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These apple hand pies are mini apple pies, made with easy pie dough, a simple apple pie filling, and a delicious maple glaze for a perfect fall dessert!
Hello friends!
I’ve dedicated this season to tackling classic fall flavors one at a time.
I mean I love that my condo smells always smells like a nice fall scented candle. How could it not, with all the pumpkin cupcakes, and caramel pecan cheesecake brownies, and these apple hand pies, that I’ve been experimenting with!
These apple hand pies were actually a request from my husband. He loves apple pie. But I barely dabble in pie dough. I only started to experiment with pie dough this year and came up with these delicious raspberry cream cheese hand pies.
So it seemed only natural to make an apple version. This way the two of us wouldn’t eat an entire apple pie by ourselves!
How to make Apple Hand Pies?
There are three components to these mini apple hand pies: the pie dough, the apple pie filling, and the maple glaze.
Pie Dough
Pie dough is actually something I haven’t ventured into, until this year.
At this point, I can make macarons in my sleep, but pies are just something I don’t tackle too often.
I love the buttery, flaky texture of freshly baked pastries, but I was never happy with the texture of my pie dough.
Here’s the trick that finally worked for me to get that flaky texture just right – GRATE YOUR COLD BUTTER.
The rest of the pie dough is pretty standard. Sally’s Baking Addiction has a great resource on making flaky pie crust if you need more direction.
Tips for Pie Crust
If you’re making your pie crust dough at home, here are my best tips:
- Grate your cold butter into the dough mixture. This worked wonders and the result was an evenly flaky pie crust, with pockets of butter all over!
- Keep everything chilled as you work – use ice water, a cold countertop or a marble pastry board (this is the one I have), or pop it all into the fridge if you need it to chill a bit while working the dough.
- Make sure to let the pie crust rest in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before rolling it out and adding your filling
Really though, you can also use store-bought pie crust dough!
Apple Pie Filling
The apple pie recipe is quite simple. Just dump all the ingredients in a saucepan and let the apples cook down.
I like to season my apple pie filling with cinnamon and cardamom, but feel free to use any combination you like!
If you have any leftover filling, use them on top of some pancakes as I do in my Apple Pie Pancakes!
Once the pie filling cools down a bit, you’re ready to fill them into your hand pies.
Filling the Apple Hand Pies
When you’re ready to fill the apple hand pies, roll out hte dough, and divide it into 16 rectangles (for 8 hand pies)
Add 2-3 tbsp of apple pie filling to the middle of 8 of the rectangles, leaving a border around the edges.
Brush edges with some egg wash.
Cut ventilation slits or holes on the remaining empty rectangles.
Then, lay the empty rectangle pie crust on top of the filled ones.
Bake at 400ºF for 25-30 minutes!
Maple Glaze
This glaze is completely optional, but it adds a nice touch of sweetness to the apple hand pies, and it’s how I can add a few sprinkles to the top!
Follow me on Instagram @sprinklesandscribbles for more baking inspiration!
Cheers,
Anum
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
Basic Pie Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling
- 2 teaspoons tsp granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter grated
- 1/2 cup ice water see notes
Apple Pie Filling
- 2 medium apples or 1 large
- 1 teaspoon 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon 1 tsp cardamom
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cup water
Assembly
- 1 egg beaten
Maple Glaze
- 1/2 cup cup icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
Pie Dough
- Measure 1/2 cup water, and add ice to it. This will be your ice cold water
- In a large bowl whisk together, the flour, salt and sugar.
- Add in grated butter, and with two forks or a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the flour mixture
- Measure out 1/2 cup water from your ice water, and slowly drizzle in the ice water, while mixing the pie dough, until it all just starts to clump together
- Transfer the pie dough onto your work surface, and with your hands, fold the dough into itself until it comes together.
- Wrap and chill it in the fridge, for at least 2 hours, or even overnight.
Apple Pie Filling
- Peel and core the apple, then cut into small cubes.
- In a small saucepan, add all the ingredients.Mix frequently, then cook for 15-20 minutes, until apples are tender, and the water has dried.
Filling the Hand Pies
- Preheat oven to 400ºF
- When ready to use, remove the pie dough from the frdige, and gently roll out the dough.
- Prepare a cookie sheet, with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
- Using a rectangle cookie cutter, or a knife, cut the dough into 14-16 rectangles for the top and bottom of the hand pies.
- Lay the rectangle in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet
- Add 2-3 tbsp of apple filling to the middle of half the rectangles, leaving a border around the edges.
- Brush edges with beaten egg.
- Cut ventilation slits or holes on the remaining empty rectangles. Then, lay the empty rectangle pie crust on top of the filled ones
- Using a fork, bind the top and bottom.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until pies are golden brown
- Let cool for 10 minutes before glazing
Maple Glaze
- Combine maple syrup, milk and icing sugar in a bowl
- Mix until combined to a drizzle consistency. If the glaze is too runny, add more icing sugar. If it is too thick, add a touch of milk or maple syrup.
- Drizzle over cooled apple hand pies.
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