Apple Hand Pies

5 from 20 votes

Apple hand pies are easier to make than full-size apple pie, and there is no need to share! These adorable mini apple pies are made of flaky pie dough and a creamy spiced apple filling. They are super easy to make and totally irresistible.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Waiting Time4

Total Time4

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: small hand pies

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Ingredients

Homemade Flaky Pie Dough

375 g All purpose flour
1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
½ teaspoon Salt
225 g Unsalted butter 82% fat, use it very cold
120 g Water use it very cold
30 g Apple Cider vinegar

Apple Filling

660 g Apple Peeled, sliced into small pieces
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
50 g Granulated sugar
50 g Brown sugar
1 tablespoon Corn starch
55 g Unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Egg wash

1 Egg
Splash of milk
Granulated sugar

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Start with Pie dough

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt until fully combined and place it into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Cut the cold butter into small chunks and place it into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Measure the water and vinegar separately, and place them into the freezer as well for 5-10 minutes.
Once all ingredients are nicely chilled, add very cold butter chunks into the bowl of flour and rub the mixture between your fingers until it becomes a sand-like consistency. Leave some bigger butter chunks in the mixture - this will encourage flaky pie texture on the pie crust - no need to fully incorporate the butter into the flour.
Add very cold water and apple cider vinegar into the dough, a small amount at a time, and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon after each addition. Once about 75% of the liquid is used, take out the part of the dough from the bowl, that is already well hydrated, and only keep adding the water to the rest of the dry dough. You might need to use all the water, or slightly less, or very slightly more, depending on the flour you are using and how neatly you hydrate the dough.
Now, on a lightly floured surface (or silicone making mat), start working the dough with your hands. First, it will look crumbly but it should come together in the next minute or so. Do not knead the dough as such, stop mixing, as soon as the dough comes together. Remember, leave in some butter chunks, do not overwork the dough, and do not use a mixer.
Form a disk, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

Optional; laminating the pie dough for extra flakiness

After 2 hours, take the pie dough disk out of the fridge and let it rest few minutes on the kitchen counter. The dough should stay cold but slightly warmed up to be able to roll it out without breaking it. Transfer the disk to a silicone baking mat or a lightly floured surface and start rolling it out, make sure you turn the dough with your hands after each rolling so it will become even. No need to add too much flour while rolling, the pie dough should be cold enough not to stick to the kitchen counter.
The goal is to roll the dough out into a rectangle of 11x17 inches / 28x43 cm relatively quickly without warming it up. Then, apply the following fold: Fold the left half over the right half. Then, you will get a 5.5x17 inches / 14x43 cm rectangle. Then, fold this long rectangle into half by folding the bottom half over the top half. You now have a 5.5x8.5 inches / 14x21.5 cm rectangle. Lastly, fold again the the bottom half over the top half, so you will end up with a 5.5x4 inches / 14x11 cm rectangle. After the last fold, cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

Continue with making the Apple filling

Cut the apples into small, identical pieces and sprinkle them with freshly squeezed lemon juice so they won't brown. Mix the apple pieces with the rest of the ingredients (sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon) and pre-cook the mixture in a saucepan over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until some water evaporates. You should have a lovely thick apple caramel sauce after the apples are pre-cooked. Use this filling cold or at room temperature.

Assembling and Baking

After the 2 hours rest time, take the pie dough disk out of the fridge and let it rest few minutes on the kitchen counter. The dough should stay cold but slightly warmed up to be able to roll it out without breaking it.
Transfer the disk to a lightly floured surface or Silicone baking mat and start rolling it out. Make sure you turn the dough with your hands after each rolling so it will become even. No need to add too much flour while rolling, the pie dough should be cold enough not to stick to the kitchen counter. If at any point the dough gets too warm, pop it back into the freezer for a minute and continue.
Roll the dough into 3mm thickness. Remember, do not force the dough, after rolling, it should stay smooth and cold, easy to work with.
With the help of a cookie cutter (size 3-4 inches, 8-10cm), cut out circles. Then, if the dough is warmed up, place the circles into the fridge for 15 minutes, otherwise, continue with the filling. Keep the pastry offcuts to make 'stems' for your apple hand pies.
Place half of the circles on a baking sheet with parchment paper or even better if using a perforated "air" baking mat for even baking - these will be the bottom of the hand pies. Form a stem with a small piece of pastry and attach it to the base of the hand pie.
Apply a light egg white wash around the bottom pie circle. This will help to "glue" the top and bottom together.
Prepare the top crust: using a sharp knife cut slits into the remaining dough circles.
Take the apple filling now and drain some of the apple caramel sauce - to use it later when serving the hand pies. Place about 1-2 tablespoons of apple filling in the center of each bottom crust, then place the top crust over the filling. Press your fingers around the edges to properly seal them, then crimp with a fork.
Finally, whisk together one egg with a splash of milk, and using a brush, gently apply egg wash on top of the pastry. Sprinkle also with a small amount of granulated sugar, if desired.
Chill the assembled apple hand pies while pre-heating your oven to 190C / 375F.
Bake the hand pies for about 30 minutes at 190C / 375F or until the top is golden brown and the bottom is evenly baked. Let hand pies slightly cool in the baking tray for 5 minutes, then move them onto a cooling rack.
They are best to serve fresh, either dusted with powdered sugar or drizzled with the apple caramel.
Store any leftover hand pies at room temperature for 2-3 days, or freeze them.

Notes

All ingredients, including butter, flour, and water, should be very cold for the pie dough.
Assembling this flaky pie crust will take less than 5 minutes. If you are assembling the dough for more than 5 minutes, then you are overworking it, and risking warming the ingredients up too much with your hands.
Resting the dough in the fridge is a must - you won't be able to roll it out without appropriate resting time (minimum 2 hours).
When cooking the apple pie filling, make sure to cook it only until the sauce somewhat thickens - you can use it later to drizzle the baked hand pies. Don´t overcook the apples, as they can become mushy.
If the hand pies are brownies too much during baking, place aluminum foil on top of them loosely.
Always check the bottom of the hand pies to judge whether they are well baked. It should not look doughy but golden brown.
Try making these hand pies with different fruits e.g. pear or blackberries. You can also flavor the dough with some citrus zest, vanilla extract, or a small amount of nut flour e.g. hazelnut or walnut flour would be really nice.

Nutrition