“I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”
Steve Jobs
It’s been a sad last week. Think apple and think Steve Jobs, a man whose vision and brilliance silently and beautifully changed the way we look at things. He brought beauty into our everyday lives, gave ‘A is for apple’ a new meaning, i-tuning our very existence.With his passing away, the world lost an icon, a genius who became an inspiration and a daily connect to millions across the world. I long to get a Mac one day to add to the rest of my i-stuff. RIP Steve Jobs … these simple Bite Sized Apple Pies are a tribute to your brilliance!Apple seems to be ruling my thoughts of late. A few days ago I received a fabulous new cookbook, a book intriguingly called ‘The Apple Lover’s Cookbook‘ by Amy Traverso. I was the lucky winner at a giveaway sponsored by Pam & Kristy @ Three Many Cooks, and Kristy was sweet enough to mail it to me from the US. Gracias!! This is a book made of ‘apple dreams‘, quite the perfect book for Fall. For me, autumn means mainly apples and the book is bursting with apple ideas. Boomarked to make are Apple Chips with Spiced Yogurt Dip, Apple Clafoutis, Squash & Apple Gratin, Oatmeal Apple Pancakes, Baked Apple Oatmeal Pudding, Buttermilk Apple Buckle, Williamsburg Wrapples, Apple Brownies, Quick Bread-and-Butter Apple Pickles, Classic Applesauce. Who would have thought there could be a book deliciously dedicated to this wonderful fruit, a fruit Amy aptly refers to as the fruit of the future.
It’s the Secret Recipe Club time of the month again, another month that threatens to get over even before it begins. The kids are home for an autumn break, the pup on the threshold of doggie terrible teens and a wedding in the family are quite an explosive and happening combination. To add to it, our entire region has been hit by unprecedented power cuts that leave us ‘powerless‘ for almost 6-8 hours a day.
The Secret Recipe Club is the brainchild of Amanda of Amanda’s Cookin’.The idea behind the club – Each month you are “assigned” a participating food blogger to make a recipe from. It’s a secret, so don’t tell them you are making something from their blog! Click on the link if you want to join!!
Sometimes it’s difficult to keep up, and my post is a day late even though I managed to bake these pies in 2 batches 2 days ago when I scrabbled for my assigned secret site – Mrs Happy Home Maker. With a name like that, happiness for the home maker in me was guaranteed. Since I had apple on my mind, I narrowed my search to just that. To my delight the lovely lady Crystal loves apples too! I was short on time and done in by power-cuts, so these Bite Sized Apple Pies seemed perfect! Of them Crystal says, “These apple pies come in a tiny package, but they have a BIG flavor. Only 5 ingredients & you can have them ready to gobble up in 30 minutes too, and that’s probably my favorite part. It’s like apple pie on demand.”CUTE is the word. You must look at the Happy Homemakers post as she guides you through wrapping these up as ‘mummies‘! I did a ‘roll’ up to save time as my pastry wasn’t so well behaved given the warmish weather. The filling is adapted from Williamsburg Wrapples from the Apple Lover’s Cookbook. Once baked, these pies were delicious and gone in a heartbeat; the best little bites I’ve made in a while. {I used the left over pastry trimmings to make Pinktober ribbons for a few pies}. Simpler if you have refrigerated pie crust on hand, but simple even if you decide {or have to, as in my case} make your own. An absolute joy to make, delightful as they came out of the oven, they filled the house with warm fall flavours. The pastry stayed crisp even after the bites cooled down, and were a huge hit. With a drizzle of unsweetened cream, or without, we enjoyed them loads. Must thank the very talented and fun Crystal, the face behind Mrs Happy Homemaker for these pies on demand. So glad I met you via the SRC!Crystal writes a real fun blog, full of exciting new ideas like ‘Making’ you crave Mondays’ and ‘Crazy Cooking Challenges’. She tempts you to delve deep into her blog with her energy and step by step pictures.
Simple yet addictive, a novel and fast track pie,bite sized and bursting with fall flavours. Must try for apple lovers! Recipe idea from Mrs Happy Homemaker. Filling adapted from The Apple Lover's Cookbook {pg 217}
Persons
12
Ingredients
3 medium sized apples {I used tart sweet green apples}
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup muscavado sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1-2 tbsp butter, melted, cooled
1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tsp water, for egg wash
1 sachet vanilla sugar
1 recipe pâte sucrée {recipe follows}
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Pâte Sucrée
{Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible.}
200gm plain flour
100gm butter, chilled, cubed
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
2 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 egg yolk
Instructions
Make the pâte sucrée first
Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and vanilla and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. {Thermomix: Speed 10/ 20 seconds}
Add the egg yolk and 1 tsp water and process very briefly, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl {if needed, add chilled water, 1 tsp at a time, till this it begins to just come together}. {Thermomix: Speed 6 / 10 seconds}
Turn onto work surface and pat together into 2 balls, handling the dough as little as possible. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes to help the dough relax. Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll.
Bite Sized Apple Pies
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Peel & core the apples, slice thinly, toss in lime juice, then with the muscavado sugar and cinnamon.
Roll each into a 12 X 8" rectangle, brush with melted butter and cut into 7-8 12" long strips. {I did this on clingwrap which made it easier to roll}
Place 6-7 thin seasoned apple slices an inch from the edge on each strip and roll up like a 'mummy' in the pâte sucrée strips.
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake the mini apple pies for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry feels firm, and is a light golden brown.
Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer the pies with a spatula to a plate.
