Mini Whole Grain Apple Pies

Photo & Recipe:  Tod Dimmick

For the cook with a sense of humor, here's a whole grain alternative to McDonald's Apple Pies. For sweetener I used stevia.  For butter I used... butter.

Prep time:     20 minutes

Cook time:    10 minutes

Yield:            5-7 turnovers

INGREDIENTS

2 Granny Smith Apples

1/2 Cup + 3 TB + 2 TB Sweetener, separated

1 tsp. + ½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon, separated

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 stick (1/2 Cup) unsalted butter, cold

½ tsp. Salt

1/2 Cup + 1 tsp. Cold Water

3 TB Milk

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 450.

Peel and core the apples, and chop into ¼ inch chunks.  Add the apples, ½ cup sweetener, 1 tsp. of the cinnamon, the nutmeg, and the cloves to a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring, until apples are soft and fragrant.  In fact they will smell so good it will be difficult not to eat them then and there.  When apples are soft, set aside to cool.

Using a food processor, cut the butter into the flour, along with the 3 TB sweetener, and salt, Mix to a grainy consistency.  Slowly pulse in the ½ cup cold water to create a soft crumbly dough.  Scrape the dough onto a floured countertop and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.  Slice the dough into rectangles about 3” x 4” and arrange 5 rectangles on the baking tray (maybe a 6^th, depending on how much dough you have left).  Combine and roll the extra bits along the edges to enable more rectangles. 

Place a spoonful of apple filling  (about 2 TB) along the center of one of the rectangles of dough on the baking tray.  Moisten the edges by dipping your finger in the juice from the apples and running it along the edges, or use a little milk.  Top with another rectangle, and press to seal.  Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. 

Mix the remaining 2 TB sweetener with the remaining ½ tsp. cinnamon.  Brush each pie with milk, sprinkle with sweetened cinnamon, and slide the baking tray into the oven.  Cook for 10 minutes or until surface is crisp and browned.

These are gorgeous as breakfast, as a snack, as dessert, you name it.