How to Make Baked Apple Hand Pies 蘋果批 (餡餅)

Are you enjoying the cooler temperature and the scenery of fallen red and golden Maple leaves?  I sure love them both.  But what I love even more are all the warm and hearty recipes that fit for Fall!  There should be no surprise that dessert always makes the top of my list!  These adorable and heart-warming Apple Hand Pies are definitely my favorite Fall dessert.  They are also both of my kids' favorite!  What a surprise!?  It’s seldom that they both love the same item or a dish!  So, I’m happy to bake up these cuties more often!



Many hand pie recipes are deep fried.  However, I don’t like to deep fry for obvious reasons.   To me, deep fry usually involved absorbing too much unnecessary oil and calories!  Besides, I don’t want to deal with a large pot of left-over oil and greasy smell in the kitchen as well.  So, I opt for a baked version!  These baked Apple Hand Pies are just as scrumptious and decadent, if not better, than the deep fried version!



The crust of these Apple Hand Pies is buttery and flaky, the apple filling is slightly sweet and tart, and very juicy.  The combination of earthy cinnamon and refreshing apples is simply heavenly!  These hand pies are fun to eat and very portable.  You can easily pack them for picnic or bring them to parties for sharing.  I shared them with some friends and they all loved them!



If you haven’t check out the video tutorial, please do so as I shared more tips and tricks in the video and you don’t want to miss them.   I hope you enjoy today’s post and recipe.  Please subscribe to my Youtube channel here.  That way, you won’t miss out on any future videos and you’ll be the first to know when I have a new tutorial published.  And remember, Eat, Drink, and Be Happy!  Stay tuned for more Fall and Holiday baking next week!




Ingredients and Tools Used:
Apple Shape Pocket Pie Mold (Click here for more information)
4-icnh Round Cookie Cutter (Click here for more information)
Mini Cookie Cutter Set (Click here for more information)
Organic Ground Cinnamon (Click here for more information)
Cooling Racks (Click here for more information)
Rolling Mat (Click here for more information)
Rolling Pin (Click here for more information)
Measuring Spoons Set (Click here for more information)
Baking Sheets (Click here for more information)
Microplane Zester (Click here for more information)
Whole Nutmeg (Click here for more information)
Organic Vanilla Extract (Click here for more information)
Kerrygold Butter (Click here for more information)
Organic All-Purpose Flour (Click here for more information)




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Apple Hand Pies
Makes: 8 (4-inch hand pies)

Ingredients for the Pie Dough:2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
8 ounces butter, very cold and cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons iced water

Ingredients for the Pie Fillings:
2 large apples (I use 1 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp)
1 tablespoon salted butter
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice*
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon of cold water

Ingredients for Egg Wash:
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon of water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To Prepare the Pie Dough:
In a food processor, place flour, butter, and salt, pulse a few times until butter turns pea size. Then, add in sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, sugar, and water, pulse until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling.

To Prepare Pie fillings:
Peel, core, and cut apples into small dice. In a medium size skillet over medium low heat, melt butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Then, add in water and diced apples. Stir occasionally and cook the mixture for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the apples are slightly softened.

*Note: I did add the lemon juice in the pie filling.  However, when I did the video tutorial, it didn't make it to the editor's cut (I must be too sleepy when I edit the video)!  Sorry!  But please do add the lemon juice.  It adds a nice tartness to balance out the sweetness of the apples.

Next, add in vanilla extract, and lemon juice. While constantly stirring, add the cornstarch mixture. Cook until the sauce comes to a boil and thickened. Remove from heat and let cool completely before filling the pies.

To Assemble:
Take 1 portion of chilled dough from the fridge. Slight dust a clean surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough until it’s 1/8-inch (about 3mm) thick. Stamp out dough with apple pie shape cutter. I’m using a 3 to 4 – inch cutter (Please refer to blog post tool list and video tutorial).

Stamp out a “venting hole” on half of the stamped-out doughs (these will be the top). You can gather the scrapes and re-roll the dough. Place 2 tablespoons of pie filling on the bottom side of the stamped-out dough. Slightly wet your finger tip with water and moisten the edges of the bottom bough. Place the top dough (with the venting hole) on top, line up with the apple shape. Gently seal the edges of the pie with the tine of a fork. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients. You should be able to make 8 hand pies with this recipe.

Place filled hand pies onto a silpat lined baking sheet and refrigerate for an hour (or 30 minutes in freezer) before baking.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375F. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and water. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Take the filled hand pies out from the fridge, brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.

Bake the hand pies for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and shiny. Rotate the baking pans half way through baking for even heat distribution.

Let pies cool down slightly before eating. You can store them in an air-tight container at room temperature up to 3 days. As usual, mine were all gone the next day!