Mini Deep Dish Apple Pie

       We were out to dinner and finishing up our delicious main course when the waiter graciously, but of course conceived well before we even received our drink orders, asked if we would like to try their apple pie or chocolate molten cake for dessert.

            Now my husband and I hardly, and I mean, it better be our wedding anniversary or a new decade birthday do we get dessert at a restaurant, but both of us looked at each other with eyes yearning for some apple pie...but of course we said no thank you.

              But a craving doesn't get away that easy with this foodie, so as soon as the waiter whisked away our dishes in order to bring us our check I said, don't worry honey I'll make some apple pie!

And thus these beauties.

Simple, single serving, deep dish apple pies. Just the right amount smother that craving with sweet, cinnamony apple bliss.

Ingredients
Dough
1 cup-whole wheat pastry flour
1tbs cold butter, diced
1tbs white sugar
1/2 tsp vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbs cold water

Filling
2 small granny smith apples (mine were really small 1 large will probably work), diced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1tbs sugar
drop of vanilla

egg white, for wash (or milk)

4 (half cup ramekins)

Directions:
Lightly spray the inside of ramekins with cooking spray, set aside.

Mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Cut in diced butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture looks a little crumbly. Add in 1tbs of cold water and a time and fold mixture over itself to form a dough. The dough should be slightly wet, and completely sticking to itself. 

Place dough on a well floured surface and kneed together 10-15 times, then let rest for 5-10 min. 


Meanwhile, dice apple(s) into small bite size pieces and then toss apple pieces, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl, set aside. 
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Now take the rested dough and divided into 8 equal balls. 
(I rolled my dough into a ball, and then cut it in half, and then cut that half in half, and so on so forth).

Gently begin forming the balls of dough into small disks by either gently pressing them down with your  palm or rotating them between your thumb and index finger.

Then gently roll out into a thin, flat disk then place and press them to the inside of prepped ramekin--it's okay if the dough sides spill over the edges.

Repeat with the remaining dough balls, pressing three more into the bottoms of the ramekins and saving the other four to top the mini pies with.

Take your prepped mixture and evenly distribute the mixture into each of the ramekins. 
Then take the rolled out dough and lay them over the top of the ramekins. Gently press and or pinch the sides of the dough to the ramekin to enclose the pie. 

Decorate the tops of the dough with slits to release the steam. Then gently brush the tops with egg whites or milk.

Place mini pies on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 min, until tops have a nice golden color. 

Remove and let cool for 10 min. 

ENJOY!!!

Question: What's your favorite kind of pie?