Mini apple pies (apple hand pies) are made with flaky buttery dough and a delicious apple and cinnamon filling. Perfect for snacking, tea time and breakfast.
Recipe by Lorena Salinas from Cravings Journal on May 9, 2023
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT30M
Total time: PT50M
5 stars (2 reviews)
apple hand pies, butter dough, cinnamon rolls, flaky dough, mini apple pies
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl and mix.
- Add the butter. Mix the butter in and pinch it along with the dry ingredients to break it up. You don't want to completely get rid of the butter lumps, we want some of them to remain semi-disintegrated. This will make the dough extra flaky.
- Add the water and knead lightly with your hands to bring the dough together. Only knead until the dough comes together and then stop. You will notice bits of butter in the dough, that's perfect.
- Refrigerate the dough wrapped in cling film for 30 minutes or up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for 2 months.
- Peel the apples and cut them into very small cubes of 4-5mm.
- Place the apples in a pot along with all the other ingredients and place the pot over medium heat.
- Cook the apples until the mix thickens in the pot. First, the apples will let go of their juices and the mix will be very liquidy. As it boils, the apples will soften and it will begin to thicken. You're looking for a texture similar to a thin jam.
- Remove the apples from the pot and refrigerate them until completely cold. This will make the mix solidify because of the butter, making it much easier to fill the mini apple pies/apple hand pies.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's about 2mm thick.
- Cut out circles using a cookie cutter of 9-10cm/3.5-4 inches in diameter.
- Place 2 tablespoons of filling at the centre of the circle. If you used a lot of flour to roll out the dough, you can paint the edge with a bit of water.
- Hold the circle that belongs to the top of the mini apple pie/apple hand pie and use your fingers, pinching it slightly to stretch it out a bit more.
- Place it on top of the filling. Close the edges using a fork all around.
- Use the cookie cutter that you used before and use it to even out the edges of the mini apple pie you just formed.
- Use a pairing knife to cut 3 slits on the top of the pies so that the steam from the filling can be released. Repeat with all the pies.
- Paint the mini apple pies/apple hand pies with the beaten egg with the water. Sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Bake the pies in a preheated oven at 180℃℃/350℉ for 20-30 minutes or until golden.