Are you in charge of bringing a dessert to a Fourth of July party? What about a nice fall picnic? Or just a Friday night snack with your family? These apple hand pies are perfect because of their small size!
Description
This pie has 4 components:
Homemade pie crust (or 14.1 oz pillsbury pie crust if you don't have time to prepare your own)
Pie filling
Egg wash
Caramel sauce (optional)
Prep time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: Around 3 hours
Yields: 10 hand pies
Ingredients
Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
7 tablespoons of unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
3/4 cups vegetable shortening
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons of ice water
Pie Filling
2-3 medium apples. About 2 1/2 cups of medium apples (peeled, diced, cut in small pieces)
1/3 cup of light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Egg Wash
1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of white milk
Instructions
Begin by peeling your apples. To cube your apples, cut each apple into three distinct sections. Cut each section vertically into fourths, then cut your apple section horizontally into fourths. You should end up with approximately 12 apple cubes per apple section (numbers may vary depending on the sizes of your apples. Just make sure each cube is equal in size to ensure even cooking times).
In a large bowl, stir the apples, granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
Place the butter in a saucepan and melt on medium heat. This should take about 2 minutes.
Once the butter is completely melted, add your apple mixture into the pan to pre-cook the apples. Let them sit on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the apples from the pan and place in a strainer on top of a large bowl to drain excess liquid. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
Prepare your pie crust. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork or a pastry cutter, cut the butter and the shortening into the flour and salt mixture. It should not be a dough texture just yet.
One at a time, add in one tablespoon of water at a time. Once the dough starts to form large clumps, do not add any more water. It should not feel sticky or overly dry.
Split the dough in half. Roll each half into a ball and flatten each with your hands until it is about 1-2 tablespoons in width. Wrap both halves separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
Flour a work surface. Lightly flour each ball of dough and the rolling pin. Roll each half gently, making sure to rotate the dough after every couple of rolls to keep its circular shape. Using a cookie cutter, cut into circles. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting into circles. Refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes.
Arrange the circles of pie dough on a prepared baking sheet. These will be the bottom crusts. Cut 2 silts down the center of the remaining circles. These will be the top crusts.
Place around 2 tablespoons of filling onto each bottom crust (depends on the initial size of your cookie cutters). You should not have any filling along the edges of the circles. Put the top crusts on top and crimp the edges with a fork. Tighten the shape of your hand pies to ensure a circular shape. Brush the top of the crust with an egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Place the hand pies back in the refrigerator while your oven is preheating.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Rotate the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven.
While the hand pies are cooling, drizzle the caramel sauce on top, if desired.
Notes
Best types of apples for apple pie: Granny Smith and Honey crisp! These apples are crisp and hold their shape after baking rather than turning mushy. Avoid Red Delicious and Gala apples when making pie or your filling will become soupy.
Importance of cutting slits on the top crust: this allows steam to escape the pie crusts as they bake in the oven. This prevents your crust from becoming soggy.
Make ahead instructions: This pie crust can be made up to 3 months in advance if you freeze the disks. Leave out at room temperature for at least 12 hours before you handle to make your crust.
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