These easy Apple Hand Pies have a flakey all-butter pie crust filled with a homemade cinnamon apple filling! They are easy to make and they bake in under 20 minutes. The perfect hand-held treat!
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, salt, sugar and butter. On low speed cut the butter into the flour until you have some larger pieces but most of the butter has worked into the flour. You will notice that the flour will change color and be slightly darker.
Stop the mixer and pour the vodka over the top of the crust. Turn the mixer back on low and slowly pour the water over the crust. Mix on low until the flour has hydrated but a cohesive dough has not yet formed.
Turn out onto a countertop and press gently until a dough forms. It will be a little wet, but that is ok! Divide the dough in half. Press out into disks and wrap in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Alternatively you can freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator before using. Make sure to keep it cold!
Make the filling:
Peel and dice the apples so they are about ½ -1 cm in diameter.
In a small pot combine all the ingredients for the filling and mix to coat the apples.
Heat on medium low until the apples begin releasing their juices. Increase heat to medium high until the juices are thickened and the apples are tender. Pour on to parchment lined baking sheet or dish to cool.
Assembling the Hand Pies:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crust to about an ⅛th inch thick. Cut out your desired shapes or just cut squares/rectangles with a fluted pie cutter. Make sure you have an even number of shapes!
Brush one side with a pre-beaten egg and then dollop about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each one. You want a generous amount but not so much that they won’t close! You’ll know.
Cover the sides that have fillings with an unfilled shape and press closed. Seal with your fingers or with the tines of a fork.
Chill for at least 30 minutes before baking. You can also freeze them!
Before baking, cut a few slits in the tops for ventilation. Brush with a little heavy cream and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar or turbinado sugar!
Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until you can see the filling bubbling and they are a nice golden brown.
Video
Notes
Presentation – To keep hand pies from leaking chill the dough between each step, don’t overfill, use egg wash, seal with a fork and cut vent holes!Variations – Use any variety of homemade or store-bought pie fillings! The recipe as written above is for 1 single crust, which is half of my vodka pie crust. You can also make the full recipe and freeze the second piece of dough for later use.Storage – Baked hand pies should be cooled and stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for 5 days, refrigerated for 10 days or frozen for 2 months. Freeze unbaked, assembled hand pies for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen.Yield: 9, 3 inch ovals