I love me some apple pie, and these little apple pie tartlets are so good. You can’t go wrong with gooey apple pie filling in a buttery shortbread cookie shell.
For the tartlets pictured, I used my vanilla shortbread sugar cookies, but they are amazing with my brown butter spiced cookie recipe. And I think for Thanksgiving this year I’m going to make these using my lemon rosemary cookie dough.
Shortbread Sugar Cookie Recipes
Tart Pans
I have a ton of mini tart pans that I’ve purchased over the years, but these tart pans are my absolute favorite. They make pretty little tartlets, don’t rust, they’re dishwasher safe, the perfect size for 2-3 bite tartlets, and best of all, the tarts pop right out of them and do not stick.
You can also use a muffin tin if you already have that on hand and don’t want to purchase new bakeware.
I have a comprehensive tutorial on how to make the tartlet shells. There are step-by-step pictures, more recipes, and tips and tricks.
What are the best apples to use for apple pie?
You want to use an apple variety that is sturdy enough to stand up to the heat of the oven, and not just become apple mush! I use a mixture of tart and sweet apples, the key to achieving that complex apple pie flavor. Around here you can always find Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples, so I typically use them for my apple pie filling. I’ve also recently discovered Envy apples, so those also get added in when they are available.
Apple Varieties for Apple Pie
- Granny Smith (tart)
- Jonathan (tart)
- Empire (tart)
- Cortland (tart)
- Envy (mildly tart)
- Braeburn (mildly tart)
- Fuji (sweet)
- Honeycrisp (sweet)
- Gala (sweet)
- Golden Delicious (sweet)
- Crispin/Mutsu (sweet)
- Northern Spy (sweet)
Once you’ve decided which kind of apples you want to use, you’re going to need 2 medium sized apples for this recipe.
Since the tartlet shells are quite small, you’ll need to dice your apples into ¼″ cubes after peeling.
Apple Pie Spice
I use a simple mixture of cinnamon and ginger for this recipe. You can also use a pre-made apple pie spice, which usually contain a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and maybe ginger and cardamom.
However, you can add any of your favorite spices, and even herbs, to your apple pie filling. Anise and cloves also pair well with apples, and so do herbs like basil, rosemary and sage. If you like to experiment with your cooking and baking, I say go crazy with your apple pie spices!
Apple Pie Filling
These tartlets only take around 20 minutes baking time to set the filling, not long enough for the apples to get tender in the oven, so you’re going to cook the apples a bit before filling the shells.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, on medium low heat.
- Make a slurry with the cornstarch and a tablespoon or 2 of the water.
- Add remaining water, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger to sauce pan and bring to boil.
- Allow to boil for 1 minute.
- Lower heat, add apples, and gently stir for 1 minute.
- Add slurry and stir for another minute.
- At this point you want to taste test your filling, if it is too tart, add more sugar, a tablespoon at a time.
- Remove from heat, and fill par-baked tartlet shells.
Once baked, these apple pie tartlets will stay fresh for a couple days at room temperature in an airtight container, or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Apple Pie Shortbread Tartlets
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- spatula
- whisk
- mixing bowls
- paring knife
- cling wrap
- 3" round cookie cutter
- cookie sheet
- large knife
- vegetable peeler
- tart tamper, shot glass, or condiment ramekin
Ingredients
Vanilla Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract or extract of your choice
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Apple Pie Filling
- 2 medium apples, peeled and diced (about 1 ½ – 2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
To make dough and tartlet shells
- Whisk dry ingredients (flour and cornstarch) together and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugars with paddle attachment, on medium-low speed, until fluffy and pale in color (about 5 minutes).
- Add egg and extract(s) and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the paddle with a spatula, and then continue to mix on low speed for another 30 seconds to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients, all at once, and mix on low speed just until dough starts to come together and no dry bits remain. Do not overmix.
- Turn dough out onto cling wrap, tightly wrap, and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).
- Knead, roll out ¼" thick using flour, cut out 3" circles of cookie dough, and gently press dough circles into sides and bottoms of tart pans.
- Use a tart tamper, shot glass, or condiment ramekin to press dough flat into bottom of tart pans. Remove excess dough from tart pans with knife or by gently pressing with the palm of your hand.
- Gently press dough against sides of tart pans so that it rises about ⅛" above the top of the tart pan.
- Freeze filled tart pans until dough is firm before baking.
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Par-bake tartlet shells for 12-14 minutes, until set.
- Immediately after removing shells from oven, use your tart tamper, shot glass, or condiment ramekin to tamp down inside of tart shell while still hot.
- Leave shells in their pans.
Apple pie filling and tart assembly
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, on medium low heat.
- Make a slurry with the cornstarch and a tablespoon or 2 of the water.
- Add remaining water, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger to sauce pan and bring to boil. Allow to boil for 1 minute.
- Lower heat, add apples, and gently stir for 1 minute.
- Add slurry and stir for 1 more minute over low heat.
- At this point you want to taste test your filling, if it is too tart, add another tablespoon of sugar.
- Remove from heat, and fill par-baked tartlet shells.
- Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, until filling is bubbly and shells are darkened in color.
- Allow to fully cool, then turn over tartlets to remove them from their pans. If they are sticking, give the bottom a little tap.
Video
Notes
- Pressing the dough above the height of the tart pans will prevent the sides of the tart shells from sinking down too low during baking.
- Freezing shells for 10-20 minutes before baking will prevent your dough from shrinking down too much during baking. Freeze until they feel firm to the touch.
- Tamping down inside of shells after baking will allow more room for filling.
- Since the tartlet shells are quite small, you’ll need to dice your apples into ¼″ cubes after peeling.
- Once baked, these apple pie tartlets will stay fresh for a couple days at room temperature in an airtight container, or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
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