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–+ servings
circle apple hand pies and the cut one

Simple Apple Hand Pies

Very simple & delicious apple hand pies from scratch! No need to pre-cook the apple with this recipe.
Author ayacaliva
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Pie
Servings 10 hand pies (12 cm | 4.7 inch)
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Equipment

  • Food processor or bowl with a dough blender (for pie dough)
  • Rolling Pin
  • Knife
  • 12 cm | 4.7 inch cookie cutter or cake ring, etc.
  • Fork
  • Brush
  • Tray
  • Parchment paper

Ingredients

Pie Dough

  • 13.2 oz All-purpose flour  3 US cups * Calculated as 1 cup = 125 g
  • 1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 8 oz Unsalted butter  2 US sticks
  • 3.9 oz Icy water  ⅓ + ⅛ US cups
  • 1 tablespoon Oil
  • Some Bread flour to dust on the working surface when you roll the dough.

Apple Filling

  • 18 oz Apple (peeled, cored, and cut) or about 4 medium-small apples * I recommend mixing 2 - 3 Granny Smith apples & 1 - 2 golden delicious apples (or other apples that are sweeter, less tart, and break down more with heat.) to create a not-too-mushy yet melty texture with well-balanced tartness and sweetness.
  • 1 - 2 teaspoon Lemon juice Add more or less depending on how tart your apples are
  • 2.6 oz Granulated sugar ⅓ US cup
  • A pinch Salt
  •  2 teaspoon All-purpose flour
  •  2 teaspoon Corn starch
  • ½ teaspoon Cinnamon or more as you like
  • ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg optional
  • ¼ lemon Lemon zest optional

Assembling

  • 1 tablespoon Butter (cut into small pieces)
  • 1 egg Egg white
  • 1.7 oz Granulated sugar for cinnamon sugar ¼ US cup
  • ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon for cinnamon sugar

Instructions
 

Pie Dough

  • Make one batch of my pie dough. Follow the same steps and tips in the post.
    Chill in the fridge for at least one hour or more than a few hours, ideally.
    (As an option, mix in shredded cheddar cheese.)
    cheddar pie dough

Apple Filling

  • Cut apples into small pieces and toss with lemon juice. Set it aside.
    18 oz Apple (peeled, cored, and cut), 1 - 2 teaspoon Lemon juice, 2.6 oz Granulated sugar, A pinch Salt,  2 teaspoon All-purpose flour,  2 teaspoon Corn starch, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg, ¼ lemon Lemon zest
    dried ingredients for apple pie filling
  • Mix all dried ingredients for the apple filling and set it aside. (Do not mix with apples yet.)

Roll The Pie Dough

  • Roll the pie dough very thin, about 1.5 - 2 mm | 0.05 - 0.07".
    Some Bread flour
    thinly rolled pie dough
  • Cut its circle with a 12 cm | 4.7-inch cookie cutter or cake ring. You'll get about 20 - 22 circles which are enough to make 10 - 11 hand pies.
    Chill them in the fridge if they are getting too soft to assemble.
    cutting pie dough with a cake ring
  • Cut out pieces for the mini apple decoration, one for each pie. (optional)

Assemble Them

  • Mix the apples and the dried ingredients for the filling.
    Divide it on the center of the circles evenly.
    Scrape off any juice left in a bowl and add it on top.
    apple pie filling, uncooked
  • Place pieces of butter on top of the apples.
    1 tablespoon Butter (cut into small pieces)
    apple filling on top of pie dough sheets
  • Apply egg wash all around the edge as glue.
    1 egg Egg white
    placing pieces of butter on top of apple filling to make apple hand pies
  • Place the 2nd circle on top, press down the edge well, and seal the filling.
    Warm up the 2nd dough with your hands if it's too firm and not flexible.
    closing up the edge of an apple hand pie
  • Flip over the edge, push down, and repeat it all around the edge.
    flipping up the edge of an apple hand pie
  • Push the edge with a fork.
    pushing the edge of an apple hand pie
  • Adjust a shape with your hands.
    Dust bread flour on the working surface to move them more easily.
    Use a dough scraper to transfer them.
    shaping an apple hand pie
  • Apply egg wash all around the surface.
    Attach the apple decoration and apply more egg wash on top of it.
    applying egg white on the surface of apple hand pies
  • Mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all around the surface.
    1.7 oz Granulated sugar for cinnamon sugar, ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon for cinnamon sugar
    sprinkling cinnamon sugar on top of apple hand pies
  • Make 4 small cuts on the surface. (so that the steam can get out from them.)
    making cuts on the surface of apple hand pies

Bake

  • Chill them in the fridge completely before baking them. By doing it, pies don't spread too much and can hold nice shapes.
    apple hand pies right before they go in the oven
  • Bake at 375 F | 190 C for about 35 minutes until the surface is caramelized evenly and the filling starts to come out from the cuts.
    apple hand pies in the oven

Video

Notes

How to store them:

Wrap them tightly or store them in an air-tight container. You can store them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
 
** For best results, measure ingredients with a scale. All recipes are designed with weighed ingredients using grams/ounces. Cup measurements are provided for your convenience. **

Nutrition

Calories: 103kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 24mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!