The Night Before Christmas Checklist Recipes

Thanksgiving is over everybody and guess what's next, Christmas! Today we are going to talk about foods that have to be on your checklist, which are crab cakes, pumpkin and meatball risotto, prime rib, min caramel apple pies and spiced apple cider, but today we are going to focus on the mini caramel apple pie.

Fruit pies have always been my favorite, especially apple. I enjoy the taste of caramel flavored ice-cream and syrup.
The mini caramel apple pie contains:
3 cups apples (peeled and diced, Jonathan or Granny Smith)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
1 egg white
1 package refrigerated pie crusts (or your favorite recipe)

Make sure you put apples that are not naturally sweetened or too soft because it will affect the flavor and the texture. My mother and I made two pies one with granny smith and one with golden delicious. The granny smith pie was perfect, but the golden delicious was too sweet and mushy.
Apple pies are the best when the apples are crispy and the crust is flaky. Also from experience, spread butter and egg-whites on the insides of the raw and finished pie crust. This coating makes the crust resistant to the leakage of the pie juices.

In the recipe it calls for two tbsp. of butter; however butter has not affect on the process of cooking it nor it does not take h flavor of the pie. You can actually out more butter than it calls for. The more butter there is the better! Also the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg can be put in there adjusted to your desire. This is the most perfect Christmas dessert, with all of the spices of this holiday cinnamon and nutmeg!

Directions for the pie:

1. Peel and dice apples.
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream.
4. Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook approximately 6 minutes to soften apples.
5. Remove crusts from fridge. Flatten out one of the doughs on a cutting board.
6. Gently cut 4 inch circles of dough using a cup, bowl, or cookie cutter with a 4-inch diameter.
7. Press dough into the muffin tin cups, making a thin even layer on the bottom and around the sides.
8. Spoon apple mixture into each cup right up to the rim , but no higher.
9. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out small strips (6 per pie) slightly longer than the width of the top of the pies. Lay strips across the tops in a lattice pattern and attach to edges of pies using the end of butter knife.
10. Lightly brush egg white over tops of lattice.
11. Bake pies at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and apple mixture is bubbling.

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MINI CARAMEL APPLE PIE RECIPE

 

 

 

"Mini Caramel Apple Pies | Yummly." Yummly. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.yummly.com/dish/2012/10/caramel-apple-mini-pies/>.

"The Night Before Christmas Checklist | Yummly." Yummly. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://www.yummly.com/dish/2012/12/the-night-before-christmas-checklist/>.