I had the occasion to provide some desserts for an event last week. I chose Sally’s apple hand pies with salted caramel and mini blueberry amuse-bouche cheesecakes. Both were delicious. The cheesecake is an amalgamation of several other bakes I previously made, so I think I can now safely say “adapted” from Sally’s.

Apple Hand Pie – Sally

INGREDIENTS
• Homemade Pie Crust (makes 2 crusts, use both)
• 300g (3 medium apples, 2 ½ c) peeled and diced into small bite-size pieces
• 70g (⅓ c) granulated sugar
• 28g (2 Tbl) unsalted butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
• homemade salted caramel for topping

METHOD
Preliminary note:

1. You can shape the hand pies whatever shape you want. I use a 3”round cookie cutter for the bottom crust and a 3 ½ “ for the top. The larger top crusts allows more filling for each pie.
   
   The crust:
2. Prepare my pie crust recipe through step 5. The dough must chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
   
   The filling:
3. Combine the diced apples, granulated sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together in a medium saucepan or skillet over low-medium heat. While occasionally stirring, bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool uncovered at room temperature for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out the pie dough: On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls. At any sign of sticking, sprinkle some flour underneath then keep rolling. Roll out until it’s about 1/8” thick. Using your cookie cutter, cut into circles and put the circles into the refrigerator. Form a ball with the scraps and roll out into a thin sheet and put into the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Then roll the chilled dough into a 1/8” thin sheet and cut into circles. Place cut circles in the refrigerator to keep cold. The colder the shaped dough, the easier it is to work with. Repeat with 2nd pie dough and refrigerate cut circles using the other size cookie cutter for at least 15 minutes before filling the hand pies.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F (191°Can ). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
   Fill the hand pies:
6. Leaving the smaller, bottom crusts in the fridge and using a sharp knife, cut two parallel slits into the larger circles. These are the top crusts. (The slits act as vents to allow steam to escape as the hand pies bake.) Arrange the smaller circles about 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. These are the bottom crusts. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each bottom crust. (Or however much fits while leaving the edges bare.) Paint the edge of the bottom crust with water then place top crust on top. Press your fingers all around the edges to seal, then crimp the pie crust edges with a fork. If the hand pies lost some shape, use your hands to form a round circle again. It’s OK if some filling juice is leaking out. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with egg wash mixture. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
7. At this point the hand pies can be baked, but if they don’t feel cool to touch anymore, freeze for 10 minutes before baking. The colder they are going into the oven, the better they’ll hold their shape.
8. Bake for about 28–32 minutes or until they’re golden brown on top and around the edges. Rotate pans halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and allow the hand pies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to handle. You can serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, serve with a drizzle of warm salted caramel.

Cover leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes

1. Make Ahead / Freezing Instructions: A couple ways to make ahead of time!
   a. The pie crust dough can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
   b. Filling can also be prepared ahead of time. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Prepared filling can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
   c. Assembled and unbaked hand pies can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, no need to thaw before baking; simply add an extra couple minutes of bake time.
   d. Baked hand pies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving.

Cheesecakes – Mini No-Bake

INGREDIENTS
Graham Cracker Crust
• 240 g (2 c) graham cracker crumbs (about 16 full sheet graham crackers)
• 67 g (⅓ c) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 113 g (½ c; 8 Tbl; 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling
• 240 (1 c) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
• 452 g (16 oz) RT full-fat brick cream cheese
• 67 g (⅓ c) granulated sugar
• 30 g (2 Tbl) RT sour cream
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
optional: your desired toppings (see recipe Note)

METHOD
Crust:

1. Line two standard 12-count mini muffin pans with cupcake liners. Make sure you have room in your refrigerator for three pans. (You refrigerate them in step 6.)
2. Use a food processor to pulse the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Pour crumbs into a medium bowl and stir in the brown sugar and melted butter until combined. Mixture will have the consistency of wet sand. Spoon tsp of the crust mixture into each cupcake liner and use the back of the spoon to pack it down tightly. (The bottom of the liner should have 1/8” of packed crust.)
3. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes in a 350°F (177°C) oven. The crusts are a little sturdier this way. Let the warm crusts cool for 10 minutes before adding the filling on top.
   Make Filling:
4. Place metal stand mixer bowl and whisk in freezer for 30 minutes before proceeding. Whip the cold heavy cream into stiff peaks on medium-high speed, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
5. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and combined, about 1 minute. Make sure there are no large lumps of cream cheese. If there are lumps, keep beating until smooth.
6. With a silicone spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until combined. This takes several turns of your rubber spatula. Combine slowly as you don’t want to deflate all the air in the whipped cream.
7. Use piping bag to transfer the filling on top of the crusts. Pipe about 2 Tablespoons of filling over each crust. Fit your piping bag with a large star or round piping tip, then transfer the filling to the bag and pipe. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the tops so they are flat.
8. Refrigerate the mini cheesecakes in the pans for at least 3 hours and up to 2 days. If refrigerating for longer than 3 hours, cover with plastic wrap.
9. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve with optional toppings (see recipe Note). The cheesecakes begin to soften and stick to the liners after about 30–60 minutes at room temperature.
10. Cover and store leftover mini cheesecakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
    NOTES
11. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The mini cheesecakes can be made 1-2 days in advance and refrigerated for up to 2 days before serving, as noted in step 6. Another way to prep these mini no-bake cheesecakes is to freeze them. Refrigerate them as directed in step 6, then remove them from the muffin pan (keep the liners on them) and line in a single layer in a large freezer-friendly container. Cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving.
12. Optional Toppings: Right before serving, you can add toppings to the mini cheesecakes. You can also add the following toppings after the cheesecakes have chilled in the refrigerator for just 1–2 hours (step 6), then store the topped cheesecakes in the refrigerator for the remaining time. Use 3/4 cup strawberry sauce divided over each chilled mini cheesecake. (Spoon about 1/2 Tablespoon over each.) And/or use 1 cup mixed berries, plus a few mint leaves, divided over each for additional garnish. Instead of strawberry sauce, try the same amount of lemon curd, apple butter, or your favorite fruit preserves. You can also top with chocolate ganache. I recommend spooning a little over each mini cheesecake before refrigerating so the ganache can set up too.
13. Lemon Juice: Lemon juice brightens up the flavor. This cheesecake does not taste like lemon. For lemon flavored mini no-bake cheesecakes, replace the sour cream with 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (in addition to the 1 teaspoon lemon juice that it already calls for) and add 2 teaspoons lemon zest.
14. Room Temperature Ingredients: Bring the cream cheese and sour cream to room temperature before beginning. Room temperature ingredients guarantee a smooth cheesecake filling. Beating cold ingredients together will result in a chunky cheesecake filling. (The heavy cream, however, MUST be cold in order to whip into stiff peaks.)

Strawberry Sauce

INGREDIENTS
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 Tablespoons (45ml) warm water
• 1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced in half (you can use frozen; don’t thaw)
• Zest and juice from 1/2 small lemon
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

METHOD

1. Whisk the cornstarch and water together until all the cornstarch has dissolved. (I just use a fork to mix—very easy.)
2. Place the cornstarch mixture, along with the rest of the ingredients, into a small saucepan over medium heat. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir the mixture as it cooks. Break up some of the strawberries as you stir. For smoother sauce blend the strawberries in advance.
3. Bring it to a simmer and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. After 5 minutes, remove pan from the heat and allow to cool. The mixture will thicken as it cools.
4. You can serve the sauce warm before it cools completely if desired, or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Strawberry topping will be thick after refrigeration, so microwave for 15 seconds or warm on the stove to thin out, if desired.