Apple pielets

In my opinion there are two kinds of people, pie people or cookie people. The pie people find comfort in the tradition, the hearty filling of pie encased in a buttery crust gives them comfort. The cookie people are slightly more adventurous and enjoy the quick, one bite nature of their treat. I've personally always had a soft spot for both, and that's why I enjoyed this cookie recipe so much.

If I could describe these, it would be an apple pie, in a bite. They're perfect in the way that they aren't quite a pie, not qite a cookie, they're a little in between and that's okay. I made these little beauties for our Thanksgiving dinner. My sister-in-law told me that she was going to make these wonderful little mini pumpkin pies for our thanksgiving desert. I thought that was a good idea so I decided to continue with the mini desert mania! I saw these a while ago on a couple food blogs I follow, and they appeared easy enough, so last minute I grabbed the butter and began to whip 'em up. Thanksgiving morning is awesome in the way that nothing goes on, but that can also make my brain want to explode. This was a perfect before dinner activity because they took a lot of mindless time. I made them while the dog show padded on and it really was quite a perfect hour or two. As the weather turns colder it's easy to disregard more "fallish" recipes but I think the winter months makes me turn to comfort foods such as apple pie.

With that being said I must ask, are you a cookie or a pie person?
Enjoy your Sunday?
S

Apple Pielets

barely adapted from Annie's Eats!

Yield: about 30 cookies
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2½ cups (313 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp. (4 grams) salt
2 sticks (8 oz. or 1 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
½ cup very cold water

For the filling:
2-3 medium apples, whatever variety you prefer for baking
Squeeze of lemon juice
1/3 cup (67 grams) granulated sugar
1 tbsp. (2 grams) ground cinnamon
Dash of grated nutmeg

For assembly:
Water
1 large egg lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
Sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
To make the pie dough, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to blend. Using a pastry cutter (or your preferred method), cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is coarse and the largest pieces of butter are no bigger than small peas. Stir in the water and mix gently just until the dough has come together in a a cohesive ball and all of the dry ingredients have been moistened. Form the dough into a disc and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour.

When you are ready to make your cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Peel the apples and cut off the sides in four large chunks, removing and discarding the cores. With each large piece of apple, further slice into thin slices (somewhere between 1/8- and ¼-inch thick.) Use a small round cookie or biscuit cutter (about 2 inches in diameter) to cut round discs out of the apple slices. Place the apple rounds in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice. In another small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and whisk to blend.

To assemble the cookies, transfer half of the chilled pie dough to a lightly floured work surface (keep the remaining half chilled). Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out very thin, about 1/8 to ¼-inch thick. Use a larger round biscuit or cookie cutter (about 2½ to 2¾ inches in diameter) to cut out rounds of the pie dough. Transfer half of the rounds to the prepared baking sheet. Brush the rounds lightly with water (this will help the pies seal). Take a few apple slices at a time and coat them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place each on top of a round of pie dough. Layer a second round of dough on top of each apple slice and gently press the edges to help seal. Repeat this process with the remaining dough and apple slices. Crimp and seal the edges of the mini pies with the tines of a fork, dipping in flour if needed to prevent sticking. Lightly brush the tops of the cookies with the egg wash. Use a small paring knife to cut tiny slits in the top of each cookie. Sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired.

Bake for 25-28 minutes or until light golden brown.