Quick Apple Pies - Three Ways

Before my brother left, he bought about half a dozen of massive fuji apples and never finished eating them despite my nagging him to have an apple a day. So staring at the apples this weekend and knowing that he won't be back to claim them, I really began to miss him.

One of the memories I have of when he first came to live with me, was his claim that he made the best apple pie in his church back in Glen Waverley which spurred him on to buy all the ingredients necessary to build an apple pie from scratch. But I never got to taste this acclaimed apple pie.

So on a Good Friday morning, I picked up one apple and began peeling.

I  decided to use this Simple apple pie recipe and make it suit the 5 apples I had at my disposal.

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 sheets) package puff pastry
• 5 apples
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 beaten egg

Method:

1. Thaw puff pastry according to directions on package.
2. Peel, core and chop apples up coarsely.

 

3. Combine apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. Heat oven to 180°C.

5. Flour surface lightly

6. Cut pastry sheet into nine squares.Place approximately 2 heaped tsps apple mixture on one square, Score parallel lines in the middle of another square making sure you stop at least 1-2 cm from each side. Place scored second pastry square on the top of the already filled pastry to form a pocket. Press down border with fingers to seal and then press with fork to decorate the edges.

Or if you fancy a more rustic looking design:

6. Cut pastry sheet with a large circle cookie cutter, or like in my case, I traced mine with a martini glass. Place approximately 2 heaped tsps apple mixture in the middle of one, With the ends of the pastry sheets after cutting out the circles, I rolled them flat and then cut out strips the length of the circle's diameter. Arrange the strips on the top of the already filled pastry to form a latticed pocket. Press down border with fingers to seal and then press with fork to decorate the edges.

Or when you have done the first design and realised that cutting nine squares means you are always left with one odd square, you can fold it into a triangle puff with 1 heaped teaspoon of filling inside and crimp the edges to prevent spillage.

7. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and give each one an egg wash.
8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden.

There you have it. Individual Apple Pies - Three ways: