Fairly certain I was having a fat kid week when I cranked these babies out. Having already mastered (she says tentatively) the No Fail Vodka Crust, and antsy with anticipation of the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities, it was either make the pies or don’t, and suffer unimaginable agony.
Plus there was a vat of homemade caramel applesauce in the fridge and no way on earth it was going to eat itself. That’s impossible.
You’re probably thinking to yourself, applesauce? Isn’t that like, an apple pie but cooked longer? No, dear reader, it’s not. I mean it is, but it’s like chocolate chunk cookie compared to a brownie. Different. Tasty. Anyway, let’s move on.
Filling
3 cups homemade applesauce
1 granny smith apple, cored, peeled, and diced (for texture)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup kahlua
2 tbs cinnamon
Chai Streusel
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tbs Oregon chai spice (I had it in my cupboard and was curious)
5 tbsp cold butter
3 tbs kahlua
Preheat oven to 425°F
Make one batch No Fail Vodka Crust.
Prep a large 6-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Roll out pie dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut out 6 large squares.
Press dough into the cups, it’s ok if the edges extend over the edges, just trim away any excess.
In a large saucepan, heat applesauce with brown sugar, apple, and cinnamon over medium high heat, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Kahlua.
Spoon mixture into prepared pie crusts, about 3/4 full (or more if you have extra mixture, they won’t spill over the top.
In a separate glass bowl, combine together butter and dry streusel ingredients with a fork or pastry knife until butter is fully incorporated. Add in Kahlua.
Sprinkle streusel generously over tops of pies, about two tablespoons per cup.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges of the crust browns and begins to just pull away from the sides.
Turn off the oven, prop open the oven door, and let pies sit for about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and use a knife to give each pie a quick around-the-edge to loosen.
Lay a cutting board or other flat surface over top of the pies, and flip the tin over, allowing the pies to pop out on their own. Trying to scoop the pies out individually will lead to swear words and broken pies. Now grab a baking rack and we’re going to flip the pies a final time, using the same over-top technique as before. Apologizing profusely to the pies during the final flip helps, I’ve found.
Pies can be eaten right away, after 20 minutes of transition from the oven, the filling becomes delightfully non-lava. I recommend a side of ice cream with these babies, really brings out the spice in the chai and the texture of the caramel apple goo.
Fantastic looking pies. I reckon I would have failed at either the first or second flipping stage. Probably the second. Nice post indeed and great photos,
Conor
Thanks Conor! I was surprised the pies survived too, but the dough’s surprisingly indestructible for how flaky it is. I made another batch of minis with a pot pie filling and traditional crust top (will post later), and no spills or breakage at all during either flip. Magical.