Single Serving Pie, or What To Do With Extra Crust

     I am in an energetic and enthusiastic cooking and baking phase.  This seems to coincide with the acquisition of a few items....a couple new cookbooks, my new Kitchenaid, the ever improving status of my kitchen-in-remodel.... all have convened to create a higher level of inspiration than in previous months.  It could also be that the days are getting longer, making all items of greater interest to me.
     The Kitchenaid is a great forward move.  I have had the same previous mixer for about 20 years, and it was a bit inadequate from the get-go.  This new one has more power and can take the volume of 2 loaves of bread dough.  What do do?  I must put it though its paces.  So this weekend has been filled with a batch of cinnamon swirl bread, pie dough, cookies (Bryce's endeavor) as well as a chocolate cake with frosting for the Hoover Boys (this is the name I have given Bryce's friends who come over to play D&D.  I love having them and they are very friendly and polite.  They can also eat a frightening amount of food).  All have been excellent.
     Today's efforts, however, are worthy of mentioning here.  I made the pie dough for 2 reasons:  First, as mentioned above, to text the behavior of the Kitchenaid.  It's big enough, I should name her.  Freda?  Sounds good.  But I didn't actually need both crusts, only 1 for dinner yesterday ---a quiche.
So today I was faced with a request to make a pie, so that Bryce could bring a piece to school for a friend.  This posed the complicating question of how it would hold up on the bus and in the backpack.  Which is when I recalled that I had these small tartlet pans that I had never used.
     The pans have always intimidated me, as I have never actually baked with these before.  But they would solve the transport and durability question.  The next issue was the recipe.  I riffed a recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking for an Alsatian Apple Tart, with great success.

     Basically, this uses pie crust---please don't consider using store bought, in simply isn't tender enough or flavorful enough, in a tartlet pan.  It is filled with thinly sliced apples, with a custard poured on top, and then baked.  They were delicious.  It would probably work with a tart crust as well.  It would work with pear as well.
     I am sure it would work as an entire tart, as written, but I had other goals in mind....

Alsatian Apple Tartlets

based on the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking

makes 6-8 tartlets

1 pie crust, chilled.  (I used the recipe from Alana Chernila's book, The Homemade Kitchen)

2-3 sweet-tart apples

1/3-1/2 c heavy cream

1 egg

3 T sugar

pinch salt

freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly oil the tartlet pans.  Roll the crust out and cut into rounds the same size as the pans, and fit inside, trim the excess.  Repeat until all the dough is used.  I broke rules and re-rolled the scraps with no real discernible negative effect.

Peel, quarter, core and slice the apples thinly.  Neatly place into each pan, filled about 80-90%. 

Beat egg, sugar, salt and cream, in a container with a spout, and pour over each filled little apple collection.  The apples will sit proud of the cream somewhat.  

Grate a small amount of nutmeg on top. 

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until custard is set and crusts are golden.