These easy Apple Hand Pies feature a flaky all-butter pie crust filled with a simple cinnamon apple compote and finished with a cinnamon-sugar crust. They’re straightforward to prepare and bake in about 20 minutes—perfect for a portable, hand-held dessert.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Servings: 9 hand pies
- Calories: ~268 kcal per pie (approx.)
- Technique: Make an all-butter vodka pie crust, cook a spiced apple filling, assemble, chill, and bake until golden.
- Flavor Profile: Buttery, flaky crust with warm cinnamon-apple filling and a crisp sugared top.
- Difficulty: Intermediate — keep dough cold and seal carefully for best results.
Featured Comment
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The pie dough really makes these hand pies stand out! It is crispy, flaky, and tastes amazing! I made the pie dough one day, then the filling the next, and assembled it on the third day. It made the whole process so easy.” – Mara
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Easy & portable. A grab-and-go dessert that needs no utensils.
- Versatile serving options. Enjoy cold, at room temperature, or warm. Serve alone or with ice cream or a sauce for a plated dessert.
- Great for groups. Assemble ahead, freeze, and bake from frozen to feed a crowd.
Table of Contents
- A Quick Look at the Recipe
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Why did my apple hand pies leak?
- Variations
- Professional Tips
- How to Make Apple Hand Pies
- Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
- Recipe FAQs
- Recommended Apple Dessert Recipes
- Apple Hand Pies Recipe
- Before You Go
These hand pies use a quick cinnamon-apple filling made with six ingredients and come together in under 30 minutes of active cooking. They deliver the same comforting flavors as a classic apple pie with a lot less fuss. For convenience, store-bought pie dough works well, too.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of caramel for an extra-special treat.
Ingredients
- Pie crust: Use an all-butter vodka pie crust or a favorite pie dough. Keep it very cold.
- Egg: One beaten egg for sealing the pies (water can be used in a pinch).
- Heavy cream: A small brush of cream helps the sugar stick and promotes browning.
- Cinnamon sugar: For sprinkling on top before baking.
- Apples: A mix of firm baking apples (Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Cripps Pink, etc.) that hold their texture when cooked.
- Sugars: A combination of granulated and light brown sugar for sweetness and depth.
- Spices & lemon: Cinnamon and ground ginger for warmth, and lemon juice to brighten the filling.
Why did my apple hand pies leak?
Common causes of leaking and how to avoid them:
- Dough shrank: Rushed or warm dough can shrink. Chill between steps.
- Overfilled: Too much filling prevents a proper seal—use the recommended amount.
- Poor seal: Brush a light egg wash on the edge and crimp firmly with a fork.
- Too much wetting: Excess egg wash or water prevents the layers from sticking—use sparingly.
- No vents: Cut small slits for steam to escape so it won’t force seams open.
If you prefer a more forgiving texture, a shortening-based crust will be more crumbly and less prone to shrinkage than an all-butter crust.
Variations
- Different fillings: Swap the apple filling for cherry, blueberry, peach, or mixed berry, or substitute pears.
- Caramel apple: Stir in salted caramel or maple caramel into the apple filling before assembling.
- Fun shapes: Use any cookie cutter you like—ovals, stars, fluted circles, or diamonds. Ensure there’s room to crimp the edges.
Professional Tips
- Keep dough cold: Chilled dough yields a flakier crust and helps prevent shrinkage.
- Measure filling carefully: Too little is disappointing, too much causes leaks. Aim for the suggested portion size.
- Seal well: Use a light egg wash on the edge and press firmly with a fork to create a reliable seal.
How to Make Apple Hand Pies
Follow these steps for consistent results. Exact amounts and additional details appear in the recipe card below.
Prepare the apple filling:
Step 1: Peel and dice apples into roughly ½–1 cm pieces.
Step 2: In a small pot, combine the apples with granulated sugar, light brown sugar, ground ginger, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-low until the apples release juices, then increase heat to medium-high until the mixture thickens and the apples are tender. Remove from heat and cool completely before assembling.
To cool the filling quickly, spread it in a single layer on a parchment-lined rimmed pan and chill briefly in the refrigerator or freezer for 10–15 minutes.
Assemble & bake:
Step 3: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Step 4: On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut an even number of shapes (ovals, circles, or rectangles) so each filled piece has a top.
Step 5: Brush one side of each piece lightly with beaten egg, then place about 2 tablespoons of cooled filling in the center. Cover with an unfilled piece, press the edges together, and crimp with a fork to seal.
If the dough stretches or filling reaches the seal when you try to close it, you’re using too much filling—use a smaller portion next time.
Step 6: Chill the assembled pies for at least 30 minutes (or freeze) before baking. Proper chilling helps maintain flakiness and prevents leaking.
When sealing, press the fork tines around the edge but avoid puncturing the top surface above the seal to prevent leaks.
Step 7: Before baking, cut a few small slits in the tops for steam ventilation. Brush with a little heavy cream and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar or turbinado sugar.
Step 8: Bake for about 20 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Pre-cooking the apple filling is essential: hand pies don’t bake long enough for raw apples to soften and for flavors to fully develop. Cook the filling on the stovetop, then cool it completely before assembling to preserve the texture of your crusts.
Recipe FAQs
Freeze assembled, unbaked hand pies for up to 2 months on a baking sheet, then transfer to a sealed bag and bake from frozen. Baked pies keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days, refrigerated for up to 10 days, or frozen for 2 months. Reheat in the oven before serving for best texture.
They’re lovely on their own as a hand-held dessert, or serve warm with vanilla ice cream or a caramel sauce for a plated experience.
Turnovers often use puff pastry and are folded into triangles; hand pies use pie crust, come in many shapes, and are typically sealed like a small double-crust pie.
Keep dough cold, avoid overfilling, apply a light egg wash to the sealing edge, crimp well, and cut small vents in the top to release steam.
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If you try this recipe and enjoy it, please leave a star rating and share how it went in the comments. I love hearing your feedback!
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 tablespoons vodka, frozen
- 2 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
- 3 apples (firm varieties)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 lemon, juiced
For the Assembly:
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (for topping)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (for topping)
Instructions
Make the pie crust:
-
Combine flour, salt, sugar, and cubed butter and cut the butter into the flour until a mix of small and larger pieces remains. Add frozen vodka, then ice water, mixing until just hydrated. Press into disks, wrap, and chill at least 2 hours.
Make the filling:
-
Peel and dice apples to ½–1 cm. Combine apples with sugars, ginger, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a small pot. Cook until apples release juices and the mixture thickens. Cool completely.
Assembling the Hand Pies:
-
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll dough to 1/8 inch and cut shapes in pairs. Brush one side with beaten egg, add ~2 tablespoons filling, top with the paired piece, and crimp edges. Chill 30 minutes. Cut vents, brush with cream, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar. Bake ~20 minutes until golden and filling bubbles.
Video
Notes
Variations – Use any homemade or store-bought filling. This recipe yields nine 3-inch ovals.
Storage – Baked pies: airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, refrigerated up to 10 days, frozen up to 2 months. Freeze unbaked pies up to 2 months and bake from frozen.
Yield: 9, 3-inch ovals
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this chef-tested recipe. Try other pie and pastry recipes for more dessert ideas—these hand pies are a great place to start.
