Apple Hand Pies. Cute and delicious, these mini apple pies are perfect for snacking, breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Sweet pastry dough filled with a brown sugar cinnamon caramelized apple and pecan filling. Baked golden, drizzled with glaze, sprinkled with candied pecan pieces.
Why You Should Make These Hand Pies
- dough and filling can be made in advance.
- fall favorite flavors packed into a portable pastry.
- brown sugar + cinnamon + apple + pecans is a classic combination.
- perfect for snacking, breakfast, brunch, and after dinner.
- mini apple pies store very well.
How To Make Apple Hand Pies
Dough:
All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and kosher salt are added to a small mixing bowl and whisked to combine.
Cold butter is added to the flour mixture and cut in using a pastry blender or a fork. The mix should resemble coarse crumbs.
Egg and heavy cream are added to a small bowl, whisked to combine, and added to the butter and flour mixture. Dough is stirred with a wooden spoon until it comes together and the egg is incorporated.
Alternately, this dough can be prepared in a food processor.
The dough is shaped into a rectangle and set aside for 30 minutes. The dough can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days, if desired.
A flat surface is dusted lightly with flour. Half the dough is rolled into a large rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. 4 to 5-inch circles are cut using a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. The process is repeated with the remaining dough. Dough craps can be kneaded together, re-rolled, and cut into more circles.
Candied Pecans:
The oven is preheated to 250 degrees F.
An egg white, a splash of water and vanilla bean paste are beaten with a whisk until frothy. Pecan halves are tossed in the egg mixture and left to soak for a few minutes.
Sugar and a little sea salt are combined in a small bowl and stirred to combine. Half the sugar mix goes into the bowl with the pecans to dissolve and start to adhere to the nuts.
The pecans are tossed in the remaining sugar mixture and laid out on a cookie or baking sheet in a single layer but close to one another. The nuts are baked for 15 minutes, stirred and baked another 15 minutes.
Baking sheet is removed from oven and cooled on wire rack. The candied pecans are roughly chopped and set aside.
Sautéed Apples:
An apple is peeled, cored and sliced into 12 to 16 slices.
The apple slices are added to a small skillet with butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon. The apples are sautéed over medium low heat until tender. I will add some water, apple juice, or apple cider to the apples if they get a little dry while simmering.
The tender apple slices are finely diced and set aside. Alternately, the apple can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated until ready to use, up to 3 days in advance.
Egg Wash:
An egg and a splash of half and half are added to a small bowl, and whisked to combine.
Hand Pie Assembly:
The oven is preheated to 350 degrees F.
Some of the roughly chopped pecans are sprinkled over the finely diced apples and stirred to combine. About 2 tablespoons of the apple mixture I spooned into the center of each dough circle.
The egg wash is brushed around the edges. The dough is folded over the filling and secured, using your fingers or a fork to crimp the edges to ensure a good seal. The tops of each pie are pricked with a fork to allow steam to escape. The egg wash can be brushed over the surface of the prepared pies to add a shiny coat.
The pies are baked for about 25 minutes, or until golden on top and lightly browned along the creased edge.
Glaze:
Powdered sugar and some of the reserved apple cooking liquid are added to a small bowl, and stirred to combine.
The glaze is brushed over the warm apple hand pies. Finely chopped candied pecan pieces are sprinkled over the glaze.
Other Brunch Recipes You Might Enjoy
Some of our most popular brunch recipes include apple butter pop tarts, blueberry crisp, cinnamon rolls, mixed berry pop tarts, baked lemon blueberry doughnuts, roasted strawberry pop tarts, and pear raspberry walnut sweet rolls.
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Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
Candied Pecans:
- 30 grams egg white (1 large)
- 15 grams water (1 tablespoon)
- 3 grams vanilla bean paste (1/2 teaspoon)
- 60 grams pecan pieces (3/4 cup)
- 50 grams granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
- 1 gram fine sea salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Dough:
- 260 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups)
- 12 grams granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
- 6 grams kosher salt or fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
- 230 grams unsalted butter (1 cup OR 2 sticks), cold and cubed
- 50 grams egg (1 large)
- 30 grams half and half (2 tablespoons)
Caramelized Apples:
- 1-1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 slices, any variety (about 2 apples)
- 5 grams fresh lemon juice (1 teaspoon)
- 3 grams ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon)
- 35 grams light brown sugar (3 tablespoons)
- 14 grams salted butter (1 tablespoon)
- 60 grams apple juice, apple cider, or water (1/4 cup)
Egg Wash:
- 50 grams egg (1 large)
- 15 grams half and half (1 tablespoon)
Apple Glaze:
- 90 grams powdered sugar (3/4 cup)
- 15 grams juices reserved from caramelized apples (1 tablespoon)
Instructions
Candied Pecans:
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Add egg white, water, and vanilla bean paste to small mixing bowl. Whisk until frothy. Add pecan pieces to egg white mixture. Toss to coat. Set aside for several minutes.
- Add granulated sugar, and fine sea salt to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add half the sugar mixture to the pecans. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the nuts to the remaining sugar mixture. Toss to coat.
- Spread the prepared pecans in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Stir and bake additional 15 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet from oven and cool on wire rack. Roughly chop. Set aside.
Dough:
- Add all-purpose flour, granulated sugar and kosher salt to medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Using a pastry blender, cut in the cold butter for several minutes until mixture resembles crumbs in texture.
- Add egg to small bowl. Whisk briefly. Add half and half to beaten egg. Whisk to combine. Add egg mixture to dough. Stir to combine.
- Press the dough into a rectangle, and set it aside rest for 30 minutes before rolling out. Alternately, the dough may be wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring the dough to room temperature before rolling out.
- Divide the dough in half. On a well-floured flat surface, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. To keep the dough from being too sticky, you can lightly flour the rolling pin, and rotate the dough occasionally. Lightly flour your surface or the top of the dough, if necessary.
- Cut the dough into 3 to 4-inch circles. Place the dough circles on parchment paper lined baking sheets.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Knead together any scraps of dough, re-roll, and cut more circles.
Caramelized Apples:
- Add the prepared apple slices, unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice, ground cinnamon, and light brown sugar to a large skillet. Heat over medium low heat 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, or until the apples have softened. As the moisture begins to simmer away, add the apple cider. Continue cooking the apples until tender.
- Reserve some of the cooking liquid to use in the glaze preparation.
Egg Wash:
- Add egg to small bowl. Whisk briefly. Add half and half to beaten egg. Whisk to combine.
Hand Pie Assembly:
- Spoon the finely chopped apples onto the dough circles resting on the parchment paper, leaving a 1/2-inch of space around the edges. Brush the egg wash around the uncovered edges.
- Fold the dough over the filling and secure, using your fingers to crimp the edges to ensure a good seal. Alternately you can use a fork.
- Prick the tops of the hand pies with the tines of a fork to allow steam to escape. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
- Serve warm, or glaze and garnish.
Glaze:
- Add powdered sugar and reserved cooking liquid to small bowl. Stir to combine. Brush hand pies with glaze.
- Sprinkle candied pecan pieces over glaze.