Apple Hand Pies
These Apple Hand Pies are portable and delicious, and bring back memories of those little pies in the grocery store checkout line. You could use this base pastry recipe and mix and match all sorts of pie fillings to suit your tastes and use up seasonal fruit.
Apple Pie: rustic, flaky, tart, and spicy. The most iconic of American traditions.
These marvelous little pies package up the best parts of apple pie, eliminate a lot of the work, and deliver scrumptious, addictive fruit-wrapped-in-crust that can be stowed away in your pocket for safe keeping.
I originally shared these apple hand pies with you way, way, wayyyyyyy back in the dark ages of 2008. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve made them myself, but when Joseph saw an episode of his favorite show, Hey Duggee, and it featured an apple pie, he proceeded to walk around the house saying “apple pieeeeeeeee” for days and days. He’d never had apple pie; how could I deprive my child of something so delicious?? I immediately thought of these hand pies, since they would be much easier for him to eat than a slice of apple pie, and I got baking!
The dough for this recipe is really just incredible. I admit that I was somewhat skeptical at first, as it contained sour cream. I had never heard or seen sour cream used in a pie or pastry dough before, so it certainly caused me to raise an eyebrow. But like the good trooper that I am, I forged ahead. This dough has such an incredibly buttery, flaky texture, much like that of a laminated dough you would create for croissants. When you bite into one of these pies, the crust just flakes and shatters, which is basically a crust-lover’s dream come true.
I made two modifications to this recipe (and those changes are reflected in the recipe as it’s written below):
- The original recipe required A LOT of time chilling ingredients and the dough at different steps, which I have now condensed a bit. I didn’t find there to be any reduction in the quality of the final crust by doing so. I also made the dough mixing step a little easier to execute, as well.
- I added a little cinnamon to the filling – I can’t believe I left it out originally!
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I couldn’t wait to get these baked and cooled enough for Joseph to try one. When I told him I had made him little apple hand pies, he said, “APPLE PIE?!?!”
I gave him half of one and he went over and sat on the fireplace, took a bite, and said, “Mmmmmmmm!” He polished it off quickly and then requested the other half. I’m so happy that I could make his apple pie dreams come true, ha!
These hand pies are a fantastic option for changing up the traditional slice of apple pie and ice cream and would be especially welcome as a dessert at an outdoor gathering or one that includes small children.
And really, for the kid in all of us – what’s much better than a slice of apple pie that you can pick up and carry around with you?
More Delicious Apple Recipes:
- Jewish Apple Cake
- Homemade Apple Butter
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Classic French Apple Cake
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings
Watch How to Make Apple Hand Pies:
If you make these apple hand pies and love them, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 2½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup (115 ml) sour cream
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup (125 ml) ice water
For the Filling
- 2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced small
- ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
To Finish
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons water
- Coarse sugar
Instructions
- Make the Pastry: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water. Add to the flour mixture and, using a fork, gently toss and stir together until large lumps form and all of the flour has been moistened. Using your hands, pat the dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour (if preparing ahead of time, the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month).
- Assemble the Pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the refrigerated dough in half. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one half of the dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Using a 4½-inch round biscuit cutter, cut seven circles out of the rolled dough. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining half of dough. Refrigerate the dough circles for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small pan, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon and salt, and cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender. Set aside. Prior to preparing the pies, drain any accumulated liquid from the apples.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons filling onto one half of each circle of dough. Brush a little water around the circumference of the dough, and fold it in half so the other side comes down over the filling, creating a semicircle. Seal the hand pie, and make a decorative edge by pressing the edges of the dough together with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate the assembled hand pies for 30 minutes.
- Bake the Pies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and water for the egg wash. Remove the chilled hand pies from the refrigerator, and lightly brush with the egg yolk wash. Using a paring knife, cut a few small slits on the top of each hand pie, then sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Bake until the hand pies are golden brown, anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how thick you rolled the dough. Remove the pies from the oven, and let stand to cool slightly before serving. The pies are best eaten within a day of baking them, but they can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can also be wrapped with plastic wrap and placed in a freezer storage bag and frozen for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Feel free to use any type of apple you’d like in this recipe, as it’s quite forgiving. I’ve used Granny Smith, Gala, and Honeycrisps!
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on October 15, 2008.
My family loved this crust. My Mom used to make fried apple pies in our electric skillet . Unfortunately she took her recipes to heaven with her. So non of my sister have them.
My question is can you fry these? If so how?
Thank You
Karen
Oh wow that sounds amazing. I would assume you could, I think? I’ve never tried!
Can these be assembled and frozen to bake at a later time?
Thanks!
Lorraine
Hi Lorraine, Yes, definitely!
I made these this evening for my boyfriend’s family. His dad is always stopping at the gas station mini mart on the way home to grab the mini pies they sell there for a quick pie fix. I figured he deserved some really yummy homemade hand pies. I had my mom, dad and grandma each try one after dinner this evening. They loved them and asked that I make more just for them. Though I added a few things to the apples (brown sugar, ground cloves and nutmeg) this recipe is great. It’s easy and produces a great tasting pie. My boyfriend’s dad was thrilled. I put come in a ziplock bag just for him with his name on it so the rest of his family won’t eat them all. He said he will share though… maybe. Haha!
This is definitely a keeper. I did add nutmeg and added more apples. Will be making again for sure
Would these be better frozen before or after baking?
Never mind, I found my answer in the comment above!☺️
Hi:) I have been wanting to make these all week. I thought I got everything from the store but I forgot the lemon ( shopping with a 3 year old will do that to you lol ). Could I add something else in its place?
Hi Rebecca, You can make do without it, just gives a little punch of flavor!
Absolutely delicious. The dough is easy to work with and turns out flaky. Since Apple are in season I want to make a big batch and put them in the freezer. Have you froze them both raw and baked? Which would you recommend
Hi Tina, I’ve frozen them both ways, I prefer to freeze them raw and then bake them fresh.
I’d like to freeze these hand pies. Would you recommend freezing them unbaked? (That’s what I do withregular pies and it seems to work well.
Hi Amber, You can freeze them both unbaked and baked (I’ve done both).
Did you forget to put any water with the apples when you cook them?
Hi Susie, No they will release their own liquid as they cook down.
Best crust ever. I have been looking for a good flaky crust. I think I found it.
Try it you will not be sorry.
Made this delicious portable apple pies. Can’t stop eating them. Thank you for sharing!
I’m making my own pie crust bc I have a gluten allergy. Would I need one crust’s worth of pie dough, or two crusts? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth, You would need two crust’s worth. Enjoy!
I love this recipe!!! These pies didn’t last a day in my house. My only difference was instead of the crescent shaped crust I cut out hearts with a cookie cutter and sealed them together. They were so cute! A lot of work, but a huge hit!!! Will be making again often ❤😊
Hi, Is it necessary to cook down the apples before filling them into the hand pie? Or can I use uncookeda pples?
Hi Lydia, If you don’t precook the apples, you could have two potential issues:
(1) The apples could still be a bit crunchy and raw in the finished hand pies; and
(2) As the apples cook in the hand pies, they’ll release liquid and cause the crust to become soggy.
Really like this apple pie recipe, love to make cherry & Blueberry mini pies.got the recipe for them. .Tks
Please read my previous comment on how amazing these little pies are!
These are some tips I figured out while making these; for one, the dough will be sticky. Wrap in cling wrap and set in the fridge. You will need plenty of extra flour to roll out the dough, keeping the counter lightly covered, you need to work somewhat quickly on cutting the circles out before the flour soaks into the dough and makes lifting them up difficult. Continue to dust flour on top when you roll it out, and you can flip the dough easily when it’s still thick. Next tip: cut your fruit pieces into small dice. This makes it so that you can add more filling per pie. Otherwise, you’ll have large gaps of air in between the fruit, and it will make a lumpy filling. Last but not least: make sure your filling is cooled down! I got impatient when it came to my peach filling, and the dough began to melt immediately. Yup, make sure you cool it down (fastest way is use an ice bath).
My boyfriend and I LOVE these pies! We made them last night, and, yes, we were unsure about the crust as well, but when we saw them come out of the oven, we knew it was going to be flaky and amazing! Two apples were not enough filling for how much dough we made. Luckily, we had a can of peaches in the pantry. We cooked them up similarly to the apples and added cornstarch because peaches have more liquid to them. Still, we had excess dough. What did we do next? Oh, we have a can of pot roast in the pantry? Along with some canned peas, par-cooked diced potatoes, BBQ sauce, and spices, we made a beef stew filling! Instead of sprinkling sugar we sprinkled salt and pepper on top! With how thin we made the crust it took 25 minutes to bake. Wonderful! We have to keep the meat ones in the fridge, but they still warm up nicely!
Can you fry this pasty instead of baking it ? I have fried other pastry dough (but they didn’t have sour cream in it).
Hi Annette, I haven’t tried frying these, so I can’t say for sure.
First of all, I would like to thank you for this recipe! I teach high school culinary arts and we made 6 batches of these last week. Fabulous! Such a big hit that I have people wanting us to make them for Valentine’s Day next week. I think we are going to do cherry filling for some but was wondering what you thought about making some sort of chocolate pie filling? I’m worried it might be too messy.
Thanks again!
Hi Jyll, That’s so awesome, I’m thrilled to hear it! I’m wondering if you could simply do some chopped up chocolate or a piece of chocolate candy (square of Ghiradelli chocolate, peanut butter cup, etc.) instead of an actual loose chocolate pie filling?
Hi, I just finished making these delicious looking hand pies. The dough is gorgeous although I haven’t eaten on yet because they are still cooling. My question is whether the scraps can be rerolled. I hate wasting food but don’t want to end up with a tough crust. Have you rerolled your dough before and if yes, how was the texture?
Hi Ginny, I think you could re-roll without an issue!
I love your blog, I am so glad I came across it! I want to attempt to make these for Christmas, Im not much of a baker, but want to learn, and your recipes look so easy to follow.
My question is….I read that you can use canned pie filling, would that apply to any canned filling?
Thanks!
Hi Sharon, Yes, I think whatever flavor you’d like would work here!
As always, you’re recipes are well-written and easy to follow. I made these hand pies for our family Thanksgiving and they were amazing. The pastry was perfectly flaky and the filling was yummy. I will definitely be making these again.
These are delicious! I made them for my family and they loved them! I want to make a whole pie for thanksgiving and wondering if this recipe will yield for a pie with a crust top?
Hi Kim, So glad you enjoyed them! I’ve never tried to convert this recipe to a pie, so I can’t say for sure, but based on common crust ratios, you should be good to go. Enjoy!
Just made these with the kids. We used whole wheat flour and they still came out great. Easy pretty and tasty!
What a yummy recipe! I followed it exactly and the pastry was heavenly. Everyone in my family loved it. I am adding this recipe to the family recipe box.
These were fantastic, buttery, and flakey. When you make this recipe, make sure in advance that you have a large enough biscuit cutter. I only had a 3.5″ round cutter, so mine are smaller than the recipe — and they have too much pastry and too little actual filling.
Could I use canned apple pie filling? And if so, same baking time?
Hi Kim, Yes, you could totally use canned apple pie filling; I would use the same baking time.
First time visitor to your site. Apples–probably a Yellow Delicious variety–from a friend’s tree. Substituted FAGE 2% plain yogurt for sour cream. Given that the size of the apples varied, I prepared about 8 or 9, doubled remaining amounts in your printed recipe for filling, and used all but a generous tablespoon to fill the dough. Once peeled, cored, and diced, apples sat in a lemon juice/water bath until drained before cooking. No biscuit cutter, but a 5-inch metal bowl upended on the rolled-out dough and my pizza cutter worked like a charm! The bake was successful, and delicious! My friends, the apple growers and a lucky two of my grandkids are enjoying these little apple gems, tonight! Thanks for sharing your recipe. What a great way to spend a fall afternoon!
Made them today the dough was a bit soggy but just used a bit of flour as I was getting ready to roll out and just coated it and kneaded it in
I had no problems with the long resting times I went and walked the dog and cleaned the house and painted my mum’s nails haha!
Fantastic and really flaky
Saving this recipe thanks for sharing
I’m not sure if i’m doing it right. I just put the dough in the fridge, but after i mixed the moist ingredients with the flour/butter, the entire thing got really really wet. It was not liquidy, but it wasn’t like other dough if made. I tried adding a little bit more flour, but it was still really wet and sticky. Help?
Hi Jasmine, It is a super soft dough, but it shouldn’t be wet or liquidy. I’d give it a rest in the fridge and then if you can’t even work with it, I’d add a little bit of flour at a time unless it’s manageable.