Food: Charoset Pies

Last week was Holy Week, and in our house, my husband and I really tried to make this a learning experience for our children. I did some research and compiled a Holy Week Curriculum for my family, church family, and friends to use. One of my most memorable things of last week was the Seder meal we did with our kids. I tried my hand at lamb in the crockpot, steamed some carrots and parsnips in vanilla-buttered water, made communion bread,  and made Charoset (also called "haroset" and pronounced "KHah-Roh-sis"). The Seder ceremony we did needed really only about 1/2 cup, so I had a TON left over. So when Easter Sunday rolled around, and I was given the task of bringing a dessert to the family dinner, I decided to make little pies...little Charoset pies. Here's what I did:

Charoset Pies
serving size: 18 small pies


What You'll Need:

• 5 cups apples, peeled, cored, diced 
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey 
• 1/4 CUP ground cinnamon
• 2 cups grape juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

That was what was needed to make the Charoset. Just mix it all together. For the pies, add: 

• 1 cup golden raisins (I found raisins and/or figs in a few recipes for the charoset, so I figured this would help)
• 1/2 cup sugar or honey. (The grape juice and cinnamon in the Charoset makes it a little bitter, and I didn't want bitter pies) 
• 2 boxes premade, rolled, refrigerated pie crust (the kind you roll out, not the kind already in a pie pan) 
• Cupcake wrappers 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat the oven at 425. 
2. Mix together the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. 
3. Put cupcake wrappers in the muffin pan. I have one large (12 cupcakes) pan and one small (6 cupcakes) pan. I used both. I wanted to cook it all at the same time. 
4. Unroll the refrigerated pie crusts. Using a LARGE cup, cut out 18 circles. This will take about 1 and 1/2 crusts. You may have to ball up the scraps, reroll, and cut circles until you use all the crust and you have all the circles you need. Place one cut circle in each cupcake wrapper. Press down gently. 
5. Scoop a large spoonful of the Charoset mixture into each pie. Make sure it is an even amount. All of mine filled up and came close to the top of the cupcake wrapper. 
6. Cut out 18 more circles out of your refrigerated crust. Again, it used about 1 1/2 of the crusts. I had a little left over. Gently place the cut circles over the top of the pies. Using a fork, seal the edges of the bottom and top crusts. I then poked holes in the top with the fork making a cross. This helps the air to escape (you don't want exploding cupcakes all over your oven. 
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is slightly browned. 

When you these little cuties out of the oven, everyone will ooh and ahh over them. They tasted just like little apple pies (with a twist, thanks to the walnuts and raisins)! Having them in the cupcake wrappers can also help save on the dishes, and because they are so small, they make great serving sizes. My dad kept saying, "These are so good! And they taste healthy, too!" Aw, shucks! Thanks, dad! 

I hope your family enjoys these as much as my family enjoyed mine!