The ADORABLE Easy Mini Dutch Apple Pies

The Thanksgiving dessert table is a magnificent sight, but it often presents a logistical challenge. Cutting and serving a beautiful pie can lead to messy, uneven slices, and, let’s be honest, trying to juggle a piece of pie and a dollop of ice cream while mingling is an art form few have mastered.

I decided I wanted a solution that maintained the tradition of apple pie but eliminated the stress of serving.

That is how I landed on these Easy Mini Dutch Apple Pies.

This recipe is sheer genius in its simplicity and functionality. We take all the best elements of a classic Dutch apple pie—the buttery bottom crust, the warm, spiced apple filling, and the irresistible, crunchy streusel topping—and bake them in individual muffin tins. The result is the most ADORABLE little pie that is perfectly portioned and easy to serve.

This recipe is a must-pin for anyone searching Thanksgiving recipes because it solves a major serving problem while adding a huge charm factor. If you’re looking for the ultimate individual desserts that still feel like a traditional holiday treat, this simple apple recipe is your answer.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This recipe is a powerful holiday traffic driver because it takes a beloved classic and updates it for modern entertaining, appealing directly to searches for elegant and practical easy holiday baking solutions.

The Charm of Individual Desserts

The main draw of these Easy Mini Dutch Apple Pies is the portion control and presentation. No messy slices! Each guest receives their own charming mini-pie, perfectly baked and ready for a scoop of ice cream. This makes plating simple and cleanup minimal, which is exactly what people want when searching for elegant individual desserts.

Stress-Free Easy Holiday Baking

We utilize a simple pie crust and a straightforward streusel topping, eliminating the need for complicated lattice work or fluting. By baking them in muffin tins, the crust bakes up quickly and evenly. This recipe minimizes the technical difficulty, allowing even novice bakers to achieve a professional-looking Thanksgiving dessert.

Perfect Make-Ahead Potential

Like a classic apple pie, these mini pies are excellent for preparing ahead of time. You can assemble the entire pie (crust, filling, and topping) a day in advance, keep them covered in the refrigerator, and bake them just before serving. This flexibility makes them the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving recipes timeline.

The Superior Streusel Topping

The “Dutch” part of the pie is the topping—a rich, buttery streusel made with flour, butter, and cinnamon. This topping bakes into a crunchy, golden crust that contrasts beautifully with the soft, warm apple filling. It’s the ultimate cozy apple recipe textural contrast.

Ingredients and Instructions: The Mini-Pie Components

This recipe has three simple parts: a basic crust, a spiced apple filling, and the essential streusel topping. Getting the filling right is key—you want tender apples, not crunchy ones.

The Streusel Topping:

The ADORABLE Easy Mini Dutch Apple Pies

These adorable Mini Dutch Apple Pies are baked in muffin tins and filled with warm, cinnamon-sugar apples and a buttery crumble topping. They’re perfectly portioned for parties, fall gatherings, or a cozy dessert with ice cream!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 12 mini pies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 320

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 pie crust homemade or store-bought
• 1/3 cup butter
• 5 cups peeled and chopped apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour for streusel topping
• 1/4 teaspoon salt for streusel topping
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar for streusel topping
• 1/4 cup brown sugar for streusel topping
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon for streusel topping
• 1/3 cup butter melted, for streusel topping

Equipment

• muffin tin
• Rolling Pin
• mixing bowls
• saucepan
• measuring cups and spoons
• spatula
• knife

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll out pie crust and cut into 12 circles to fit a standard muffin tin. Press crust circles into each muffin cup and chill while preparing filling.
2. In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, honey, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla extract. Cook another 4–5 minutes until the mixture thickens and apples are soft. Remove from heat to cool slightly.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, sugars, cinnamon, and melted butter until crumbly. This will be your streusel topping.
4. Spoon apple filling evenly into the chilled crusts, then top generously with streusel topping.
5. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully removing.
6. Serve warm, optionally topped with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Notes

Tips: Use pre-cooked apple filling for perfectly soft apples every time. These mini pies freeze beautifully—store in an airtight container and reheat before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or coffee for the ultimate fall treat.

The Basic Instructions:

1. Prep Crust: Roll out the pie dough. Use a large round cookie cutter (about 3.5 inches) or a glass to cut out 12 circles. Gently press each circle into the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin tin. Prick the bottoms with a fork.
2. Make Filling: In a bowl, toss the diced apples with brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice until coated.
3. Make Topping: In a separate small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and oats. Cut in the cold butter using a fork or pastry blender until coarse crumbs form.
4. Assemble: Spoon the apple filling into the crusts, mounding it slightly (the apples shrink as they bake). Sprinkle the streusel topping generously over the apples.
5. Bake: Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25–30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the streusel is golden brown.
6. Cool & Serve: Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully lifting them out. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Step by Step: Mastering the ADORABLE Mini Pies

The secret to perfectly baked Easy Mini Dutch Apple Pies is preventing the apples from being crunchy and ensuring the crust and streusel are golden-brown without burning. My early batches had raw apples; I learned that dicing the fruit small is the key to perfect tenderness.

Here is the detailed, human-written guide to mastering this spectacular holiday baking recipe:

Step 1: Dicing the Apples Small

The biggest mistake with mini pies is using large apple slices. In the small cooking time, large slices remain crunchy. For these individual desserts, you must dice the apples into $1/4$-inch to $1/2$-inch pieces. This small size guarantees the apples will become tender and soft by the time the crust is perfectly baked.

Step 2: Blind Baking the Crust (Optional but Recommended)

For a truly crisp bottom crust, blind-bake the empty crusts in the muffin tin for 5–7 minutes before adding the filling. This is a crucial step if you are prone to a “soggy bottom.” After 5 minutes, remove the crusts, add the filling and streusel, and proceed with the main baking step.

Step 3: The Streusel Texture

When making the streusel, use cold butter and work quickly to combine it with the dry ingredients until it forms coarse, pea-sized crumbs. If you overwork the streusel, it will melt together and bake into a hard, solid crust instead of a crumbly topping. The coarse crumbs are what give the ADORABLE pies their signature Dutch style.

Step 4: Shielding the Edges

Because the muffin tin transfers heat quickly, the edges of the pie crust can sometimes brown too fast. If your edges are turning dark before the streusel is golden, loosely tent the muffin tin with a piece of aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. This ensures the streusel has time to fully brown while preventing the crust edges from burning.

Step 5: The Crucial Cooling and Release

Do not try to remove the pies immediately from the hot tin! Let them sit for a full 10 minutes. This allows the butter to set and the sticky, bubbling juices to cool and solidify slightly. Run a small butter knife gently around the edge of each mini-pie before carefully using a spoon or offset spatula to lift them out. This patience ensures a clean, perfect individual dessert presentation.

Variations, Serving, and Storage FAQs

This core Easy Mini Dutch Apple Pies recipe is highly adaptable and can be used for various fruits, making it a versatile addition to your Thanksgiving recipes lineup.

Delicious Variations to Try:

• Pecan Pie Mini Pies: Substitute the apple filling with a mixture of $1/2$ cup corn syrup, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 egg, and 1 cup of chopped pecans. Omit the streusel topping.
• Cranberry Apple Pies: Substitute $1/3$ of the diced apples with fresh or frozen cranberries for a tart, festive flavor. Add an extra tablespoon of brown sugar to the filling to balance the tartness.
• Salted Caramel Drizzle: Drizzle the finished, warm mini pies with a touch of high-quality salted caramel sauce just before serving.
• Gluten-Free Crumbles: Use a gluten-free pie crust mix and substitute the flour in the streusel topping with a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend for a gluten-free easy holiday baking option.

Serving Suggestions:

These charming individual desserts are perfect for any holiday situation:

1. A La Mode: Serve each warm mini-pie on a small plate with a single scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream on top.
2. Dessert Platter: Arrange the cooled pies on a three-tiered serving tray for a beautiful presentation.
3. Dipping Station: Offer small bowls of cinnamon-spiced whipped cream or bourbon caramel sauce alongside the pies for dipping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion: Your Most Charming Thanksgiving Dessert

The Easy Mini Dutch Apple Pies recipe is the perfect blend of cherished tradition and simple execution. It’s the ADORABLE individual desserts solution that removes all the stress from the holiday dessert service.

By mastering this simple apple recipe and the muffin-tin method, you free up your holiday to focus on guests, not messy pies.

Pin this charming easy holiday baking idea today and watch these mini pies delight your holiday table!