Factoid about me: I stress bake

and you get to see things like this:

How much do you LOVE that chipped nail polish I'm rocking? I know, I'm pretty awesome (and now I feel awkward for not taking it off, but as the title suggests I was a little stressed)

I am in love with all things single serve right now. Anything to help us eat healthier (I'm thinking portion control here). No one can tell me apple pie is not healthy for you, especially when made from scratch and has a cute star shape on top.

Let's get on with the details shall we?
I had planned on making some sweet pies in a jar, I saw a cool tutorial somewhere for them (via a pinterest picture I think), but when I went looking for the tutorial I couldn't find it. I tried sans tutorial and it didn't quite work out, so this is what I ended up doing...

Large cupcake/muffin tin
Homemade Pie crust (from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook circa 1975, yes it contained LARD)
Canned filling

The reason I chose canned filling for this was because I was too lazy to cook the filling separately before baking the pies and with the crusts being so small I knew that would cook long before homemade filling would. To cut down on artificial sugar content you can substitute plain fruit canned in water or you can make the filling from scratch and bake it separately before filling your crusts.

The crusts had to be handmade because I wanted to make a flaky crust but I wanted to push it into the muffin tin so it was a little thicker on the bottom and sides. I'm sure you could use the frozen kind but my brain was telling me that was not going to be as yummy. If anyone tries this please leave me a comment and let me know how it turns out.

Once I filled half the muffin tin (this was the trial batch) I filled the cups with a few apples each, being careful to cut them down so they fit into the pocket of the crust without overflowing.

I rolled the remaining dough into a THICK sheet and cut some stars out with sugar cookie cutters to top with.  The best part about doing a shaped top is that I didn't have to cut any vents for the filling.

No, i do not own a rolling pin, these cups work perfect because they are not tapered, plus, POM is SO delicious.

The bumpy looking one is supposed to be an X from a valentine set for XOXO cookies but I lost the O and it really looks like a wonky plus sign once cooked anyway. The shape was a little too bulky for the top and didn't leave much room for venting. I think a heart my work also, but I lost that one too...

I baked these on the top rack, on 350 for about 13 minutes or until the crusts on top were flaky and golden brown.

Excuse me while I drool for a while... I think I might try some mini crumb cakes or cobbler next.
What did you do this weekend?

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