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With a flaky all-butter crust, spiced brown sugar-apple filling, and sprinkle of sugar, these apple hand pies are mini pie perfection! Made with homemade pie crust and a simple apple filling, these petite apple pies are four inches round and oh-so-delicious.

Apple Hand Pies
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If you’re intimidated by making pie, hand pies are a great place to start – they’re extremely forgiving and give you a feel for working with pie dough. Best of all, these mini apple pies can be assembled in advance and baked whenever you crave homemade apple pie.

Apple Hand Pies

How to Make Perfect Apple Hand Pies

The first secret to perfect hand pies is chilling your pastry! Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour before rolling and cutting circles of dough with a fluted biscuit cutter. Once you’ve cut out your circles, chill the rounds for at least 15 minutes.

The second secret is the ratio of filling to pastry – use too much filling, and it can be tricky to seal the edges of each pie. For this recipe, a generous tablespoon of filling is just the right amount. Chill your assembled pies one more time (chilling is the key to flaky layers!), then brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until golden brown.

You’ll love these hand pies topped with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of homemade salted caramel sauce!

Apple Hand Pies

Make Ahead Hand Pies

These homemade apple hand pies can also be assembled in advance and frozen for later. Freeze assembled hand pies on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for storage (freeze up to 2 months).

When you’re ready to bake, brush pies with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake pies directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Apple Hand Pies

More delicious apple pie recipes:

Did you try these Apple Hand Pies? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!

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Apple Hand Pies

Apple Hand Pies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Laura Kasavan
  • Cook Time: 26 minutes
  • Total Time: 26 minutes
  • Yield: 10 hand pies
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

With a flaky all-butter crust, spiced brown sugar-apple filling, and sprinkle of sugar, these apple hand pies are mini pie perfection! Recipe makes 10 hand pies.


Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Filling

  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of cloves
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup peeled and diced apple
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Assembly

  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tsp water
  • 2 tsp sugar (for sprinkling)

Instructions

  1. Make crust: Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Add cubed butter and process for 10 seconds, just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the food processor running, add 1/4 cup ice water in a steady stream through feed tube. If needed, add additional ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and process just until dough holds together in large clumps (no more than 30 seconds). Divide dough into two equal portions. Wrap each portion in plastic and flatten slightly to form a disc. Chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days, or place in a freezer bag and freeze up to 1 month).
  2. Roll dough: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place one disc of dough on a floured board and dust dough with flour. Roll out until dough is a 12-inch circle, 1/8″ thick (If dough starts to stick, use a floured bench scraper to gently lift dough from board). Use a 4-inch round fluted biscuit cutter to cut out 10 circles of dough (re-roll scraps once). Place circles on baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Repeat with second disc of dough and preheat oven to 400°F.
  3. Make filling: Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Add apples and melted butter; fold in until combined.
  4. Assemble hand pies: Whisk together egg yolk and water in a small bowl. Brush 10 chilled circles lightly with egg wash and top with a generous tablespoon of filling. Use a sharp knife to cut vents in remaining circles, and place on top of filling. Seal the edges of each pie by crimping with a fork. Chill assembled pies in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  5. Just before baking, brush pies lightly with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar.
  6. Bake hand pies for 24 to 26 minutes, until golden brown. Cool pies on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Make ahead: Freeze assembled pies on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag for storage (freeze up to 2 months). When ready to bake, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.

Meet Laura

Hi, I'm Laura and I'm so happy you're here! Welcome to Tutti Dolci Baking Recipes, a baking blog celebrating all things sweet! I share approachable baking recipes and elevated classic desserts for every home baker. My goal is to inspire you to bake from scratch with kitchen-tested recipes you can count on.

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13 Comments

  1. These turned out delicious! The crust was so easy to work with and didn’t crack when rolling the dough out. I have made two batches of apples and two of blueberries to freeze to use during the holiday. This recipe will be my go to for hand pies for sure!