As American as apple pie...

When it comes to baking something american, you just can't forget apple pie, can you? It's been my first attempt at baking such a pie, and since I want it to be easy for my colleagues to eat (without spoons, plates...) I've decided to bake mini pies, but you can still use this recipe to bake one big pie.

Apple pie(s)

You'll need

For the dough:

• 500g/ 5 cups flour
• 50g / 1/3cup confectioner's sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 250g / 2 sticks butter
• 2 eggs (large)
• 4 tbsp milk

For the filling:

• 7 apples (granny smith), peeled, cored an cut into pieces
• 2 pears, peeled, cored and cut into pieces
• 5 heaped tbsp light brown sugar
• 1tbsp butter
• zest and juice of one orange and one lime
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1tsp cardamom
• seeds from one vanilla bean.

plus

• one egg yolk
• 1 tsp milk
• light brown sugar

• Put all the dry ingredients in a food processor or a stand mixer and mix until the mixture gets crumbly. Then add the milk and the eggs and work it together until you have a ball of pastry dough. You can also do it by hand, but you already know how lazy I am)
• Let it rest one hour in the fridge, wrapped in cling film.
• Meanwhile, in a large pan on medium heat, melt the butter then add the apples and pears, cook for a minute and add the sugar and the zest and juice of the orange and lime, the spices and vanilla seeds.
• Cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes until the fruit have softened.
• Leave it to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
• Roll out three third of the dough on a floured surface. Cut out small circles (if you want to bake small pies) and put them in small cake pans (I used mini cupcake pans). You want the dough to hang a little over the edge.

• Cut small circles out of baking paper, put them on the dough in the pans and fill with dry beans, so that you can precook the dough without letting it rise. Put in the oven for about 5 minutes (10-15 minutes of one big pie).

• Then take the beans and paper off and add the filling. 
• Roll out the rest of the dough and cut out small circles to cover the pies with. Don't forget to make a small hole on each one, I used the tip of a pastry bag.
• Once the pies are covered, fold the edges.
• Beat the egg yolk with the milk and brush the pies with it.
• Sprinkle with light brown sugar.
• Let it cook in the oven for about half an hour (45 minutes if you're baking a big pie).

You can serve it hot or cold, with custard or ice cream !

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