These Easy Air Fryer Apple Pie Bombs are the best! Flaky, miniature apple pies are made with refrigerated biscuits and filled with apple pie filling. Dip these homemade donuts in butter and coat with cinnamon sugar before cooking to create a "pie crust-like" shell.
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Why are these apple pie bombs the best?
Crispy on the outside like a pie crust, soft and tender on the inside like a filled donut! These are the best apple pie bombs because dipping the biscuit dough balls in butter BEFORE cooking them in the air fryer creates the buttery, crisp outside and caramelizes the cinnamon sugar onto the crust as it bakes.
These 4 ingredient Apple Pie Bombs are the bomb. Sorry. I couldn't resist saying it!
Seriously, they taste like apple pie-filled donut holes that met up with churros-without the frying! And did I mention how quick and easy these bite-size sweet treats are to make? (Well, they actually may be two bites-size.)
A similar sweet treat made in the air fryer is my Fried Oreos in Air Fryer with Crescent Rolls. It's also easy!
Ingredients
Scroll down to printable recipe for ingredient quantities.
- Canned Biscuits- (I like Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers-Original, Sweet Hawaiian, or Honey Butter)
- Apple Pie Filling- From a 20-ounce can or homemade. I like Lucky brand because it has cinnamon already in the filling. Other brands did not have any cinnamon. You can stir in ¼ teaspoon cinnamon if you like extra cinnamon.
- Cinnamon Sugar- (Made with granulated sugar and cinnamon-See NOTES in printable recip.) You can also buy it combined in the spice section of the grocery store.
- Melted Butter- Salted or unsalted
My first dessert to make in the air fryer was "Fried" Oreos. Oh. Wow. Why would anyone heat up quarts of oil to fry them when these Air Fryer "Fried" Oreos are this delicious.
What are the shortcuts?
- Refrigerated Biscuits. Rolling out canned biscuit dough is so much faster than making your own sweet roll dough or pie crust.
- Canned Apple Pie Filling is a no-brainer. No peeling, paring, or cooking apples. Not to mention not having to measure ingredients and cook and cool the pie filling.
- Cinnamon-Sugar. This can be bought already combined from the spice section in the grocery store. It can also be made with two pantry ingredients, sugar and cinnamon.
- Butter. I'm not picky when it comes to choosing salted or unsalted butter for sweet treats like this. Either one will work here.
How to make Easy Air Fryer Apple Pie Bombs
- Combine cinnamon and sugar if you are making your own. Melt butter in a small bowl. Chop the apples into small pieces.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350F degrees.
- Working with 4 biscuits at a time (keep others in the fridge), gently pull apart the layers into 2 halves. Flatten the biscuits into a 3 ½-inch circle. Place 1 tablespoon apple pie filling in center of each circle.
- Bring up the outside edges toward the center like a dumpling and pinch in the middle to seal.
- Dip the smooth tops in the melted butter, then in the bowl of cinnamon-sugar. I like to dip the bottoms, too, but it's a bit messy.
- Carefully arrange the bombs in the preheated air fryer basket or rack, seam side down, so they are not touching.
- Air fry at 350F degrees for 7 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
- While the first batch cooks, repeat the procedure with the remaining ingredients. How many batches you make will depend on the size of your basket or oven-style racks.
Tip: The apple pie filling inside will be very HOT! So, let them cool at least 5 minutes before eating.
Can I make these in my oven?
Yes! Prepare the apple pie bomb dough balls up to right before placing them in the air fryer. Place all of them on a greased baking sheet or lined with parchment paper, 1 inch apart, and bake them in a conventional oven at 375F degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
For a convection oven, follow the same directions as an air fryer baking at 350F degrees. Place the dough balls on a wire cooling rack (not nonstick) coated with cooking spray, placed on the baking sheet, to create the same heated air flow underneath the apple pie bombs as in the air fryer.
Pro Tip: Mind blower here. Air fryers are simply mini convection ovens.
I use my air fryer almost every day. From reheating leftovers so they are crisp (not limp from the microwave), roasting Brussels sprouts or baking Meatloaf with Tangy Sauce, I find air fryers to be incredibly versatile.
Helpful Information
Combine ½ cup granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Yes! Get creative. You can trade out an equal amount of apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice or combine ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground allspice to make your own apple pie spice to add to the sugar.
Leftover apple pie filling can be stirred into breakfast oatmeal, top pancakes with them, and fill frozen phyllo cups. You can also freeze pie filling in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Yes. Let them cool completely and place in an airtight container and freeze up to 3 months.
Yes, any canned pie filling will work. I have also made them with a can of "fried" apples. It's similar to pie filling but not as thick. Chocolate pudding can also be used but can be a little messy to pinch and seal.
Place in an airtight container or zip-top plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for 3 days and freeze up to 3 months.
To reheat from the fridge, air fryer at 350F degrees for 2 minutes. To reheat frozen pie bombs, air fry them at 350F degrees for 3 minutes, turn them over and air fry 3 to 4 additional minutes or until they are warm in the center.
What to serve with Apple Pie Bombs
- Cup of coffee
- Scoop of ice cream
- Drizzle with icing like a donut
- As a donut with other pastries on a breakfast tray.
- As an after school snack. These are so easy, teens can make these themselves.
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Air Fryer Cinnamon-Apple Bombs
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Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter
- ½ cup cinnamon sugar (See NOTES to make your own)
- 1 cup apple pie filling from a 20-ounce can of apple pie filling I used Lucky Leaf
- 1 16.3-ounce can Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers biscuits (Sweet Hawaiian, Honey Butter, or Original) (8 large biscuits)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the microwave in a small microwave-safe bowl at HIGH for 30 seconds; stir until melted. Combine sugar and cinnamon spice together in a small bowl if making your own.
- Chop the apples in the filling into about ½ inch pieces. Store remaining in the fridge in an airtight container for other batches or top pancakes with them.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350F degrees.
- Working with 4 biscuits for the first batch (keep remaining 4 cool in the fridge), pull apart the biscuits in half horizontally, separating the layers. Using a rolling pin or cylinder glass, roll each biscuit into a 3 ½-inch circle. Spoon about 1 rounded tablespoonful of fried apples in the center of each circle.
- Pull the outside edges in toward the center like a dumpling and pinch to seal. Dip the smooth tops of each ball into the butter, then the bottoms. Dip the tops in the cinnamon-sugar, then the bottoms. Optional: Dip the bottoms in butter and cinnamon sugar.
- If your air fryer rack is metal and not nonstick, spray with cooking spray. Arrange the balls on the air fryer rack so they are not touching, pinched-side-down.
- Air fry at 350F degrees for 7 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
- While the first batch cooks, repeat the procedure with the remaining ingredients. Best served warm.
Notes
To reheat from the fridge, air fryer at 350F degrees for 2 minutes. To reheat frozen pie bombs, air fry them at 350F degrees for 3 minutes, turn them over and air fry 3 to 4 additional minutes or until they are warm in the center. Bake in Oven: Prepare the apple pie bomb dough balls up to right before placing them in the air fryer. Place all of them on a greased baking sheet or lined with parchment paper, 1 inch apart, and bake them in a conventional oven at 375F degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
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