Apple hand pies are easy to make from scratch and they’re guaranteed to make those with little or big hands really happy.
The first yield from our apple picking adventure were these adorable little apple hand pies and my goodness I couldn’t have been happier with how they turned out!
I looked high and low for an actual recipe but came up with no actual apple hand pie recipe. I found apple butter hand pies, which sounded amazing, and blackberry hand pies but no apple on its own.
And I have a fantastic blueberry hand pie recipe that uses my favorite pie dough recipe. But I was looking for something a little different this time.
So I merged two recipes into this one. I’ve always been very happy with Martha Stewart’s pâte brisée recipe (pie dough) and I have always loved Ina’s apple turnover filling, so the choices were simple.
The result yielded a hand pie that blows away any of those over-processed artery-clogging mini pies you’ll find wrapped up in any gas station convenience store. I’m sure you know which ones I’m talking about. The filling was perfectly sweet and cinnamon-y, and the pie dough was perfectly flaky.
And of course adding a vanilla glaze to the tops of these hand pies just takes them to another level altogether! This dessert (or anytime snack!) won’t take you more than an hour and a half to put together, start to finish, and I’m sure you’ve got everything you need in your house to make them – who doesn’t have apples on hand this time of year? – so what are you waiting for?? Go make them now!!
Still looking for other apple recipes? Check these out…
Apple Hand Pies
Apple hand pies are the perfect mini apple pies for summer BBQs and fall gatherings. These handheld pies are stuffed with chopped apples and a cinnamon sugar filling. They're wrapped in pie dough, baked, and covered in vanilla glaze before serving. Feel free to use store-bought pie dough if making your own isn't your thing.
Ingredients
For the pie dough:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- ¼ to ½ cup ice water
For the apple filling and assembly:
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 ½ lbs tart apples, such as Empire or Granny Smith (3-4 apples)
- ¼ cup sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
- 1 ½ to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- To make the pie dough: In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
- With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. (Do Ahead: Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.).
- To make the hand pies: Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Peel, core, and dice the apples (¼-inch cubed) then immediately toss them with lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add in sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the apple to release some juice.
- On a well-floured board, roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut out 5-inch circles and transfer circles to baking sheets, re-rolling scraps and cutting out more circles as you go. If the dough gets too warm, refrigerate the circles on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes before moving to the next step.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of apple filling on half of a circle. Fold the empty half over the filling and press edges tightly together to seal. Repeat with remaining circles. Using a sharp knife, slice three holes in the top of each pie. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 22 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
- While the hand pies cool, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Stir until the mixture forms a smooth glaze. When pies have cooled completely, drizzle glaze over the tops.
Notes
You can certainly use your own pie dough recipe for these hand pies or use store-bought dough.
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Apple Hand Pies
- Prep Time: 25min (active) + 1hr (inactive chill time)
- Cook Time: 22 min
- Yield: 1 dozen
Ingredients
For the pie dough:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
¼ to ½ cup ice water
For the apple filling and assembly:
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ lbs tart apples, such as Empire or Granny Smith (3-4 apples)
¼ cup sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
2 tbsp all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
1 ½ to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
-
01
To make the pie dough: In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
-
02
To make the hand pies: Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
-
03
Peel, core, and dice the apples (¼-inch cubed) then immediately toss them with lemon juice in a medium bowl. Add in sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the apple to release some juice.
-
04
On a well-floured board, roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut out 5-inch circles and transfer circles to baking sheets, re-rolling scraps and cutting out more circles as you go. If the dough gets too warm, refrigerate the circles on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes before moving to the next step.
-
05
Place about 2 tablespoons of apple filling on half of a circle. Fold the empty half over the filling and press edges tightly together to seal. Repeat with remaining circles. Using a sharp knife, slice three holes in the top of each pie. Brush tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 22 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.
-
06
While the hand pies cool, in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. Stir until the mixture forms a smooth glaze. When pies have cooled, drizzle glaze over the tops.
Smells Like Home original using Martha Stewart’s Pate Brisée (slightly adapted) and loosely adapted from Ina Garten’s Apple Turnovers
Yum, these look great Tara! I have been wanting to make apple hand pies soon.
These look super cute! Love the picture!
These apple hand pies wouldn’t last long in my house, that’s for sure! They look just delicious. I’m pretty crazy about baking with apples, so I’m adding your recipe to my ever-expanding collection.
🙂 Jane
They are so sweet! I love apple pie, I think hand held versions would be dangerous to my thighs!
Katie xox
They indeed look really cute! Great job 🙂