Mini Healthy Apple Pie's

I love apple desserts. Apple crumble, apple pie, baked apple, apple cake, whatever it is, it’s my weakness!

A few weekends ago I created this little gem of a recipe and to be honest, I’m shocked i’ve kept it from you all this long. It was my first time making healthy pastry and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Alas, it was a success!

These mini apple pie’s actually remind me of the Poptarts I used to have when I was a child – minus the chocolate. I love the crust on these pies and the warm apple and cinnamon filling inside is just something else. In fact, it’s the same filling from my Healthy Apple, Pear & Date Crumble recipe. I think really i’m just a little skeptical to say goodbye to winter and it’s amazing seasonal baking. Who can say bye to cinnamon, ginger and all spice? Not me!

These mini parcels also means you can eat a whole apple pie to yourself! Hah. Or, store them in the fridge throughout the week and have them as a snack during the day. That’s exactly what i’ve been doing with all my bakes recently! The fibre content in these mini apple pies means that they’re the perfect little treat to snack on and leave you feeling full (but not to full) until your next meal.

So I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. I certainly will not be giving up the apple crumbles or pies just yet. But as spring has finally sprung (yay) i’ll definitely be whipping out some easter recipes next week for you all. So, if you’ve got any ideas/requests then please, do send them my way! Lemon cake, hot cross buns, cinnamon buns? What’s a girl to choose??

Anyway, here’s the recipe…

Ingredients

Pie pastry
200g wholemeal flour
3 tbsp xylitol (or other sugar sweetener)
1 tbsp fruit syrup
A pinch of salt
5 tbsp coconut oil
4 tbsp cold water

Filling
2 cooking apples peeled and diced
1 cup pitted dates diced into small cubes
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp sukrin gold
2 tsp xylitol (or other sugar sweetener)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Begin my preheating your oven to gas mark 6.

In a bowl add the flour, xieytol and salt and mix together. In the middle of the flour, create a well and add the coconut oil.

Stir the mixture together until a crumble comes together and then slowly add the water. Once added, mix everything together until a ball is formed.

Wrap the ball of dough in cling film and leave in the fridge for 40-60 minutes.

Now you can make your apple filling. In a pan add all your ingredients and bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes. The apples should be soft but not soggy. Once done, set aside.

Remove your dough from the fridge and on a floured surface, roll out the dough a cm or two thick (not too thin otherwise it will break) and cut out your pastry in circles. I used a glass cup for this.

With half of your circles, add a heaped tbsp of filling and place on top of the circles. You will then need to another circle to place on top of your filling circle. Press down the edges with a fork to close the pie. Repeat this process until all circles are used.

On top of each pie, slit a cross along the top and brush the top with egg wash or olive oil. This creates a golden look.

On a lined baking tray, place your mini pies and pop them in the middle of the oven to bake for 20 minutes/until golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. These are best served warm with ice-cream or vanilla yoghurt. Mmmm, mmmm.

Enjoy and save me one!

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