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These Mini Apple Pies are Chai-spiced! Baked into mini pie pans the warm apple filling is topped with a homemade caramel sauce mixed with warm spices like ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. You can make mini pies or use the apple filling to create a large pie. It takes some time to prep but this cozy fall dessert is always worth the effort! Serve with Garlic Braised Short Ribs for the ideal dinner.
It’s no surprise that I adore anything chai-spiced. In this recipe, it takes your classic Homemade Apple Pie and turns it into the most cozy, comforting dessert ever. During the fall months I’m making a Chai Apple Skillet Cake whenever I don’t feel like making a pie crust, these Chai Snickerdoodles, or these adorable Corgi Chai Cookies.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Mini Apple Pies
- Chai-spiced caramel – This really takes these apples pies to the next level. The base of the homemade caramel sauce is heavy cream, butter and granulated sugar. From here, it’s spiced with ground cinnamon, ginger, and allspice to give it all the flavors of a cup of chai.
- Apples – A sweet and tart apple like Honey Crisp will work perfectly here. The tartness in the apple plus plenty of fresh lemon juice will help to balance out the sweetness from the caramel sauce.
- Pie crust – 2 pie crusts, store-bought or homemade. If you’re making mini pies roll out the dough then cut it to fit your mini pie pans or simply place the crust in a 9-inch pie pan if you want one full pie.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How To Make Mini Apple Pies
- Make the chai-spiced caramel – Warm heavy cream in the microwave or in a sauce pan over the stove, then set aside.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add sugar in an even layer. Cook sugar until the edges start to dissolve and turn lightly golden brown. Stir until it becomes an even light brown color.
- Turn off the heat then pour in the warmed heavy cream, stir until smooth.
- Whisk in the spices and butter until melted. The caramel is done when it’s a light/medium brown color. Set aside.
- Roll out the pie crust – In a medium bowl toss together diced apples and lemon juice. Roll out your pie dough using a lightly floured rolling pin. Use your mini pie pan as a stencil to cut out the dough – make sure to leave 2 – 3 inches of extra border all around. Line your pie pan with the dough.
- Assemble apple pies – Next, divide the apple filling amongst all the pie pans, then drizzle each one with 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce. Place the second crust over top, then transfer pies to a baking sheet then place into the freezer to chill for 1 hour.
- Bake – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, brush the top of each pie with an egg wash then bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Serve – Allow your pies to cool before serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Tips and Tricks
- Freeze pies before baking to ensure that the crust doesn’t shrink in the oven.
- Add a bit of orange zest in the apple mix for a different flavor.
- For mini pies, muffin tins are your friend – they make for perfect single servings.
- Let your pies cool before serving to let that chai caramel set a bit – patience pays off.
- Serve with a dollop of chai-spiced whipped cream for an extra delicious and comforting dessert.
- Reheat caramel sauce from the refrigerator in the microwave or on the stove until its warmed and pourable again.
- Make ahead – Keep the pies in the freezer for 1 – 2 days. When you are ready to enjoy, bake them straight from the freezer.
Recipe FAQs
Slice your apples thin, so they’ll soften up nicely in the oven, make sure not to overcook them otherwise they’ll turn mushy.
Absolutely, it’s very versatile – drizzle it over ice cream, pancakes, or even into your morning coffee.
No stress! Gently reheat it, stirring constantly until it’s back to drizzling consistency.
This amount can easily be converted to a 9-inch pie pan. Or you can simply make my homemade apple pie recipe.
More Fall Recipes
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Chai-Spiced Caramel:
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To make the chai-spiced caramel: In a small saucepan, set over medium heat (or you can use a microwave to do this), warm the heavy cream and then set aside.
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In a medium saucepan, set over medium heat, add the sugar. Shake it around a bit until there’s an even layer of sugar on the bottom of the saucepan. Cook the sugar, staying close by so you can keep an eye on it, until the edges of the sugar begin to dissolve and turn a light golden brown. At this point, give it a stir until it becomes an even light brown color. Turn off the heat. Pour in the warmed heavy cream (it may bubble up a bit but that’s ok) and keep stirring until smooth. Whisk in the spices and the butter, until melted. If at any time you need to, feel free to turn the heat back on. The color should be a light to medium brown. Set the caramel aside. *Note: Right before you use it, you may need to reheat it over medium-low heat. It may seem like it turned into a big caramel candy, but reheating it and whisking it will make it super smooth and pourable again.
Apple Pie Assembly:
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In a medium bowl, add the diced apple and lemon juice and toss until evenly coated.
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Flour your rolling pin and work surface lightly. Roll out the first disk of pie dough, being sure to rotate it every so often, as to avoid it from sticking. If you’re using mini pie tins or pie dishes, flip them over and place them on the pie dough; using a knife, stencil a circle, leaving about a 2 to 3-inch border around the pie dishes (we’ll need that extra room for the trim). Cut out the stencils and line your mini pie dishes with the pie crust.
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Divide the diced apple mixture amongst the mini pies. Add about two tablespoons of caramel to each mini pie.
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Add any top you like. I went for a variety. I used a mini heart cookie cutter to add a heart top. I did a lattice. I did a braid. Get creative!
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Transfer the pies to a baking sheet and stick ‘em in the freezer to chill for 1 hour.
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(Fun fact: You can also keep the pies in the freezer for up to 1 day to 2 days. Bake straight from the freezer!)
To Bake:
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When you’re ready to bake the pies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash. Transfer to the oven to bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. You may need to rotate the pies at the 15 minute mark (this is if your oven bakes unevenly (mine does!)).
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Remove from the oven and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Tips and Tricks
- Freeze pies before baking to ensure that the crust doesn’t shrink in the oven.
- Add a bit of orange zest in the apple mix for a different flavor.
- For mini pies, muffin tins are your friend – they make for perfect single servings.
- Let your pies cool before serving to let that chai caramel set a bit – patience pays off.
- Serve with a dollop of chai-spiced whipped cream for an extra delicious and comforting dessert.
- Reheat caramel sauce from the refrigerator in the microwave or on the stove until its warmed and pourable again.
- Make ahead – Keep the pies in the freezer for 1 – 2 days. When you are ready to enjoy, bake them straight from the freezer.
Calories: 477kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 263mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 444IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
