Apple pie bites are tiny pastry packages of apple pie goodness. Perfect for snacking, even better for dieting (sort of), and coated in sugary-cinnamony deliciousness, these apple bites are the best pastries we’ve baked in a long time!
These are delectable apple pies in miniature form, and they’re surprisingly easy to prepare with the help of pre-made crescent roll dough and a heap of your favorite apples. In this article, we’ll explain the best ingredients to use for this dessert before showing you the best way to bake these apple bite delights.
Keep reading, and learn how to make the best apple pie bites!
How to make apple pie bites
Apple pie bites are a fantastic way to use up leftover apples, particularly if you’re looking to bake something a little different from a full-sized apple pie. As far as easy apple dessert recipes go, this one’s simple to make, too - particularly when you have pre-made dough ready to go!
You’ll need pastry, an apple filling, and plenty of sugar and cinnamon for these apple roll-ups. Get the Apple peeler and line that baking sheet with parchment paper. Here are the major ingredients that you’ll need for this recipe:
Crescent roll dough
It’s so much easier to prepare this recipe if you’ve got your dough pre-made and ready to go. What we’re aiming for with this recipe are small, bite-sized apple pies. These are apple pies in miniature form, and there are lots of different ways to go about this.
You can use standard pastry, shortcrust pastry, or a pre-made pie crust such as Pillsbury apple pie dough. Our favorite option, though, is Pillsbury original crescent roll dough. This great pastry puffs up, and it can be stuffed full of tasty apple filling. The result is more of an apple pie croissant, but we love it!
Apple pie bites filling
Once you’ve decided on your dough, you’ll need to put together the filling. Our apple pie filling in the recipe below is prepared using a tart Granny Smith apple that’s been peeled, cored, then sliced into bite-sized chunks (Tip: read this article to learn more about what to do with apple peels!).
The apples are then coated in a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and walnuts, before being wrapped up loosely in tiny parcels of crescent roll. This is where you can get creative with the recipe, too. As well as apples, you can add other fruits to the filling - try pears, peaches, apricots, raisins, etc, etc.
If you’re not a fan of nuts or have allergies, then just skip the pecans and walnuts. It tastes great, anyway, without these extras!
That’s it, at its most basic. You need dough, and you need an apple pie filling for this apple dessert recipe - but let’s take a look at the recipe in more detail.
Apple pie bites recipe
The following recipe for mini apple pies crescent rolls takes just half an hour to prepare and bake. You’ll have 8 mini apple pie bites to serve, when following this recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 large Granny Smith apple
- 1/2 c of brown sugar
- 3 tsp of cinnamon powder
- ⅓ c of chopped walnuts and pecans
- 3 tbsp of melted butter
- 8-ounce can of Pillsbury crescent roll dough
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Remove the Pillsbury crescent roll dough from its packaging and unroll it on a work surface before separating all of the individual triangles of dough.
- Peel, core, and slice your Granny Smith apple. Place the bite-sized chunks into a mixing bowl. Cover with cinnamon and sugar, then mix with chopped pecans and walnuts to create your apple pie bites filling.
- Melt butter then spread over each triangle of Pillsbury crescent roll dough. Spoon an even amount of apple pie filling onto each of the triangles of dough.
- Roll the triangles into tiny croissants, then cover the outside with more melted butter. Sprinkle extra cinnamon and sugar over the apple pie bites to give them a tasty outer coating!
- Place each apple pie bite onto the parchment paper-lined baking tray, then bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool, then serve fresh with your favorite toppings!
Apple pie bites recipe FAQ
Is eating apple pie bad for you?
Okay, so apple pie isn’t necessarily the healthiest dish in the world. After all, there’s a lot of sugar, a lot of butter, and a lot of pastry that goes into a standard apple pie. On average, a single slice of apple pie contains at least 400 calories, so it really needs to be enjoyed in moderation, alongside a balanced diet and regular exercise.
Apple pie bites are slightly smaller than a standard apple pie slice, however, and so these tiny apple pies can actually help with portion control if you are looking to diet, but still enjoy a few treats every now and now - just don’t go eating all of the apple pie bites, no matter how tempting that will be!
We should also point out that while apple pie bites are sugary, they also pack some goodness in the form of the apples. Even as part of a pie filling, the apples still offer lots of excellent vitamins and nutrients (particularly Vitamin A!).
Do you need to pre-cook the apples before baking?
In this recipe, we don’t need to pre-cook the apples before baking. The apples are going to be thinly sliced and chopped, and given the small size of the apple pie bite itself, they don’t take too long to cook at all.
This is one reason we love this recipe. The prep and cook time is so much quicker than if you were to bake a full-sized apple pie. From start to finish, you can have this recipe ready to go in as little as half an hour!
What are the best toppings for apple pie bites?
Apple pie bites are great on their own, but you can turn these bite-sized desserts into an even tastier treat with a few quick toppings. Here are our top topping ideas for apple pie bites:
- Ice cream
- Whipped cream
- Heavy cream
- Frozen berries
- Custard
- Applesauce
Are apple pie bites better than apple cake?
This is one question that we’ll never be able to give a ‘correct’ answer to! It’s so subjective, and everyone has their own tastes and flavors.
Apple pie bites are certainly much quicker and easier to prepare than a cake, as all you need for these bites are pre-made pastry, sugar, cinnamon, and a Granny Smith apple. We think the results are delectable, but we understand that while an apple cake takes longer to prepare (and is more complicated), it’s also a delightfully delicious dessert!
Ultimately, if you prefer a quick pastry snack, then apple bites are for you. If you prefer a soft and spongy cake and have the time to prepare the batter and bake the cake, then apple cake is a great dessert.
Apple pie bites: the last bite!
Apple pie bites are a delicious snack, and we love how quick and easy they are to prepare. All you need is a Granny Smith apple, as well as a roll of store-bought crescent dough to get started (and sugar, butter, and cinnamon, of course!).
If you’ve been searching for a new dessert to try baking at home, then why not give our tiny but tasty apple pie bites a try?