Mini Apple Tarts

These easy vegan mini apple tarts feature a flaky, buttery shortcrust pastry and a warm, spiced apple filling that’s sweet, gooey, and perfectly tender. Perfect for tea time, holidays, or any occasion that calls for a cozy, bite-sized dessert.

Love More Dessert Recipes? Try Apple Crumble Cheesecake or this Pumpkin Banana Muffins next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Crisp, flaky pastry meets warm cinnamon-spiced apples with just the right touch of sweetness. Completely dairy-free but full of rich, nostalgic flavor. The kitchen fills with a cozy, irresistible aroma, and the result looks impressive—no complicated steps required.

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Ingredients

For the Apple Filling:

• 3 medium apples, diced (about 1 cm cubes) – Honeycrisp for sweetness, Granny Smith for tang!
• ⅓ to ½ cup brown sugar (taste your apples first – sweeter apples need less)
• 3 tablespoons vegan butter
• 2–3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1½ tablespoons cornstarch

For the Shortcrust Pastry:

• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup vegan butter (softened) – cold makes crumbly mess, melted makes tough dough
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons cold water (maybe 3 if your kitchen’s dry)
• Pinch of salt (skip if butter’s salted)

Why These Ingredients Work

Every ingredient pulls its weight here, no freeloaders allowed. Apples need that perfect sweet-tart balance – too sweet and you’re eating baby food, too tart and your face implodes. Brown sugar beats white sugar because of those molasses notes that hug the apples like a warm blanket. Vegan butter shocked me with how flaky it makes pastry – my butter-obsessed mother couldn’t tell the difference.

Lemon juice does double duty: stops ugly brown apples and cuts through richness like a boss. Cornstarch transforms runny apple juice into glossy filling gold – flour works but leaves a weird pasty taste. Powdered sugar in the crust creates tender magic because the cornstarch in it interferes with gluten development. Science tastes delicious, folks!

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Mini tart pans or muffin tin (muffin tins = easier cleanup)
• Rolling pin
• Round cookie cutter or drinking glass
• Medium saucepan
• Wire cooling rack
• Pastry brush (finger works in a pinch)

How To Make Mini Apple Tarts

1. Make the Apple Filling

Dump apples, brown sugar, vegan butter, lemon juice, and cinnamon into your saucepan. Medium heat, occasional stir, let them mingle for 10 minutes. You want tender apples that still know their shape – mush belongs in applesauce, not tarts.

Cornstarch time: whisk it with water until smooth (lumps = sadness). Pour into bubbling apples while stirring like your life depends on it. Five more minutes until thick and shiny. Off the heat, into a bowl, ignore it while it cools. Seriously, hot filling equals soggy disaster – I’ve cried over this mistake.

2. Prepare the Pastry

Chuck flour, powdered sugar, salt, and soft vegan butter into a bowl. Mash with a fork or pulse in food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs with attitude. Visible butter bits = future flaky layers.

Drizzle cold water while mixing gently – think folding laundry, not kneading bread. Dough should stick together when squeezed but not feel wet. Too dry? Water by the teaspoon. Too sticky? Flour to the rescue.

3. Assemble the Tarts

Oven to 350°F (180°C) – hotter burns edges, cooler leaves sad pale crusts.

Grease those tart molds like they insulted your mother. Roll dough ¼-inch thick on floured surface. Cut circles bigger than your molds – shrinkage happens. Press dough into molds, embracing wonky edges because perfection is overrated. Spoon cooled filling into shells – level with edges unless you enjoy scraping caramelized apple off your oven floor.

4. Bake

Twenty minutes in the oven transforms dough and fruit into golden happiness. Edges should be bronzed, filling should bubble lazily.

Fifteen minutes cooling in pans – they’re fragile babies right now. Gentle wiggle with a knife releases them. Wire rack finish prevents soggy bottoms (Mary Berry knows).

You Must Know

Room temperature filling or bust! Hot apples melt butter in pastry, creating greasy puddles instead of flaky layers. Make filling first, let it chill while you wrestle with dough.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Mix apple varieties for complexity – one tart, one sweet prevents boring one-note flavor
• Blind baking paranoid? Five minutes empty shells before filling guarantees crispy bottoms
• Butter temperature matters more than your horoscope – fingertip leaves dent but doesn’t sink
• Overworking dough creates cardboard – mix until barely together then STOP

Flavor Variations

Boredom isn’t allowed in my kitchen!

• Caramel Apple: Vegan caramel drizzle turns basic into bougie
• Spice Fiend: Quarter teaspoon each nutmeg and ginger joins the cinnamon party
• Maple Mania: Swap brown sugar for maple syrup, crown with pecans
• Berry Surprise: Handful of cranberries adds puckery punch
• Salt Bae: Flaky sea salt sprinkle before baking = sweet-salty nirvana

Make-Ahead Options

Life happens, prep ahead saves sanity. Apple filling chills happily for three days sealed tight. Dough wraps and refrigerates for two days, freezes for a month.

Assembly line style works too – build tarts, wrap like precious gems, refrigerate overnight. Baking day: counter rest ten minutes, maybe three extra oven minutes. Frozen unbaked tarts bake straight from Arctic temperatures – add five to seven minutes.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

• Cracked dough means nothing – squish together and move on with life
• Food processor people: fifteen pulses max or butter overheats into sadness
• Runny filling tightens during cooling – trust the process
• Peak deliciousness window: day one through three, edible through five

Serving Suggestions

Naked tarts need no shame, but gilding the lily never hurt:

• Vegan vanilla ice cream melting into warm filling
• Powdered sugar snow shower for Instagram glory
• British vibes with warm custard river
• Coconut whipped cream clouds plus cinnamon rain
• Coffee sidekick for afternoon revival

These tarts vanished at three potlucks, two birthdays, and one Tuesday night Netflix binge. Fair warning: doubling the recipe prevents disappointment and passive-aggressive texts asking why you didn’t make more.

Sending tart love and butter-scented hugs from my messy kitchen to yours!

How to Store Your Mini Apple Tarts

Counter: Covered container, two days max before sadness sets in
Fridge: Five days under wraps, slight softening acceptable
Freezer: Individual wrap in plastic then foil fortress, three month hibernation
Revival: 300°F oven for five to seven minutes restores crispness, microwave twenty seconds for speed over quality

Allergy Information

Natural egg-free and dairy-free status means more people get dessert! Nut-free unless you go rogue with toppings.

Gluten-free warriors: grab 1:1 substitute flour – Bob’s Red Mill never fails me.

Sugar police: coconut sugar replaces brown, maple syrup subs for powdered in pastry.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use regular butter instead of vegan butter?
Sure thing! Same amounts, same delicious results, just not vegan anymore obviously.

My pastry keeps shrinking when I bake it. Help!
Overworked or overstretched dough throws tantrums. Fridge rest fifteen minutes before baking calms the gluten.

Can I make these in a regular-sized tart pan?
Absolutely! Nine-inch pan needs twenty-five to thirty minutes baking. One giant tart for slicing drama.

What’s the best apple variety for this recipe?
Granny Smith plus Honeycrisp equals perfection. Braeburn, Jonagold, Pink Lady also rock. Red Delicious belongs in lunchboxes, not baking.

Can I make these without cornstarch?
Arrowroot or tapioca starch substitute equally. All-purpose flour needs two tablespoons but tastes slightly gluey.

💬 Made these? Spill the tea below! Star ratings feed my soul, variation stories make my day!