Laura Fuentes

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Eat Healthy
  • Quick Meals
  • Pancakes
  • About
  • Pasta Night
  • Best Chicken Recipes
  • Meal Plans
  • Cookbooks
  • Contact
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Eat Healthy
  • Quick Meals
  • Pancakes
  • About
  • Pasta Night
  • Best Chicken Recipes
  • Meal Plans
  • Cookbooks
  • Contact
×
Home » Recipes » Desserts

Mini Cupcake Pan Apple Pies

By Laura Fuentes Updated Mar 6, 2024

4.86 from 27 votes

Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.

These Cupcake Pan Apple Pies are the perfect bite-sized treat for fall. Bonus: they are super easy to make!

With simple baking staples and a mini cupcake pan, you can bake these soft and delicious apple pies that are always a hit!

min apple pies on a white plate with apples in the background

Cupcake Pan Apple Pies

These Cupcake Pan Apple Pies satisfy your sweet tooth without the guilt. I love apples so much that I often buy 10 pounds at a time and we spend a week or two eating “everything apple”. And this is a recipe I never skip!

One thing I love about these mini apple pies is that they are perfectly portioned. When I make them, my guests (friends) always say that they don’t feel as guilty eating these small treats as they do eating a slice of apple pie.

Don’t let their “bite sized” look fool you. They are not labor intensive at all… the trick is using that mini muffin pan and the oven does the rest. If you don’t have a mini muffin pan, you can make these in a 12 cupcake sized pan (the baking time will be longer).

Ingredients 

The deliciousness of this Cupcake Pan Apple Pie recipe comes from combining simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. Ingredient measurements and step by step instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

  • Apple: you can use any, but tart green apples like Granny Smith hold their texture best in the oven.
  • Unsalted butter: for the filling, the crust, and the topping.
  • Cinnamon: the perfect spice for any apple pie!
  • Cream cheese: at room temperature, for the crust.
  • All-purpose flour: or whole wheat baking flour (soft wheat). You’ll use it for the crust and the topping.
  • Salt: enhances all the flavors.
  • Sugar: white and brown sugar for the tasty topping.
  • Walnuts: optional for extra crunchiness.

How to Make Mini Apple Pies in a Muffin Tin

Cook the filling quickly, prep the crust, add the topping, and let these beauties bake in the oven. Every bite of these Cupcake Pan Apple Pies melts in your mouth! Here is how:

  1. Prep the oven
    Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Cook the filling
    In a medium pan, cook the filling ingredients over low heat, stirring until butter has melted. Raise heat to medium-high; cook for 5 minutes until apples soften and release its juice. Remove from heat and cool.
  3. Make the dough
    In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese and butter until thoroughly combined. Add flour and salt; mix just until dough forms.
  4. Fill the mini muffin pan
    Divide the dough into 24 1-inch balls. Press 1 ball in each cup of a miniature cupcake pan so the dough covers the sides and bottom evenly. If the dough is very soft, chill for 10 minutes before dividing and shaping.
  5. Prep the topping
    Mix flour, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Rub in butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Toss in walnuts.
  6. Add the filling
    Divide filling among 24 mini muffin cups, leaving juices behind. Gently press the topping over the apples. 
  7. Bake
    Bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. If you are using a 12-cupcake-sized pan, the baking time will be about 12-18 minutes longer (but start checking around minute 45).
  8. Allow to cool down
    Remove from oven and allow mini apple pies to cool down for 10 minutes. Remove from mini muffin pans and let them cool on a wire rack.

More Bite-Size Dessert Ideas

Any menu gets better when bite-size desserts are involved! A fall favorite is my White Chocolate Bread Pudding Bites with classic orange and cranberry flavors. Epic! For chocolate lovers, these Coconut Brownie Energy Bites are not only delicious but also healthy! 

Team PB&J? These drool-worthy Peanut Butter & Jelly Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches are a fun treat you can prepare in just 10 minutes!

When you try these Cupcake Pan Apple Pies, come back and let me know how much you enjoyed them. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Enjoy!

Cupcake Pan Apples Pies

min apple pies on a white plate
Servings: 24 mini pies
Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
Cook Time: 40 minutes mins
Total Time: 50 minutes mins
These Cupcake Pan Apple Pies are the perfect bite-sized treat for fall. Bonus: they are super easy to make!
4.86 from 27 votes
Print Pin

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into ¼ inch dice
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

For the crust:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat baking flour, soft wheat
  • Pinch of salt

For the topping:

  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped walnuts, optional

Instructions

Prep:

  • Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook the filling:

  • In a medium pan, cook the filling ingredients over low heat, stirring until butter has melted. Raise heat to medium-high; cook for 5 minutes until apples soften and release its juice. Remove from heat and cool.

Make the crust:

  • In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese and butter until thoroughly combined. Add flour and salt; mix just until dough forms.
  • Divide into 24 1-inch balls. Press 1 ball in each cup of a miniature muffin pan so dough cover sides and bottom evenly. (If dough is very soft, chill for 10 minutes before dividing and shaping.)

Make the topping:

  • Mix flour, both sugars, cinnamon and salt. Rub in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Toss in walnuts.
  • Divide filling among 24 mini muffin cups, leaving juices behind. Gently press topping over apples.

Bake:

  • Bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. If you are using a 12-cupcake-sized pan, the baking time will be about 12-18 minutes longer (but start checking around minute 45).
  • Remove from oven and allow mini pies to cool down for 10 minutes, remove from mini muffin pans and let them cool on a wire rack.

Equipment

Mini Muffin Pan
Clean Treats
Clean Treats Cookbook

Nutrition

Serving: 1 mini pie | Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 19mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 301IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.5mg

More Desserts

  • two smores stacked and held in front of an air fryer
    2-Minute Air Fryer S’mores
  • a stack of whole wheat chocolate chip cookies
    Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • three small bowls with chocolate avocado mousse topped with whipped cream
    Chocolate Avocado Mousse
  • overhead view of gluten free king cake
    Homemade Gluten-Free King Cake (Beginner-Friendly Recipe!)

Comments

    4.86 from 27 votes (16 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Anne says

    February 21, 2023 at 9:52 am

    5 stars
    I made these mini apple pies for a party and they were a hit! And the recipe is super easy. Thank you Laura! New follower here!

    Reply
  2. Mina says

    September 26, 2018 at 2:15 pm

    5 stars
    I was just wondering if freshly made chopped candied pecans would work in the crumble topping? I’m allergic to walnuts but I still love that crispness that the nuts would bring to the topping.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      October 07, 2018 at 8:35 pm

      Those will work great Mina!

      Reply
  3. Sabung Ayam Online says

    February 15, 2017 at 2:15 am

    5 stars
    Thanks for recipe

    Reply
  4. Karen says

    September 14, 2016 at 5:49 am

    5 stars
    All other pie crust recipes say that you need to refrigerate the dough before using it. Will it make a difference for this recipe? This is my first try at baking something.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      September 15, 2016 at 3:55 am

      No need to refrigerate these mini pie cruts. Enjoy!

      Reply
  5. Karen says

    September 01, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    5 stars
    Do you grease the muffin tin before you form the mini crusts in them?

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      September 04, 2016 at 8:36 am

      yes. lightly. although sometimes I’ve forgotten and they still come out great.

      Reply
  6. Stacey says

    December 13, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    5 stars
    Would there be a huge quality change if these were made with Fuji apples instead if granny smith? Already to make and no apples 🙁

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      December 15, 2014 at 11:58 am

      absolutely not! I love Fujis!

      Reply
  7. Kara Kramer says

    November 24, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    5 stars
    I made these for school lunches a few weeks ago and kiddo loved them! The big kiddo who takes them to work in his lunches enjoyed them as well. They froze very well and I have now run out of them. I’m making a double batch this weekend. One for my school lunches and another to contribute to the family thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      November 24, 2014 at 2:20 pm

      Good thinking Kara! double up and freeze! Glad everyone loved them (big and little kids alike 😉

      Reply
  8. Polly says

    January 07, 2014 at 8:36 am

    1 star
    Is there a way to make these gluten free? Can I just replace the flour? I’d love these if I could!

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      January 07, 2014 at 9:28 pm

      I have made them gluten free with cup4cup flour. I cannot verify the others.

      Reply
  9. Jodi says

    December 11, 2013 at 9:19 am

    5 stars
    These look delicious!! Does it really use that much butter? Any suggestions on how to decrease the amount of butter used?

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      December 11, 2013 at 8:40 pm

      Jodi, they are bite sized… and a treat. I have not tried reducing the amount of butter. Sorry!

      Reply
  10. April says

    November 25, 2013 at 10:53 am

    5 stars
    I realize these are already easy, but do you think you could use pre-made pie crust?

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      November 25, 2013 at 1:34 pm

      You sure can April!

      Reply
  11. Jessica says

    November 07, 2013 at 4:57 pm

    5 stars
    Do the mini apple pies freeze well? They seem like they would but I was just wondering if you had tried it. I think they’d be a great little treat to have stocked away for all year round.

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes says

      November 08, 2013 at 1:40 pm

      they sure do! I freeze them unbaked.

      Reply

Hi! I'm Laura.
Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, mom of three, and the woman behind the world’s best pancakes—here to help you ditch the mealtime drama with recipes your family will actually eat.

More about me →

Let's Be Social!

Facebook Pinterest Instagram YouTube
5 Secrets to Healthy(er) Family Meals

Fresh Favorites

  • large stack of fluffy pancakes with slice of butter on top
    Best Fluffy Pancakes Recipe
  • rotisserie chicken alfredo
    Rotisserie Chicken Alfredo
  • three hard shell tacos
    How to Make Taco Shells
  • 4 fillets of baked cajun salmon served with roasted potatoes and broccoli
    Baked Cajun Salmon

Trending Now

  • large stack of pancakes topped with a slice of butter. a small bottle of maple syrup behind the stack of pancakes.
    How to Make Pancakes Without Eggs
  • copycat canes nuggets and fries with texas toast and two sauces
    Copycat Cane’s Chicken Recipe with Homemade Cane’s Sauce
  • large plate of freshly baked mixed chicken pieces
    Juicy Baked Chicken Pieces
  • creamy garlic sauce in a large pot with pepper on top
    5 Ingredient Creamy Garlic Sauce

Footer

Browse

  • Start Here
  • Eat Healthy in 30 Days
  • Weekly Family Meal Plans
  • Recipe Index

Useful Links

  • Contact
  • Permissions
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2025 LAURA FUENTES · DESIGN BY FUENTES MEDIA

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.