Cheddar Rye Apple Hand Pies

5 from 5 votes

Cheddar Rye Apple Hand Pies

These Cheddar Rye Apple Hand Pies are cozy pockets of delicious goodness! A flaky all-butter pie crust is mixed with aged cheddar cheese then stuffed with a warm, spiced apple filling. This must-have fall dessert is sweet and savory and easy to make ahead of time. They are delicious for breakfast with a cup of coffee or enjoyed as an after dinner treat served with Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Prep Time2

Cook Time40

Total Time2 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: hand pies

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Cost: $15

Equipment

1 large stainless steel bowl
1 cheese grater used for the butter and the cheese
1 Rolling Pin
1(3-inch or 4-inch) round cookie cutter
2 Baking Sheets
1 pastry brush

Ingredients

Cheddar Pie Crust:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons ice cold water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups 3 sticks unsalted butter, straight from the fridge (They recommend European-style butter, I just regular!)
2 ounces aged Cheddar cheese grated

Apple Filling:

2 Northern Spy Idared, Golden Delicious or Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice about 1/4 lemon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca starch or 1 tablespoon corn starch
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

To Make the Cheddar Pie Crust:

In a large stainless steel bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt and stir to mix well. I am a firm follower of the grating butter method. They recommend a pastry cutter, but I don’t own one, so I recommend grating the butter, using a cheese grater, into the dry ingredient mixture. Transfer to the freezer to chill for about 5 minutes. Mix the butter into the flour mixture, until throughly combined, breaking up the butter bits until they resemble the size of peas. The rest of the pie dough should look like canned Parmesan cheese. Speaking of cheese, now is the time to add the Cheddar and mix in quickly until evenly distributed.
At this point, add the water-vinegar mixture all at once, and give it a good mix. I like to use a spoon for this part. Scrape as much of the mixture as you can from one side of the bowl to the other, until you can’t see visible pools of liquid anymore. Now it’s hand time. Scoop up as much of the mixture as you can, and use the tips of your fingers (and a whole lot of pressure) to press it back down onto the rest of the ingredients. Rotate the bowl a quarter-turn and repeat. Scoop, press and turn. With each fold, your intentions is to be quickly forming the mixture into one cohesive mass.
Remove the dough from the bowl, place it on a lightly-floured counter, and use your bench scraper to divide into two equal pieces. Gently pat each into a 1-inch thick square, working quickly to seal any broken edges before wrapping them tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or, ideally, overnight.
You can keep the pie dough in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for up to 1 year. If frozen, remove the dough and place tin the refrigerator to thaw one full day before you intend to use it.

To Make the Apple Filling:

Place the cubed apples in a large bowl and toss with a the lemon juice. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, tapioca or corn starch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss until evenly distributed.
Remove the first disk of dough from the fridge. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out to a 1/2-inch thick round. Using a 3-inch or 4-inch round cookie cutter, stamp out rounds of pie crust and transfer them to a baking sheet or tray. You should be able to re roll the scraps and end up with about 40 rounds.
I stuck them in the freezer for about 10 minutes just to firm up a bit. Remove the rolled-out pie crust from the fridge or freezer and lay half of them out onto a lightly floured surface. Brush each round entirely with beaten egg. Add a heaping teaspoon of the diced apples to the center of each round, leaving at least a 1-inch border.
Using the tines of a fork (dipped in flour), press the edges together and do this around the edge of the entire round, making a decorative edge. Take the 3-inch or 4-inch cutter (whichever one you used) and cut the hand pie once more to clean and define the edges. Repeat with the remaining hand pies.
Transfer them to the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
When the hand pies are done chilling and the oven is preheated, brush the tops with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Transfer to the oven (I did this in batches) for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Notes

Tips and Tricks

Grate the butter – I find that this method works better than using a pastry cutter and you don’t need to buy any special tools. Just use a regular cheese grater to grate the butter.
Keep the pie crust as cold as possible – Throughout the rolling and assembly process I will pop the pie crust into the freezer multiple times to ensure that the butter doesn’t become too warm which will lead to a tough dough. Keeping the crust as cold as possible will lead to a light and flaky crust.

Ice cold water and vinegar – The water should be very cold so it doesn’t warm up the butter making the crust tough and chewy. Vinegar(I used apple cider vinegar but white vinegar is fine too) slows the gluten development when folding the dough, keeping the crust tender, light and flaky when it bakes.
Prep the pie dough ahead of time – It’s best to make the cheddar pie crust at least 2 hours (but ideally overnight) before you are ready to bake them. The dough can last in the fridge for 2 – 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 year. Thaw from the freezer by placing the dough in the refrigerator 1 day before you are ready to use it.
Assemble hand pies then bake later – Transfer assembled hand pies to a baking sheet and place in the freezer. When frozen, place in a freezer storage bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer from the freezer directly to the oven to bake.

Nutrition