Individual puff pastry apple pies, flaky, sweet, and utterly delicious. You can bake them in a muffin tin or make apple puff pastry squares.

These puff pastry apple pies are some of our favorite desserts. My daughter is crazy about them, she asks me to bake them all the time. Luckily, they are so easy and quick to make, cheap, and perfect for a quick treat on a Sunday afternoon.
And if you would like some other puff pastry apple desserts, you could try these Apple Puff Pastry Rolls or this Romanian Apple Pie. Or the Cherry Puff Pastry Turnovers.
What do you need?
Apples:
- Use a crisp, sweet-sour kind of apple.
- For instance, Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp.
Puff pastry:
- Ready-rolled - found in the refrigerator section of the supermarket. One sheet weighs 275 g/ 9.7 oz and is about 25 cm/ 9.8 inches long. The exact size is not of vital importance, a bit more or less should be OK.
- Frozen is a very good substitute. But you will have to defrost it according to the package instructions and roll it, if necessary.
Walnuts:
- A very small amount.
- I love using walnuts, but if you don't have any, just leave them out.
- Alternatively, use chopped pecans or pine nuts. Pine nuts might sound unusual, but they are really good here.
Other ingredients: brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, nutmeg, lemon juice, icing sugar, and egg wash if baking the squares.
How to make mini apple puff pastry pies?
Like any dessert made with ready-made puff pastry, these mini pies are super easy to make as well. You can make either in a muffin tin or as squares.
How to make the apple filling?
- Peel the apples and chop them into small cubes.
- Mix with brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg.
How to make in a muffin tin?
- Grease the muffin tin very well otherwise the shells might stick.
- Unroll the dough on the working surface and leave it on the paper it is rolled into, this way you will not need to flour the surface.
- Cut circles using a round cutter or a large glass. The circles should be large enough to cover the muffin molds and you should have 12 of them.
- To get 12, you will have to roll the scraps left over after you cut most of the circles again and cut a couple more circles. (1)
- Fill with apple pie filling (2) and sprinkle with walnuts. (3)
- Bake. (4)
Advantages of making the pies in a muffin mold:
- They look so pretty.
- You will not need egg wash for brushing.
- The ratio of apple to pastry is perfect.
How to make puff pastry squares?
- In this case, you will only have 8 larger pastries.
- Halve the dough vertically to get two long wide stripes. (1)
- Cut the stripes horizontally as well. (1)
- If the sheets are as large as those I use, they will be about 10x12 cm/ 4-4.7 inches.
- Place the filling on one side, making sure you leave enough space on the side to fold the dough. Sprinkle with walnuts. (2)
- Fold and use a fork to seal the edges. (3)
- Brush with egg wash and bake. (4)
Advantages of making the squares:
- Faster – as there is no need to cut circles or roll leftover dough.
- Larger.
Tips
If using frozen pastry make sure you read the packet's instructions regarding defrosting, rolling, and baking time.
Work quickly, the dough should be as cold as possible when it goes into the oven, this way it will be flakier.
The apple cubes should be small, chunkier pieces might tear the dough when making the squares. If that happens pinch it back together.
You can assemble the pies a few hours in advance and place the muffin tin (or the squares) into the fridge until ready to bake.
You can easily double the recipe, and bake one batch in a muffin tin and one batch as squares.
How to store?
Puff pastry apple pies are best served fresh. They are wonderful while still warm or at room temperature.
You can store the leftovers for about 2-3 days in airtight containers. They will lose a little of the crispiness after a day or so, but they will still be delicious.
More puff pastry treats:
Puff Pastry Apple Pies
Ingredients
- 300 g/10.6 oz apples Note 1
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- two gratings of nutmeg
- 1 ready-rolled sheet puff pastry Note 2
- 40 g/ 1.4 oz/ ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk only if baking the squares
- icing sugar optional
Instructions
Apple filling:
- Peel the apple, core, and chop into very small cubes. Place in a bowl and mix well with the lemon juice. Add sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well to coat.
Muffin tin pies – makes 12:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter the molds of the muffin tin very well to prevent the tart shells from sticking.
- Unroll the puff pastry on the working surface, leave it on the paper it is rolled on.
- Cut circles to fit the muffin pan molds, about 7.5 cm/ 3 inches. You can use a cutter or a drinking glass of the appropriate size.
- Press the circles into the molds of the muffin pan. To get 12, you will have to roll the pastry scraps left over after you cut most of the circles again and cut a couple more circles.
- Fill the shells with apple filling and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges of the pies are golden brown. Leave in the tin for about 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving, if desired.
Apple pie squares – makes 8:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Unroll the pastry on the working surface, leave it on the paper it was rolled on.
- Halve the pastry vertically to get two long wide stripes. Cut the stripes horizontally to obtain 8 pieces. If the sheets are as large as those I used, they will be about 10x12 cm/ 4-4.7 inches.
- Place the filling on one side, making sure you leave enough space on the side to fold the dough.
- Sprinkle some chopped walnuts on top of the filling.
- Fold and use a fork to seal the edges.
- Beat the egg and the milk together and use the mixture to brush the pastry.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Leave on the tray for about 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving, if desired.
Notes
- About 2 medium. Preferably crisp, sweet-sour apples like Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady.
- About 275 g/ 9.7 oz and about 25 cm/ 9.8 inches long. Frozen puff pastry can be used instead. Defrost it according to the package instructions and roll it, if necessary.
- Nutrition is calculated for 1 pie baked in the muffin tin. One square from 8 will have 272 calories.
Chris says
Hey,
So, after trying your Black Forest Gateau a few times, I decided to try something else.
What you think is the most delicious Dutch apple pie recipe out there, because I couldn't find a dedicated post from your blog about it.
As I thought, if I'm going all out, then I should do the very best I can! 🙂
Adina says
Hi Chris, nice to hear from you. I've made a Dutch pie with caramel once, and it was delicious. The recipe was similar to this one https://bluebowlrecipes.com/dutch-caramel-apple-pie/. Not exactly the same, but pretty close. My family loved it.
Chris says
@Adina,
Thanks for the quick reply!
I actually managed to track down a recipe that made even my eyebrows rise. In the same way when I saw your Black Forest Gateau recipe.
The recipe is from what is considered by many locals and visitors to be the best Dutch Apple Pie in all of Amsterdam and possibly the country! This little restaurant apparently serves out 100 pies a day at 8 slices per pie! That's just nuts!
A female food writer managed to sneak her way into the establishment and managed to get them to share their personal recipe!
Here's a link to the PDF file with some of the recipes from her book. Including the Dutch Apple Pie recipe! (Of course, I do like physical copies, but for convenience, having an electronic copy is always good.)
https://www.deslegte.com/files/samples/books/9789492037732.pdf
I'll also try the caramel version at a later date too!
Adina says
It sounds great, I would like to try that.
Chris says
@Adina,
Just a quick update on the recipe I shared, I checked in with the owners of the Dutch apple pie recipe in the recipe book and they said that it isn't their recipe.
They said they don't mind what the food writer said, that you shouldn't believe what anyone says, but I don't think they understand that the way it's written has many people convinced that it is their recipe.
In any case, I'll continue looking and experimenting to create my own! 🙂