These Apple Hand Pies have a flaky, buttery crust and a delicious cinnamon apple filling. They're really easy to make and come out looking beautiful. Topping each hand pie with turbinado sugar gives them that beautiful golden color and the perfect amount of crunch.
I love using pink lady apples for these hand pies since they bake well and are sweet with just a hint of tartness. However, you can use any other apple that works well with baking if there's another kind you prefer.
A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED
- Chilled Butter:
- It's crucial that your butter is very cold. If at any point it or your dough becomes too warm to work with, make sure to place it in the fridge to chill and firm back up before working with further.
- Measuring Your Ingredients:
- I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
- However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
Let's bake! Preheat oven to 375º F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
Blend the butter into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until the butter is about pea sized. Pour the water over the flour and stir together until it begins to form into a dough.
Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment. Use a 4 ½ inch round cutter to cut six circles, rerolling the dough as needed, but being careful not to overwork it. Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and chill them until needed.
While the dough chills, peel and slice the apples into small pieces and place them in a bowl. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
Whisk the egg and water together. Brush the tops of 3 of the circles with egg wash and carefully spoon the apple onto them, making sure to keep it towards the center. You'll have some leftover apple to snack on or use as an ice cream topping.
Cut four small slits in the centers of the other three circles. Flip them over and coat their undersides with egg wash and then place the egg wash side down over the apple.
Press down to seal and crimp each hand pie’s edges with a fork. Use a smaller cookie cutter or a sharp knife to cut off any excess dough.
Coat each hand pie with more egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake hand pies for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
Apple Hand Pies
These Apple Hand Pies have a flaky, buttery crust and a delicious cinnamon apple filling. They're really easy to make and come out looking beautiful. Topping each hand pie with turbinado sugar gives them that beautiful golden color and the perfect amount of crunch.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
Dough
- 150 grams (1 ¼ cups) flour
- 1 ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 oz (½ cup) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 2-3 tablespoon ice water
Filling
- 1 pink lady or honeycrisp apple
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp water
- Turbinado sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
- Blend the butter into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until the butter is about pea sized.
- Pour the ice water over the flour and stir together until it begins to form into a dough.
- Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment. Use a 4 ½ inch round cutter to cut six circles, rerolling the dough as needed, but being careful not to overwork it. Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and chill them until needed.
- While the dough chills, peel and slice the apples into small pieces and place them in a bowl. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
- Whisk the egg and water together. Brush the tops of 3 of the circles with egg wash and carefully spoon the apple onto them, making sure to keep it towards the center. You'll have some leftover apple to snack on or use as an ice cream topping.
- Cut four small slits in the centers of the other three circles. Flip them over and coat their undersides with egg wash and then place the egg wash side down over the apple.
- Press down to seal and crimp each hand pie’s edges with a fork. Use a smaller cookie cutter or a sharp knife to cut off any excess dough.
- Coat each hand pie with more egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake hand pies for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have turbinado sugar, you can use granulated or coarse sugar.
- I like to use pink lady or honeycrisp apples, but any other apple that works well for baking can be subbed.
- If you don't have a round cookie cutter you can use a bowl or glass with a similar diameter and a sharp pairing knife.
- If at any point your dough becomes difficult to work with, make sure to pop it into the fridge to chill. You never want your dough to become too warm or the butter will melt. This is why it's also helpful to roll it out on parchment so it's easy to stick a cookie sheet under it and transfer it to the fridge for a break if needed.
- Leftover hand pies should be stored in an airtight container and eaten with the next day or two. They are best eaten fresh but can be reheated slightly in the microwave or oven.
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