Apple pie is amazing at any time of the year, but something about biting into that warm, cinnamon gooeyness in Autumn that makes it more than a yummy treat — it becomes an experience, a treasured memory. Make these apple hand pies that are just like eating a big slice of a large pie except you don’t need a fork or even a plate (unless you want to have it with ice cream or whipped cream). If you do serve it on a plate, try it with a generous drizzle of my caramel sauce!
Ingredients:
Pie Filling…
- 2 cups finely diced apples
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1.5 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
Crust…
- 2 cups all purpose flour (you can also use King Arthur’s Gluten Free Flour if you have sensitivities)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 sticks of cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 tbsp cold milk
Steps:
- Combine the diced apples, butter, brown sugar, spices in a skillet over medium-low heat on the stove. Stir occasionally, to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of skillet, while mixture simmers for 5-7 minutes or until the apples are tender. Now, let’s make the crust!…
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut butter into the mixture until it is crumbly. You can also do this in a heavy duty food processor, just make sure not to over mix.
- Add the egg yolks and milk, mix with silicone spatula until the dough is combined. Again, do not over mix — right when the dough is combined go to the next step.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Use a 3 or 4 inch circle cookie cutter and cut out as many circles as you can. Re-roll the dough and cut more circles as needed.
- Make sure you either grease a baking sheet with butter, oil or cooking spray. Then place the bottom crust of the hand pies on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Add about 2 tablespoons of apple filling to the center of each crust.
- Place the top crust over the filling and use a fork to crimp the edges, sealing the bottom and top crusts together. Use a knife to carefully create two or three small air vents.
- Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill the dough before baking. This is an important step so the hand pies don’t fall apart!
- After 30 minutes, take the chilled hand pies out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Brush each pie with egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 taplespoon of water).
- Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the pies begin to turn golden. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, and/or caramel sauce or just enjoy it like well… like a hand pie! 🙂