These apple hand pies have a flaky homemade pie crust filled with caramelized cinnamon apples, just like a classic apple pie. I use a biscuit cutter to cut out the dough which makes preparing these mini handheld pies so easy!
If you’re looking for more easy apple recipes to make this fall, try this gooey apple monkey bread and these cinnamon sugar cider donuts, next! Of course, you can’t go wrong with old-fashioned apple crisp as a classic dessert.
Freshly Baked Mini Apple Hand Pies
There’s nothing better than the smell of apple pie baking in the oven during the fall. These apple hand pies put a fun spin on a traditional pie recipe. It’s a homemade apple pie that you can eat with your hands! I make this recipe with my easy apple pie filling, baked inside a buttery flaky crust sprinkled with crunchy sugar. You’ll love making these after your next orchard haul!
Why I Love These Hand Pies
- Single-serving. Apple hand pies are an easy twist on mini apple pies, where all that cinnamon apple goodness gets baked into a flaky pie crust pocket. We love having these as a fall treat every year, and they’re great for potlucks and parties.
- Fuss-free. Assembling and baking an apple hand pie feels easier than making a classic pie (and can be a bit quicker too). There’s no blind-baking the pie crust or weaving a lattice crust.
- Hand held shapes– A biscuit cutter makes it super easy to cut out the dough. You can fold in half like a tortilla or leave them round. Then just fill, seal, and bake.
- Make-ahead friendly. If you’d rather assemble these apple hand pies ahead of time and leave them unbaked, they make a great freezer dessert! The pie filling and pie crust are also easy to prepare in advance, which comes in handy, especially during the holidays. I include my top make-ahead tips later on.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes on the important ingredients in these apple pie hand pies. You’ll find a printable ingredients list with the full amounts in the recipe card below the post.
- Pie Crust – I prepare a double recipe of my easy homemade pie crust (it’s the same crust I use for plenty of pie recipes, from apple pie to pumpkin pie). Chill the crust in the fridge beforehand. You can also use a refrigerated pie crust that comes already chilled from the store.
- Apples – Choose your favorite baking apple (I like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith). While peeling the apples for this recipe isn’t mandatory, I prefer the texture of peeled apples versus unpeeled ones. Afterward, I dice them up small (the smaller the better).
- Lemon – Freshly juiced for the pie filling.
- Cinnamon – You can also use another spice, like nutmeg, ginger, or cardamom. Or, feel free to use prepared apple pie spice if you have it in the pantry.
- Maple Syrup – I use this for the apple pie filling. Make sure it’s real maple syrup and not artificial pancake syrup. Honey is a good substitute if needed.
- Egg – The pie crust does contain an egg but I also use another egg beaten with water for an egg wash ontop of the assembled pit.
- Coarse Sugar – I used my favorite coarse sparkling sugar as a finishing touch on these apple hand pies. You can use granulated sugar, turbinado, or demerara. Another option is to skip the sugar altogether, but I love the extra sparkle and crunch!
How to Make Apple Hand Pies
Let’s have a look at the easy steps involved in making apple hand pies that are perfectly golden and flaky outside, and sweet and spiced inside. Scroll down to the recipe card for printable instructions.
Time Saving Tip
I like to cut out and prepare the pie crust circles (top and bottom) while the apple pie filling cools. The key to working with pie crust is to keep it chilled, so you can do all this while the apple filling cools. You can also speed up the cooling time by placing the filling into the fridge.
- Prepare the apple filling. First, toss diced apples with the filling ingredients and simmer over medium heat. Once the apples are caramelized and softened, take the filling off the stove to cool.
- Roll out the dough. Meanwhile, roll out the prepared pie crust and use a 3.5-inch round biscuit cutter to cut out circles for the crust. Just like making sugar cookies, you’ll need to reroll and cut out the dough until you have 20 circles.
- Divide the pie crusts. Place 10 pie dough circles into the fridge (these will be the bottom crust). Cut small slits in the middle of the remaining dough circles for the top crust. Afterward, chill all the circles in the fridge for 10 minutes.
How to Fill, Seal, and Bake Hand Pies
- Fill the pies. Add spoonfuls of apple filling to the center of each bottom crust. Brush the edges with an egg wash and place the top crust with the vent holes over the filling.
- Seal the edges. To seal the hand pies, use a fork to crimp around the edges. Make sure that the pies are tightly crimped so that the filling doesn’t leak out.
- Chill the pies. Finally, brush the top crust with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and return the finished hand pies to the fridge to chill for another 10 minutes.
- Bake. Bake the apple hand pies on lined baking sheets at 375ºF for 25-30 minutes. Unless you have a spacious oven, I recommend baking one batch at a time in the center rack of the oven. Keep the remaining hand pies chilling in the fridge.
Julianne’s Tips for Perfect Hand Pies
- Chill the pies. The trick to having hand pies hold their shape is to keep the pies nice and cold throughout the process. It’s important to chill the sealed pies in the fridge before baking.
- Assemble in batches. I like to assemble 5 pies at a time. Meanwhile, I’ll keep the other half of the dough circles in the fridge. It ensures the dough stays cold, plus it frees up space in the fridge and on the counter.
- Cut slits for the steam to escape. Don’t forget to slice small slits in the top of the pies, otherwise, they may burst when they bake. It’s easier to cut the slits into the top crusts while they are flat, as opposed to trying to cut them after the pies have been filled.
- Bake one batch at a time. I recommend baking only one tray at a time, in the center of the oven, for evenly baked pies. If you have to bake two at a time, switch the pans around (swapping the top and bottom tray) halfway through the baking time.
- Line the pans. Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for easier clean up.
- Rotate the pans. Additionally, if your oven bakes unevenly, I suggest rotating the pans 180 degrees halfway through to promote even baking.
- Go gluten-free. Make gluten-free apple hand pies using my gluten-free pie crust and cornstarch instead of flour in the pie filling.
- Different filling. Easily adapt these apple hand pies with any fruit filling. Borrow the filling recipes from my apple blueberry pie or peach pie.
- Different topping. If you don’t have sparkling sanding sugar, try brushing the finished crusts with better and sprinkling with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Serving Suggestions
Fresh-from-the-oven apple hand pies are great served with a drizzle of vanilla glaze or homemade salted caramel sauce. My favorite way to serve them is in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or, try more tasty topping ideas like classic whipped cream or this cinnamon maple whipped cream for a seasonal kick.
How to Prepare Ahead
When I’m baking apple hand pies for a crowd, the more I can do in advance, the better! Below are some simple ways that I get a head start on this recipe. See further in the post for storage and reheating tips for baked hand pies.
- Unbaked pies: Assemble the pies as directed right up until you add the egg wash. Instead, freeze the pies flat on a baking sheet before wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and stashing them in a Ziploc bag. When ready to bake, brush the pies with egg and pop them into a 375ºF oven straight from frozen, adding 5-7 minutes to the baking time.
- Apple filling: Prepare the homemade apple pie filling up to 2 days ahead and keep it airtight in the fridge.
- Pie crust: To make the pie crust ahead, prepare the dough and double-wrap it tightly in plastic. Store the pie dough in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for 1 month.
How to Store Hand Pies
- Room temperature. These hand pies are fine to store at room temperature for up to 2 days. I like to keep them in a (clean) paper bag as it prevents the crust from getting overly soggy.
- Refrigerate. On the other hand, you can refrigerate the pies, where they’ll stay fresh for up to 5 days.
- Reheat. These are great when gently reheated in an oven or air fryer. That being said, I’ll gladly eat the leftover apple hand pies cold or at room temperature. They’re delicious either way!
More Apple Recipes
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Apple Crumble Pie
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
- Apple Coffee Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Apple Hand Pies
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 10 hand pies (3.5″ each)
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These mini apple hand pies are a fun twist on traditional apple pie that you can eat with your hands! They’re bursting with homemade apple pie filling baked inside a flaky crust. A biscuit cutter makes it super easy to cut out the dough. Just fill, seal, and bake.
Ingredients
- 1 Double recipe of my Easy Pie Crust, prepared and chilled
Apple Pie Filling
- 3 Medium apples, peeled and small diced (we used Honeycrisp or granny smith)
- ½ Lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon (28g) light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons (18g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5g) ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
- 2–4 tablespoons of water as needed
For the Topping
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Coarse sugar, optional
Instructions
For the Apple Filling
- Place apples in a medium saucepan, pour lemon juice over top, and stir to combine. Add the maple syrup and dry ingredients. Mix well to coat the apples.
- Cook apples on the stove over medium heat, adding 1-2 tablespoons of water to prevent sticking as needed. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes until the apples are just soft and tender but not mushy. Remove from heat to cool, transfer to another dish to speed up the cooling process. If you’re ready to bake immediately, prepare the pie circles in the next steps while the filling is cooling, as additional chilling time is required.
For the Pies
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Line 2 large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Note that prepared pies will need to chill in the fridge before baking.
- Roll out chilled dough to ¼” thick. Using a 3.5” round biscuit cutter, cut circles out of the dough. Make the cuts as close to one another as you can so that you don’t have to re-roll the dough scraps too many times. Reroll the dough until you have 20 circles. Set aside 10 circles and place the other 10 in the fridge to firm up. These are the bottom circles.
- With the remaining 10, cut a few small vents/slits in the center, these are the tops of the pies. Place in the fridge for at least 10 minutes to allow them to firm up. Prepare the egg wash by combining the beaten egg with water.
- After the dough circles are chilled, fill the bottom circles. Place on the prepared baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Fill each circle with about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center, making sure to leave the dough around the edge bare so that it will seal well to the top crust. Brush the outside edge of the bottom circles with egg wash.
- Place a top crust on each bottom circle and crimp all around the edge with a fork to completely seal in the filling. Make sure these are well sealed so that the filling does not bake out of the seams. Brush each sealed pie with the egg wash, and then sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar if desired. Place back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to help them hold their shape when they bake.
- Bake one tray at a time in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling out the slits on the top of the pies. You may need to turn the baking sheets, rotating the pans halfway through baking, especially if your oven bakes unevenly. Cool pies for at least 20 minutes before eating.
Notes
- Time-saving tip: Start to prepare the pie crust circles while the pie filling is cooling.
- Chill the pies. The trick to having hand pies hold their shape is to keep the pies nice and cold throughout the process. It’s important to chill the sealed pies in the fridge before baking.
-
Rotate the pans. Additionally, if your oven bakes unevenly, I suggest rotating the pans 180 degrees halfway through to promote even baking.
-
Go gluten-free. Make gluten-free apple hand pies using my gluten-free pie crust and cornstarch instead of flour in the pie filling.
- Different topping. If you don’t have sparkling sanding sugar, try brushing the finished crusts with better and sprinkling with a cinnamon sugar mixture.
Prep Ahead
- The apple filling can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
- Pie crust can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and kept refrigerated. Be sure it’s double-wrapped tightly with plastic. Alternatively, you can freeze it ahead of time for up to one month.
Storing
- Leftover pies can be stored in a paper bag at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. These are great when gently reheated in an oven or air fryer, but are equally delicious cold or at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 8.2 g
- Sodium: 251.5 mg
- Fat: 19.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.1 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 5.6 g
- Cholesterol: 86 mg
