Preparation Steps

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners.
• Whisk salt, baking powder, and flour in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Cream sugar into melted butter using a hand mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla extract.
• Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined and scrape sides of bowl.
• Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full and bake for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before filling and frosting.
• For filling, combine water, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk and cook until thickened, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add diced apples, stir, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until apples are tender and mixture is thick, about 7-8 minutes. Remove and cool.
• Beat softened butter with electric mixer until smooth. Slowly mix in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting is creamy and pipeable.
• Cut a small circle from the top and partway inside each cupcake. Fill with about 1 tablespoon of apple pie filling.
• Pipe frosting around the edge of the cupcake to resemble a pie crust. Top with a pie crust chip if desired.
• Store cupcakes loosely covered in the refrigerator. Cupcakes, frosting, and pie filling can be frozen for up to 3 months before assembly.