Dulce de leche apple pies

When it comes to fruit desserts I need no convincing: I'll choose them over chocolate ones any day. Therefore, I got really curious when I saw the recipe for these pies: apple and dulce de leche together? Would that work? I don't think apple pies need any embellishment, but the idea of adding ddl intrigued me too much and I had to try it - what can I say? Delicious Australia was right again, for a change. :)

Dulce de leche apple pies
from the always delicious Delicious - Australia

Pastry:
2 ½ cups (225g) all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
150g chilled unsalted butter, roughly chopped
2-3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
600g (about 3) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons water
½ cup dulce de leche
1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pastry: place flour, cinnamon, icing sugar and butter in a food processor, and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the water (you might not need all of it) and process until the mixture starts to form a dough. Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Make the filling: place the apples in a large saucepan with the butter and water. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are soft and the liquid has been absorbed. Cool slightly then stir in the dulce de leche.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a 6-hole Texas muffin pan, then line the holes with baking paper.
Roll out the pastry on lightly floured surface and cut out six 12cm circles. Bring the remaining pastry together and roll out again. Cut out six 6cm circles. Press larger pastry circles into the lined muffin holes. Fill with the apple mixture. Brush edges with egg, then top with the smaller pastry circles and gently press together the pastry edges to seal the pies. Use any leftover pastry to decorate the tops of the pies, then brush with egg. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden.
Stand for 10 minutes in the pan, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or with vanilla ice cream

Makes 6 – I used a muffin pan with 1/3-cup capacity cavities and got 8 pies; I did not line the pan with paper – I did not think it would work to press pastry on top of paper – and even thought I’d generously buttered the pan the pies got stuck and getting them out of the pan was a nightmare :S
I guess that using tartlet pans with removable bottoms would work better.