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Cinnamon Sugar Pie Bites with a Cream Cheese Frosting Dip

September 29, 2022 by joshisbaking Leave a Comment

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Flaky, crunchy, cinnamon sugar pie bites paired with a smooth cream cheese frosting dip—yes please! This recipe is so easy to throw together (especially if you use store-bought pie dough) and is a much-welcome treat for those chilly fall evenings.

Cozy up, friends and then let’s bake!

cinnamon sugar pie bites
cinnamon sugar pie bites

Some Materials You’ll Need:

  • Rolling pin
  • Large baking sheet
  • Parchment paper
  • Various mixing bowls
  • Fork
  • Measuring cups/spoons
  • Wooden spoon/whisk
  • Pastry brush (something to apply egg wash
  • Plastic Wrap
  • 3 inch round biscuit cutter (or whatever shape you want these cut in)
cinnamon sugar pie bites

Making the Pie Dough

You can certainly use store-bought pie dough to save time if you’re in pinch (or hangry and need these ASAP, I feel you). With that said, if you’re looking for truly flaky, buttery, and crunchy pie crust to dip in that cream cheese frost dip—this is the dough for you.

Here’s a breakdown of how to make the pie dough and scroll down a little further for tips on achieving truly flaky crust!

  1. Place your butter in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up. Whisk your flour and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Cut your butter it into 1/2 inch cubes, then toss in the flour to coat.
  2. Squish each piece between two fingers to create flat little “shingles” of butter and then use both hands to crumble some of them into smaller pea-sized pieces.
  3. Make a well in the center, add 4 tablespoons of ice water, toss it with the flour until mostly incorporated and then add more ice water by the tablespoon until the dough is shaggy, but generally holds together (more crumbly, not wet & sticky).
  4. Shape into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  5. After it’s chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a large square (~8×8 inch). Fold in half twice (top to bottom, left to right) so it’s a quarter of the original size.
  6. Roll out and repeat the folds again, using more flour as needed. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill in the fridge for another 30 minutes, up to 1 hour (ideal).

I’ve more tips in my Strawberry Galette recipe too! Check that out to master this dough, friends.

cinnamon sugar pie bites

Making the Cream Cheese Frosting Dip

This cream cheese frosting dip is super easy to make, trust me. I just use a wooden spoon to cut back on dishes and having to deal with a hand mixer, but you do you. Just be careful not to over-do it on the whole milk. You want a thicker consistency—it’s a dip, not a glaze after all (think Dunkaroos).

In a medium-sized bowl, add your softened cream cheese, sifted powdered sugar, melted/cooled butter, and vanilla paste/extract. Mix/beat together using a wooden spoon until smooth (again, a hand mixer works just not always necessary if your ingredients are at the appropriate temperatures). Then, whisk in your whole milk by the tablespoon until desired consistency. Go thick for maximum dipping potential!

cinnamon sugar pie bites

How to Make Flaky Pie Crust (Tips & Tricks)

In the previous section on “Making the Pie Dough,” I had you go through a series of folds in the last time. This helps create extra layers within the crust that will puff up during the bake! If you look closely at the photos below, you can see all those little layers in there. Literally drooling as I type that.

If making dough stresses you out or you don’t feel as confident with it, I’d recommend letting the dough chill in the fridge for a bit after making it before attempting the folds (as the instructions state). This gives the dough time to firm back up (the butter, really) and make it easier to handle. Check out a video of me doing this over on Instagram as a helpful visual!

If, however, you want to cut out the hassle of having to wait that first period of chill time, you can totally just do the folds immediately after throwing the shaggy dough together. Just be aware that the dough will be sticker than if you let it chill first as the butter will be warmer from handling it. I like to use a bench scraper to scrape underneath the dough as I make my folds so nothing gets left behind on the surface.

With truly flaky pie crusts, the goal is to leave larger (but flat) pieces of butter intact when you go into the bake. You also want to make sure the butter/dough is cold going into the bake. Cold butter will release steam as it’s baked and that steam puffs up all those layers you made, resulting in a flaky AF crust.

cinnamon sugar pie bites

Storing these Cinnamon Sugar Pie Bites

I would store these two cuties in separate places, though let’s be honest—they won’t make it past day one because they’re too delish!

Store the cinnamon sugar pie bites at room temperature in an airtight container and the cream cheese frosting dip in the fridge, also in an airtight container. I like to throw a piece of plastic wrap over the dip (push it down so it’s touching the surface of the dip). This helps prevent any potential condensation in the container that can drip down and mess with the consistency.

cinnamon sugar pie bites

Tag me @joshisbaking over on Instagram if you make these cinnamon sugar pie bites, friends! Better yet, tag me in some dunking videos—that’s what I want to see, let’s be real. Now I’m off to make a double batch of these babies, throw on an oversized sweatshirt, and down them while watching some cozy period piece drama.

Toodles!


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Cinnamon Sugar Pie Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting Dip

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  • Author: joshisbaking
  • Prep Time: 1 Hour
  • Chill Time: 1-2 Hours
  • Cook Time: 30 Min.
  • Total Time: ~3 Hours (if making your own dough)
  • Yield: 12–15 Pie Bites 1x
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Description

Flaky, crunchy, cinnamon sugar pie bites paired with a smooth cream cheese frosting dip.


Ingredients

Units Scale

You can also use store-bought pie dough for this recipe to save time or if you have some on hand, though the recipe below has never failed to give me perfectly flaky dough!

Pie Dough + Cinnamon Sugar

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180g)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter (113g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6–8 tablespoons ice cold water (place a few ice cubes in a measuring cup, fill to 1/2 cup with cold water, then place in fridge until ready to use)
  • Egg Wash: 1 large egg (50g), lightly whisked
  • Cinnamon Sugar: 1 cup granulated sugar (100g) + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, whisked together

Cream Cheese Frosting Dip

  • 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature (113g)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted (100g)
  • 4 tablespoons butter (~56g), melted & slightly cooled
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste (or extract)
  • 1–2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

If USING PRE-MADE DOUGH: Skip to “Baking the Dough” section!

Making the Pie Dough

  1. Place your butter in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up. Whisk your flour and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Cut your butter it into 1/2 inch cubes, then toss in the flour to coat. Squish each piece between two fingers to create flat little “shingles” of butter and then use both hands to crumble some of them into smaller pea-sized pieces.
  2. Make a well in the center and add 4 tablespoons of ice water. Toss it with the flour (I just use my hands) until mostly incorporated and then add more ice water by the tablespoon until the dough is shaggy, but generally holds together (more crumbly, not wet & sticky). Shape into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
  3. After it’s chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a large square (~8×8 inch). Fold in half twice (top to bottom, left to right) so it’s a quarter of the original size. Roll out and repeat the folds again, using more flour as needed. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill in the fridge for another 30 minutes, up to 1 hour (which is best if you have the time).

(Step 3 makes your dough much easier to work with/flakier layers. You can also do this step right after making the dough, just know it’ll be more sticky when handling.)

Baking the Dough

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and prep a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough until about a 1/4 inch thick. Cut out dough using your desired shape/cutter (I used a 3 inch round biscuit cutter), making sure to re-roll the scraps (use more flour if needed) to cut out more discs. Space a couple inches apart on your baking sheet.
  2. Using a fork, poke a few holes in the top of each (to let steam escape) and then generously brush the tops with your egg wash (1 egg, lightly whisked). Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes or desired browning (go darker for more crunch)—prep your cinnamon sugar in a small bowl while they bake! As soon as they’re out of the oven, carefully dip/toss each piece in your cinnamon sugar to coat. Set aside to cool down on a wire rack bit while you make the frosting dip.

Cream Cheese Frosting Dip

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, add your softened cream cheese, sifted powdered sugar, melted/cooled butter, and vanilla paste/extract. Mix/beat together using a wooden spoon until smooth (hand mixer works too) and then whisk in your whole milk by the tablespoon until desired consistency. You want this on the thicker side for maximum dipping potential.

(You can also make the frosting dip while your pie bites bake if you have time!)


Notes

  • Storing: The cream cheese frosting will keep for up to 5 days stored in the fridge in an airtight container. The cinnamon sugar pie bites will keep for up 3 days stored at room temperature in an airtight container (though best enjoyed day-of for the best crunch/bite).
  • See blog above for lots of tips on the pie dough!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @joshisbaking on Instagram and hashtag it #joshisbaking

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Filed Under: Pastries Tagged With: cinnamon, cinnamon sugar, cinnamon sugar pie bites, cream cheese, cream cheese frosting, cream cheese frosting dip, dip, easy recipes, fall, fall recipes, frosting, pastries, pastry, pastry recipes, pie, pie bites, pie crust, pie dough

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