Last updated on December 16th, 2021
These Air Fryer Mini Cranberry Apple Pies are the perfect size for individual servings. You can make a batch of four – as this recipe calls for, or you can halve the recipe and have dessert for two. Either way, this simple fall treat is a delight.
What you’ll need to make this dish
Ingredient List
- Refrigerated store-bought pie crust
- pounds apples (your choice, recommend golden delicious)
- brown sugar
- dried cranberries
- all-purpose flour
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- grated orange zest
- whole egg
I decided to go with a refrigerated, store-bought pie crust for a few reasons: a.) it’s simply easier. I work full-time and I wanted to keep this recipe simple. . b.) A “made-from-scratch” pie crust seemed like a bit of overkill for an air fryer recipe. When it comes to making apple pies, I like using golden delicious apples, but for this I used a mix of different apples. Different apples will give you different flavors and textures. feel free to use what you like – mix it up, or even use premade pie filling and skip the sugar and extra cooking steps if you are pressed for time.
Choosing an Air Fryer
The air fryer you choose is going to largely going to depend on how many you would like to cook at once. I own four air fryers – largely for testing purposes and I made these pies in two of them. If you only want one or two, the smaller slide-in basket-style air fryer works just fine. If you’re in a hurry and want to cook more than one at a time, a larger drop-in basket style works fantastic.
Tips & Tricks for making Air Fryer Mini Cranberry Apple Pies
- Use refrigerated dough. It’s as good as from-scratch and saves you a ton of time.
- Use different types of apples. This gives you a more complex texture and flavor profile for your mini pie. It’s small. Make it pack a punch!
- Use a mandoline slicer with a guard to cut the apples.
- Use a large air fryer to cook more than one of these at a time. Not only does having a larger air fryer save you time, but it makes life a lot more easier when you’re looking to cook larger dishes or for more people, more quickly.
Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees if manufacturer’s instructions call for you to do so. Dust clean work surface with flour and roll one of the pie crusts to approximately 13 – 15 inches in diameter. Use a regular sized coffee mug or a large cookie to cut 4 circles out of one of the pie crusts. You’ll be using this to cover the ramekins so ensure they’re large enough to cover and pinch.
Use the other pie crust to create or cut out shapes to fit on top of the circles you cut out for fall or winter themes. Place the pie crust dough cut-outs on small plate or baking sheet and refrigerate while preparing the filling.
Peel apples, remove cores and slice using a mandoline slicer (see note above).
Place apple slices in a microwave-safe bowl. In another bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cranberries, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest. Pour this mixture over the apple slices in the larger bowl and toss to coat evenly. Microwave for 2 – 3 minutes, stopping to stir, halfway through Spoon the apple mixture into the ramekins, dividing them up evenly.
Place chilled pie crust dough circles on top of the ramekins, pinching the ends to form a seal
Top each of the mini pies with decorative cut outs.
Use a pastry brush to gently brush egg wash over the mini pies.
Place ramekins in air fryer basket and cook in the preheated air fryer for 10 – 15 minutes, or until crust has turned a deep, golden brown color
Remove air fryer basket from the air fryer and carefully remove ramekins to wire rack to cool. They will be very very hot. Cool on wire rack for at least ten minutes before serving Serve hot.
Suggestion: Serve with French Vanilla Ice Cream.
These Air Fryer Mini Cranberry Apple Pies can be stored for up to 3 days optimally in the refrigerator. Anything longer than that – and the texture of the apples get a little weird…
To reheat, simply place the ramekins back in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes, or until warmed through.
Air Fryer Mini Cranberry Apple Pies
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Ramekins
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1 box Refrigerated store-bought pie crust
- 2 pounds apples (your choice, recommend golden delicious)
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 whole egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer following manufacturer’s directions, to 350 degrees.
- Lightly dust clean work surface with flour and roll one of the pie crusts to approximately 13–15 inches in diameter.
- Using a coffee mug or large cookie cutter, cut 4 circles out of one of the pie crusts.
- Use other pie crust to cut decorative shapes using mini cookie cutters.
- Place on small plate or baking sheet and refrigerate.
- Peel apples, cut out cores and slice as thinly as possible using a sharp knife or mandoline slicer and place in medium-sized microwave-safe bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cranberries, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest.
- Add brown sugar mixture to apple slices and toss to coat.
- Microwave for 2–3 minutes, stopping to stir halfway through.
- Dispense warmed apple mixture among the ramekins and place the chilled pie crust dough circles on top of the ramekins, pinching the ends to form a seal.
- Top each mini pie with cut outs from cookie cutters.
- Gently brush egg wash over pie crust on ramekins with pastry brush.
- Place ramekins in air fryer basket and cook in air fryer for 10 – 15 minutes, until crust has turned a deep golden brown. *See Note
- Remove air fryer basket from air fryer and carefully remove ramekins to wire rack to cool.
- Allow mini pies to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
I love this idea! I have never thought about making pie in the air fryer but this was delicious!