These mini apple berry crumble top pies are just about the best thing you will ever eat! Apples and blackberries with brown sugar crumble on top make this pie a favorite dessert. Bake these homemade pies for your next party or gathering and your guests will be asking for the recipe!
Mini Apple Berry Crumble Top Pies
It’s National Pie Day January 23rd, and I don’t know any better way to celebrate this fun holiday than with a warm apple berry pie. If pie is not your specialty, or if making the dough intimidates you, then worry no more. This is one of the easiest pies to make, and you can even cheat and use store bought dough! If you would like to try your hand at making pie dough, we have an awesome flaky pie dough recipe right here.
I made these mini apple berry crumble top pies with a cupcake pan, but you can also make regular sized pies with 9″ pie pans. The dough recipe above will yield two pie crusts. This recipe includes a crumble top which is very easy to make. I would highly recommend the crumble top! It is absolutely divine! The butter and brown sugar melts down into the pie a little bit AND the crumbles provide a nice sweet crunch to the pies.
Secret Ingredient in the Pies
The mini apple berry crumble top pies are also made with a little secret ingredient of ours, blackberry liquor. If you don’t have any, not to worry. It’s not a required ingredient. Blackberry liquor is made with blackberries, sugar and vodka cured in a jar for months. You can add it to champagne as a treat, called a Kir Royale. For our blackberry liquor recipe, go here. You won’t believe how yummy it is. You’ll be adding it to all kinds of things, ice cream… pancakes… crepes… sauces… And I will look away as you drink shots of it too… mmm, hmmm, deeelightful.
Tips for making Mini Apple Blackberry Crumble Top Pies
- Use organic and high quality ingredients. Find a few varieties of apples to mix together. We love Honeycrisp, Gala and Granny Smith apples for pie. Also, for the berries, frozen berries work equally well.
- When you roll out the dough for the mini pies, leave it a little thick. These pies tend to break open easily because of all the lovely juices. To be honest, if a pie crust breaks because it is flaky, that is a sign of an amazing pie!
- Heat the apples and berries together in a pot with the sugars, lemon juice, butter and a dash of the blackberry liquor. This allows the apples and berries to break down a bit and the juices will release into the pot. When you scoop the contents into the pie shells, leave out the juices. If you add the juice, you may get a goopy sticky mess in the oven.
- To prevent any remaining juices from making a mess in your oven, line the bottom of the oven with foil. And, bake the muffin pan on top of a large baking sheet. It won’t affect the bake time and it will make clean up easier.
- Store the pies at room temperature for a day or two and if you need to keep them longer, store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Heat them up to crisp up the crust and the crumble top. They just taste better warm!!!
These mini apple berry crumble top pies work well as a dessert for a party such as a holiday gathering, birthday or baby shower. They also make amazing breakfast treats. Have fun celebrating National Pie day and don’t forget the ice cream!!!
Here’s the recipe for the Mini Apple Berry Crumble Top Pies:
Mini Apple Berry Crumble Top Pies
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel and chop apples into 1/2" pieces. Add apples and berries to pot. Heat on low. Add sugars, butter, lemon juice and blackberry liquor (optional). Combine gently. Heat until apples and berries are tender about 5 minutes.
- Roll out dough. Cut circles about 6-7 inches wide and push into muffin tin cups. Scoop apple berry mixture (leaving juices) into the dough cups. Sprinkle flour or cornstarch onto the apples and berries (this will help to soak up juices).
- To make the crumble top, combine the flour, sugars, and chopped nuts. Add the butter in and use your fingers and a fork to create the crumble. The dough will come together but you can use your fingers to break it apart and fully cover each pie cup. You can be generous with the crumble top 🙂
- Place the muffin pan onto a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes on the middle rack. Check the pies and use a fork to pull one up a bit and see if the underside is golden. If it's not golden yet, return to the oven and bake for 5-10 more minutes. The key to baking pie is to bake until the crust is golden brown.
- Allow the mini pies to cool in the muffin tins. Loosen with a fork or knife and then use a spoon to help scoop out each pie. Enjoy!
Notes
Tried this recipe?
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