An apple pie you can eat as you walk around the house, no need for a fork and plate or a kitchen table for that matter? An apple pie that's not only adorable, but yummy?
Count me in!
With fall coming on fast and furious yet it still being officially summer, I thought I'd whip up a batch of these apple hand pies for the weekend. The perfect answer for both fall and summer snacking.
These are great for summer picnics, fall hay rides and eating in bed under the covers at 12:30 at night while your husband is sleeping.
Before I get into the recipe, let's talk about a few pie related issues.
A Tip About Measuring Flour
OK, I know you all think I'm nuts for talking about measuring flour. I can hear you now, Uh, you use a measuring cup, Silly Girl.
But there is a correct way and a less than correct way to measure your flour. Using the wrong way may result in too much flour (up t0 150% more) and then your recipe may not be the best it can.
The correct way to measure flour is the Spoon And Level Method.
Use a spoon to scoop your flour out of the bag and into the measuring cup. Fill your measuring cup all the way to the top and then some. Do not pack the flour down with the spoon and do not tap the measuring cup on the counter to pack it down either.
Repeat after me, fluffy flour is good flour.
Then use a knife to run across the top of the measuring cup to get your even cup.
You have now successfully measured the correct amount of flour.
Let's Talk About Butter vs Shortening vs Lard
Yes, my grandmother's pie crust recipe calls for lard. No, I cannot bring myself to use a cup of lard (and not even sure where you buy lard nowadays). My hips are big enough as it is.
So lard is out and you are left with butter and/or shortening.
Most old school recipes will call for shortening which does a wonderful job of making a super flaky crust. And let's face it, if your crust isn't flaky, why bother making a crust. But using butter gives it a yummy flavor.
So let's go with both of them! Use a bit of butter for the taste and a lot of shortening for the flake.
BTW, if you are morally opposed to shortening or just prefer to not eat it, you can make it with 1 cup of butter instead of the mixture.You won't hurt my feelings.
And other BTW, feel free to use a store bought refrigerated pie crust if you want to take half the fun out of making apple hand pies. Seriously though, a store bought pie crust is a fine option if you want to save time. Your hand pies will still taste great!
OK, now that we have that debate settled, on to the recipe.
Apple Hand Pies
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup butter, cubed and chilled
- ¾ cup shortening, chilled
- ½ cup ice water
Apple Pie Filling
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups apples, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
For Assembly
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar (for sprinkling)
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Whisk flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl
- Add cubed butter and shortening to the bowl and cut it in until it becomes coarse pea sized crumbles
- Add ice water one spoonful at a time using just enough water to make a workable dough
- Divide dough into 2 equal portions, wrap the portions in plastic wrap and refrigerate while making the filling
Preparing The Filling
- Whisk brown sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, salt and flour in a medium sized bowl
- Add the melted butter and apples - stir to combine
Assembling The Hand Pies
- Pre-heat oven to 400F
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside
- On a floured board, roll out one of the portions of dough to ⅛" thick
- Use a 3-4" round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out 10-12 circles of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet (the size of your cookie cutter will determine how many circles you can cut)
- Top each circle with roughly 1 tablespoon of apple pie filling
- Roll out the 2nd portion of dough, cut out 10-12 more circles and use a sharp knife to cut slit like vents in them
- Place vented circles on top of each hand pie and use a fork to crimp the edges together
- Whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon of water to make the egg wash
- Brush the top of each hand pie with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar
- Bake in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown
- Cool on wire rack
Notes
- Can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (if they last that long).
- After your hand pies come out of the oven and have cooled completely, they can be frozen for up to 3 months if needed.
- You can use any type apple your prefer. My favorite is a Golden Delicious, but I've also used Honeycrisp, Fuji and Gala.
- Don't forget, when cutting out your circles you will roll out your portion of dough, cut your circles from the dough and then gather your leftover pieces to mash together so you can roll it out again to cut even more circles.
Nutrition
Have you got any big plans for the weekend? Are hand held desserts in your future?
Other Posts Your May Enjoy:
Crockpot Baked Apple Recipe
Blueberry Crostata Recipe
Best Soft And Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
Oh my...those do look good!!
Pam Kessler
They taste good too!
Donna
oh my goodness!! these are making my mouth water!! Look fabulous!
Pam Kessler
Thank you! They are yummy!
Linda C Greiss
They sound delicious! Can you freeze them after baked & cooled?
Pam Kessler
I am so sorry. I thought I had responded already and just popped in to check on something on the recipe and realized I had missed your question! Yes, you can freeze the baked/cooled pies for up to 3 months. I'll add that to the instructions!
Nana Diana
Those are a thing of beauty, Pam! I love apple pies and sometimes make half a pie for hubby and myself. I take a pre-made (yes, I am lazier now that I am working full time) and put the pie ingredients on one side of one pie crust, fold it over, pinch the edges and call it good (and it is !).
Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. xo Diana
Jen
These look great! Two comments:
You were probably kidding, about your hips, etc.,, but just for the record, lard, butter, and shortening all have the same number of calories! And, I was taught by Elma Kate Bumgarner that an apple pie MUST have at least TWO varieties of apples in it! Three or four is her preference, but two kinds are OK. If you have only one type of apple, forget it! Lol. Her favorites were Macintosh, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith.
Chris
Hey Pam, these apple pies look amazing - definitely going to try out your recipe
Hope you enjoy the ‘Fall’ celebrations. Will be thinking about you and look forward to hearing about what you did in another one of your posts.
Take care!
Shelley
I love any pie in individual form..so thank you for the recipe
Gloria Richards
Your handpies look delicious Not sure if you'e ever made it to Mesopotamia, Ohio but the General Store there has some fantastic handpies and is such a fun place to go thru. A throwback to days gone by, I can spend myself broke in there with it's variety of products and penny candy as well. .
Chris
Hi Pam,
Hoping all’s well with you and your family and you are ready for the Thanksgiving / Fall celebrations!
Just wanted to let you know I’ve finally gotten around to baking a batch of your apple hand pies - I love them, absolutely scrummy recipe. Definitely will be making more of them for family and friends!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. Take care xx