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–+ servings
Apple hand pie with star cut out showing apple filling inside.

Apple Hand Pies

Author: Gail Ng
These apple hand pies are made with a super crispy and flaky pie crust and stuffed with a cinnamon-spiced apple filling.
5 from 19 votes
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Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time 4 hours
Total Time 6 hours
Yield 12 hand pies
Category Dessert
Cuisine American

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 340 g all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 230 g unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 140 g ice cold water
  • 3 small tart apples, peeled, cored, chopped into small chunks
  • 30 g brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 tablespoons sugar crystals or coarse sugar

Instructions
 

  • Mix dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, stir together flour and salt.
  • Cut the butter into the flour: Add in cold cubed butter and toss to coat in flour. Press the butter in between your thumb and fingers to break them into smaller pieces, tossing to coat in flour occasionally. Work quickly and continue breaking the butter down into about pea-sized pieces.
    Left to right: hand pressing butter in between fingers over a mixing bowl, hand holding pea-sized pieces of butter over a bowl of flour.
  • Hydrate the dough: Make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour in ice water and mix with your hand to combine until it forms a shaggy dough. 
    Left to right: a well in the middle of a bowl of pie dough filled with water, pouring shaggy pie dough out onto counter.
  • Press, fold, and shape the dough: Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter. Use your hands to press the dough together. Fold the dough over onto itself 2-3 times to create layers of butter but don't overwork the dough. Don't knead the dough.
    Left to right: hand pressing a pile of pie dough together, hand folding pie dough onto itself.
  • Wrap and chill the dough: Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into two halves. Press and shape each half into a flattened disc shape. Wrap both discs with plastic wrap. Press down on the dough to compact it against the plastic wrap. Chill dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
    Left to right: hand cutting pie dough in half with a bench scraper, two discs of pie dough wrapped in plastic wrap.
  • Cook apple filling: In a medium pot, stir together apple chunks, brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Cook on medium-high heat until the juices start to bubble. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes until the apples are tender. Set aside to cool completely before using.
    Left to right: apple pie filling ingredients in a pot, apple pie filling in a pot after being cooked.
  • Prep: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Roll out the dough: On a floured surface, place down one disc of dough. Whack the dough firmly with a rolling pin to soften it without warming it up. Roll it out until about ⅛" thick. Use a 4" round cutter to cut out circles. Transfer the dough rounds to your lined baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps no more than once. Repeat with the second disc of dough.
    Left to right: hand rolling out a disc of pie dough, cutting out rounds of pie dough with a round cutter.
  • Cut out shapes: Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out shapes in half of the dough rounds or use a knife to slice a few lines to allow steam to escape when baking.
    Left to right: baking tray full of pie dough rounds, hand placing a star-shaped cutter on a pie dough round.
  • Assemble hand pies: Spoon a generous mound of apple filling onto the middle of each "bottom" round, leaving about ½"-¾" of the edge empty. Gently stretch a matching "top" round and place it on top of each bottom round. Press a floured fork around the edges of each hand pie to seal. 
    Left to right: hand placing a spoonful of apple filling onto a pie dough round, pressing down the edges of a hand pie with a fork.
  • Chill and preheat: Chill the whole baking sheet of hand pies in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Brush with egg wash: Right before baking, brush each hand pie with a thin layer of beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar crystals or coarse sugar for extra crunch.
    Left to right: brushing apple hand pies with egg wash, apple hand pies pre-bake showing the egg wash and sugar crystals.
  • Bake: Bake hand pies for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices inside are bubbling. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving warm or let cool completely.

Notes

Note 1: Dividing pie dough: I divide the dough in half to make it easier to work with. This ensures the dough doesn't get too warm if you're working with it for a long time. It's also easier to roll out thinly if you have limited counter space. You can make one big disc of dough if you prefer!

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 524IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
Keywords apple hand pies, mini apple pies
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