Apple Moon Pies (Pie Cookies, Hand Pies, Lunchbox Pies, whatever!)

I recently updated this post and brought it back for a second round because the fabulous inspiring blogger Cheryl over at TidyMom is just too generous and resourceful and scored some MAJOR schwag.  Go check out the giveaway for the best pie recipe!  I’m not sure if this is the *best* recipe, but it is fantastic, delicious, fun and easy.

Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom  sponsored by Cherokee USA, Le Creuset, Wilton, Bags by Bloom and  Harvard Common Press!  I honestly hope to win the cute apron from Bloom =D

Conveniently enough (since I chose one of the flavors myself) this week’s cupcake orders involve apple pie filling.  So I woke up this morning excited to make it again.   

Not coincidentally, I just so happened to have a refrigerated pie crust that was a month or so past its expiration date and needed to be used.  (PS ~ in case you ever wondered, those dates are just suggestions and, I think, marketing devices.  Don’t throw away refrigerated pie crust if the date on the box leads you to believe [erroneously] it has expired.  It’s fine.  Trust me.)

I didn’t actually want to make a pie.   If pies were cupcakes, they’d be hand pies, like these:

Perfect for stuffing into lunchboxes, they start out with simple little rounds of pie dough.  The perfect size is a Folgers coffee can lid, fyi.  I’d say they’re about 4.5 inches or so. 

(Meanwhile in the living room Rick is hollering expletives at the tv because MSU just committed another personal foul and Denard is on the ground.  “They are a dirty #&%$#@& team!”  My mom was right.  Those ugly uniforms make them look like the thugs they are…)

At any rate, this really is the perfect blustery fall day for an impulse pie.  Or several mini ones, as the case may be. 

It took me a bit of negotiating with these things to get the right amount of filling in each one.  I really wanted to put a lot more apples in them than they wanted to hold. 

I’d say they only got about a tablespoon each (I spooned off probably 1/3 of the filling from the one above after taking the pic).  So obviously, the crust-to-filling ratio is pretty steep.  The good thing about that is they’re not very sweet at all.  Perfect for a mid-day (or half-time) snack. 

Today, with the state our team is in, they’d go perfectly with a shot of rum to kill the pain. 

Fold over the dough & seal the edges with a swipe of eggwash (1 egg whisked together with 1 T water).  Press a fork around the edges for a pretty detail and drip-proof seal.  Poke two tiny slices in the top so the steam can escape.  Then brush the tops lightly with eggwash so they bake up golden brown & shiny. 

I rolled the leftover pie crust out for a mini lattice-topped pie, decorated with a heart inspired by a friend from Up North.  =) 

Here’s the Apple Pie Filling recipe (this also goes GREAT warmed up on top of vanilla ice cream & cider donuts):

3 large apples peeled, cored & chopped into 1/2” cubes – I used 2 golden delicious and 1 honey crisp.

3 T butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup apple cider

1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 Tablespoon milk

1 Tablespoon ap flour

dasha nutmeg

dasha salt

Cook all of the ingredients listed above in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the apples soften to your desired tooth – I cooked these for about 6-8 minutes.

Mix milk & flour in a cup until smooth and slowly pour it into the boiling cider while stirring to prevent lumps.  This will thicken the mixture considerably.  Cool to set up a bit before filling pie circles. 

(I have no idea why this dessert caused me to channel Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen in Cars, but it did.  Ka-CHOW!)