My daughter reminded me of Pi-day last night (college, math tutor) with a text, “Do you happen to have any pie dough in the freezer?” When I learned that she wanted to make pie, I got lured in. No…but it is easy to make! was my answer; this Perfect Pie Crust is my go-to and makes dough for one double-crust pie or 8 6-inch hand pies.
I’ve wanted to post these apple hand pies since I made them at Thanksgiving, 2021! (I keep a pretty good kitchen journal, but my wild note taking can only be deciphered by me, so these blog posts are important! If the bagels in the photo have your attention, here is the recipe.)
peeling apples…I love the long curlicues!
Apple Hand Pies
makes 8 hand pies
Ingredients
Pie Dough (same as my Perfect Pie Dough recipe)
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 4 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
- 6–8 tablespoons ice water
Apple Filling
- 4 apples, cored, peeled, and diced small
- ½ fresh lemon to spritz over the diced apples
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
For Finishing
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced small for dotting the filling
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- raw sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
to make the dough
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Measure flour and salt into food processor bowl. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until mixture is uniformly crumbly. (If you prefer, you can cut the butter and shortening into the flour with a pastry blender or with two table knives, as my grandmother did.)
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Sprinkle 4 tablespoons ice water over the crumbly dough. Pulse a few times to incorporate. If mixture seems dry, add 2 more tablespoons of ice water and pulse just until the mixture begins to form a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a rough disk a couple inches thick. Cut in half and then flatten and round each half into smaller disks about an inch thick. Wrap disks in plastic or parchment and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Note: You can store the raw dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or wrap in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. To use frozen dough, thaw overnight in the refrigerator until it is pliable.
to make the apple filing
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Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and set over moderate heat. Cook, stirring, until apples softens and juices thicken, about 10 minutes.
shaping and baking
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Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together the egg and milk for the egg wash and set aside.
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Roll out chilled dough thinly on a lightly floured surface and use a quart yogurt container or 5-inch diameter bowl to mark circles on the dough, cutting around the edge with a knife. Aim to get 4 circles from each dough disk. Cut smaller decorative shapes from the scraps, rerolling as necessary. Roll each circle a bit thinner to about 6 inches in diameter.
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Transfer circles to a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of filling into the center of each circle. Fold over into half-moons and crimp edges with a fork. Decorate with the small cutouts and brush each hand pie with egg wash. Cut steam vents in the dough if you wish and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until beginning to brown. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes on pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
