We were thinking about what to do for dessert on Thanksgiving and we decided to go with apple pie instead of doing our traditional pumpkin cheesecake (which is also delicious).  We try to make the holidays, or anytime we entertain, as relaxing as possible, so we try to prep as much ahead of time as possible.  We also like the idea of individual portions, so the miniature pies worked out perfectly.  We didn’t make the pies in advance, though, so we were left trying to figure how to make the pies without having to do a bunch of last-minute prepping.  It was our daughter who came up with the ideal solution.  We cooked the filling in a slow cooker, allowing us to focus on dinner while the apples simmered away during the day.  It turned out perfect.  The original pie recipe was from one of our mothers, the miniature pie maker was a gift from our other mother, and our daughter came up with the idea to slow cook the filling, truly a family affair.  Not only did it turn out to be easy to make, but it was truly delicious.  Although we made miniature pies, the same recipe will work for a regular pie, you would just double the recipe and bake the filling inside of the pie crust instead of making it ahead of time.

Ingredients

• 4 Granny Smith Apples – cored, peeled, and diced
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Fresh Grated Nutmeg
• 1 tbsp Flour
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 tsp Unsalted Butter
• 2 sheets Pie Crust – pre-made or you can make your own
• Dash of Salt

Instructions

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray and turn on to low.  Core, peel, and dice the apples and add to the slow cooker.  Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, sugar, butter, and salt.  Stir the apples until they are well coated.  Cover and simmer on low in the slow cooker for about 6 hours, stirring occasionally,  until the filling is juicy and the apples are tender.  Turn off the slow cooker and let the filling cool to room temperature.  Following the instructions for the miniature pie maker, place the bottom crusts into the pie maker, add the filling, place the top crust over the filling and cook for 8 to 12 minutes until the crust is golden brown.  Makes 4 miniature pies.