Apple Hand Pies

These classic Apple Hand Pies are the epitome of cozy fall flavors. Each bite is filled with apples cooked with brown sugar, lemon, cinnamon, and nutmeg that are encrusted by a deliciously flakey and buttery crust. I like to think they’re the breakfast version of my Homemade Apple Pie and my Easy Apple Cobbler.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Apple Hand Pies

1. Apples – I love honey crisp apples for this. They’re easy to find and absolutely delicious in salads or in baking recipes.
2. Lemon zest –
3. Lemon juice
4. Spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) – We can’t have fall autumnal treats without our favorites: cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Brown sugar – The added hint of molasses always adds the best flavor hints to baked goods.

See the rest of the ingredients in the recipe card.

SECRETS TO PERFECT PIE CRUST

• I love making my pie dough the night before because it’s an easy way to split up some of the work. It also allows the gluten in the dough to rest or relax, which means there’s less shrinkage in the oven. 
• If my house is really warm, I like to also put the flour mixture bowl in the fridge to cool down a bit before grating my butter. Warmth is your enemy when you’re making pie crust.
• Use a box grater to grate the butter instead of dicing by hand. I find that this makes the butter so much easier to work with and incorporate into the flour.
• I learned the envelope folding method from Erin McDowell, shout out to her! I think it’s a great way to create lovely layers with not a lot of effort. I like to do a few folds.

PERFECT APPLE PIE FILLING

• Most apple pie recipes use a tart apple like Granny Smith or Pink Lady. I like the texture of an Envy or Honey Crisp more. So to balance the sweetness of the apple, I add both lemon juice and lemon zest to my apple pie filling. Acid is a necessary component to add brightness to your filling
• Apple Hand Pies are in the oven for much less time than a traditional apple pie. This is why it’s important to cook your apple filling for a short time in a saucepan. This gives the apples time to cook down a bit which then allows you to add more apples to each hand pie.
• I am partial to the molasses and caramel notes that brown sugar adds to the filling, so I use mostly brown sugar. But feel free to go all granulated if that’s your vibe. 

HOW TO MAKE APPLE HAND PIES:

1. Make your pie crust. Let it rest overnight to make sure it all comes together nicely.
2. Prepare your apple pie filling. Toss your apples together with the sugars and spices and cook for a bit on the stovetop. Don’t forget to let it cool before you proceed to the next step.
3. Roll out each piece of dough until it’s 9 inches by 12 inches. Cut it into 9 3-inch by 4-inch pieces. Place 9 pieces, evenly spaced on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Place 3 tablespoons of apple filling in the middle of each rectangle. Brush some egg wash around the edges.
5. Roll each top piece out just a little to accommodate all the filling. Crimp all edges together with a fork. 
6. Freeze the whole baking sheet for 15 minutes. I like to do this to ensure a flakey crust. Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash after removing them from the freezer.
7. Bake! I baked mine for 20 minutes but it’ll vary slightly from oven to oven. 
8. Cool and top with icing!

TIPS AND TRICKS:

1. I always make the pie crust the night before. This breaks up some of the work and allows your dough’s gluten time to relax. This makes it easier to work with and prevents shrinking. 
2. You can also make the apple pie filling the night before. Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight. This helps the flavors to infuse into the apples and make the mixture easier to work with. 
3. Egg washing is an important step. You want that golden brown crust and without the egg wash, your hand pies will look pale.
4. Don’t skip out on chill times. This is important for a beautiful flakey crust.

What to Serve with these Hand Pies

• Acorn Squash Soup
• Brown Butter Scallops with Butternut Squash Risotto
• Garlic Braised Short Ribs
• Cozy Beef Stew
• Best Pumpkin Chili

If you tried these Apple Hand Pies or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

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Print Recipe

Apple Hand Pies

Author: Adrianna Adarme

These classic Apple Hand Pies are the epitome of cozy fall flavors. Each bite is filled with apples cooked with brown sugar, lemon, cinnamon, and nutmeg that are encrusted by a deliciously flakey and buttery crust.

Course: Dessert, Pie

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Serving Size: 9 hand pies

Ingredients

Pie Crust:

• ▢ 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter cold from the fridge
• ▢ 2/3 cup very cold water divided
• ▢ Plus 1 large egg beaten, for egg wash

Apple Filling:

• ▢ 1 pound Honey Crisp or Envy apples (2 medium)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• ▢ 1/3 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Icing:

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
• ▢ 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• ▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
• ▢ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ Pinch of salt

Instructions

To Make the Pie Crust:

• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and kosher salt. Using a box grater, grate the cold butter atop the flour mixture. Transfer to the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. Working quickly, and using your hands, break the butter bits into the flour until they’re evenly distributed and resemble the size of teeny, small peas.
• Add 50% of the recommended water and mix. The mixture will be shaggy at this point. From here, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dough comes together. Flour your counter and dump the dough onto it. Gather the mixture into a rough square and press down gently. Fold it in thirds like a letter and give it a quick press and then repeat again, this will create some “layers”. Divide the dough, forming two rectangles (mine were roughly 3 inches by 5 inches by 1 inch). Wrap the bricks in plastic wrap and transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.

To Make the Apple Filling:

• Peel, core, then dice your apples into ¼-inch cubes. In a saucepan, toss them together with lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, granulated sugar, kosher salt, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. Let cool for 30 minutes or until at room temperature.

To Assemble the Apple Hand Pies:

• Remove the first brick of dough from the fridge. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out into a 9-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Trim any excess using a bench scraper or something similar. Cut into 3-inch by 4-inch rectangles. You should have 9 pieces in total. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing evenly. Repeat this with the other brick, placing the rectangles on another sheet of parchment, right over the existing parchment on the baking sheet.
• Stick the sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes just to firm the dough up a bit. Take the top sheet of parchment off of the sheet. Place 3 tablespoons of apple filling in the middle of each rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Quickly roll each top rectangle out a little to accommodate the heaping mound of apples. Put each rectangle on top of the apple mound rectangles and press the edges together. Use the tines of a fork (dipped in flour if sticking) to crimp the pieces together and create a nice decoration.
• Transfer them to the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• When the hand pies are done chilling and the oven is preheated, brush the tops with the remaining egg wash. Transfer to the oven (I did this in batches) for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Let cool on the sheet to room temperature.

To Make the Icing:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the icing sugar, heavy cream, butter, vanilla extract, and salt. Spoon into a plastic zip bag.
• When the pies are at room temperature, snip off the bottom edge of the plastic bag (a small snip) to create a piping tip. Pipe on icing and enjoy.

Notes

Tips and Tricks:

1. always make the pie crust the night before. This breaks up some of the work and allows your dough’s gluten time to relax. This makes it easier to work with and prevents shrinking. 
2. You can also make the apple pie filling the night before. Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the fridge overnight. This helps the flavors to infuse into the apples and make the mixture easier to work with. 
3. Egg washing is an important step. You want that golden brown crust and without the egg wash, your hand pies will look pale.
4. Don’t skip out on chill times. This is important for a beautiful flakey crust.

Nutrition

Calories: 459kcal (23%) | Carbohydrates: 58g (19%) | Protein: 4g (8%) | Fat: 24g (37%) | Saturated Fat: 15g (94%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 63mg (21%) | Sodium: 428mg (19%) | Potassium: 117mg (3%) | Fiber: 2g (8%) | Sugar: 29g (32%) | Vitamin A: 770IU (15%) | Vitamin C: 3mg (4%) | Calcium: 27mg (3%) | Iron: 2mg (11%)

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