.

Since I had plenty of Honeycrisp apples to use, I decided to go with a classic and make mini apple pies.

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The machine is kind of brilliant. It comes with a multi-use pie cutter that will cut both the bottom and top shapes of the pie crust for you. There’s no guessing involved. Then, this other gadget presses your pastry into the mold so you get the perfect fit without burning your fingers.

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This was my first time ever using a machine like this, so I tried to follow the directions in their little booklet as much as possible.

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On my first run, I burnt the edges of the pies a little bit. I think I filled them with too much apple mixture liquid and baked them for too long. The instructions said to bake the pie per the directions on the recipe, but the machine cooks it a lot faster. It makes sense… I mean, would you bake mini loaves for as long as you would a big loaf? Absolutely not. The little ones always cook faster.

Even though I hardly make pies, every baker knows to score the top of a pie crust! Actually, looking back on it, maybe  I shouldn’t have done that in the machine. That was where apple liquid came out of and burnt on the sides.

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Despite the mess, it was a charm cleaning up. Everything slid right off of the non-stick surface, including the burnt pieces. I was amazed at how easy it was to wipe up.

I loved how simple the interface of the PetitePie maker is. There are only three buttons: two to adjust the cooking time and the third to start/pause. That’s it.

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I will definitely be taking all my notes and using them again on my next round. Perhaps I’ll try making a pie without a top crust and see how that goes. You could even use it to make savory pies instead of sweet. The possibilities are endless!

You can find the new Chef’sChoice® PetitePie™ Maker Model 860 at major department stores, mail-order catalogs, and specialty stores for $79.99.

As for this apple pie recipe, it’s simple. Toss some apples with sugar and cinnamon, throw them in a pie crust, and let it bake.

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Mini Apple Pies

Ingredients

  • 1 package pie crust dough
  • 4 small apples (I used honeycrisp), thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat your PetitePie Maker as directed.
  2. In a mixing bowl, toss the apples with the sugars and cinnamon. Set aside.
  3. Cut out the bottom piece of the pie dough and gently press it into the pan. Cut out the tops as well.
  4. Fill each mold with about 1/2 cup apples mixture. Cover with the remaining pie dough. Score the top.
  5. Tightly close the PetitePie Maker and set the timer for 30 minutes.
https://lovintheoven.com/mini-apple-pies/

I was sent product to review, but the opinions expressed are my own.

Day 9: Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

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Day 9 of my 12 days of cookies: Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars. My mouth salivates just saying the name. Snickerdoodles are just meant to be with pumpkin pie. It’s a match made in heaven. I know this isn’t a cookie, but I’ve always thrown a bar in for the past two years of my 12 days of cookies, so I had to stay true to tradition.
These bars were utterly divine. However, I do have a bone to pick; The snickerdoodle layer didn’t quite bake thoroughly in the middle of the pan even thought the edges were set. When I make them again, I’ll try baking the snickerdoodle layer alone for about 5 minutes or so before throwing on the pumpkin layer.
The white chocolate on top was totally not necessary and didn’t really add much to the bar itself, so you can feel free to omit that if you want.
I’m exhausted from baking already and it’s not even Christmas, yet! Whew! I almost forgot how much work it is to bake non stop all day. I’m spending tonight at home by the fireplace, watching Avatar with the bestie… only to start the whole baking process again in two days! This recipe is from Beantown Baker.

Snickerdoodle layer:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pumpkin Pie Layer:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 stick butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Topping

  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Drizzle
  • 1 oz white chocolate, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch pan.

To make snickerdoodle layer:

  1. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
  2. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

To make pumpkin pie filling:

  1. In a mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.
  2. Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.
  3. Bake for 33-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely. They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer. The bars that are closer to the edges of the pan will be more firm.
  4. After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it’s completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.
  5. Store in a covered container.

Apple Crumble Pie

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My little sister has been nagging me for the past couple of days to make her apple pie, apple crisp, apple crumble, baked apples, or apple turnovers… basically, anything with baked apples. I’d been away at school and so busy figuring out my schedule, buying books, getting prepared for my classes, reading, etc.. (First week of the quarter just started for me) that I really didn’t have any time to bake. As the weekend came, however, I finally gave into it (because I was secretly craving an apple dessert as well) and made this apple crumble pie. To me, pie’s just ok… but make it with a crumble top and I’m sold! I’d much prefer a streusel topping rather than a flaky crust top. This was delicious and definitely hit the spot.

Let the pie cool a bit before cutting it, otherwise all the juices will leak out and you’ll freak out about baking such a liquid-y pie. If you let the pie cool a bit before cutting, that juice will turn into more of a thick apple syrup, keeping the apples moist for storage. Also, I added a bit of cinnamon into the streusel topping for a little extra kick cause you can never have enough cinnamon with apples.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
  • 5 cups apples – peeled, cored and cut into thin pieces (I just diced mine and used about 6 large apples)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.) Arrange apple slices in unbaked pie shell. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
  2. Mix 1/4 cup white & brown sugar with flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Spoon mixture over apples.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and top is lightly browned

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