Apple Hand Pies

• servings: 12 servings
• active time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• total time: 6 hours

Ingredients

340 g all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

230 g unsalted butter (cold and cubed)

140 g ice cold water

3 small tart apples (peeled, cored, chopped into small chunks)

30 g brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg (beaten)

3 tablespoons sugar crystals or coarse sugar

Directions

Mix dry ingredients: In a mixing bowl, stir together flour and salt.

Cut the butter into the flour: Add in cold cubed butter and toss to coat in flour. Press the butter in between your thumb and fingers to break them into smaller pieces, tossing to coat in flour occasionally. Work quickly and continue breaking the butter down into about pea-sized pieces.

Hydrate the dough: Make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour in ice water and mix with your hand to combine until it forms a shaggy dough.

Press, fold, and shape the dough: Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter. Use your hands to press the dough together. Fold the dough over onto itself 2-3 times to create layers of butter but don't overwork the dough. Don't knead the dough.

Wrap and chill the dough: Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into two halves. Press and shape each half into a flattened disc shape. Wrap both discs with plastic wrap. Press down on the dough to compact it against the plastic wrap. Chill dough in the fridge for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Cook apple filling: In a medium pot, stir together apple chunks, brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Cook on medium-high heat until the juices start to bubble. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes until the apples are tender. Set aside to cool completely before using.

Prep: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Roll out the dough: On a floured surface, place down one disc of dough. Whack the dough firmly with a rolling pin to soften it without warming it up. Roll it out until about 1/8" thick. Use a 4" round cutter to cut out circles. Transfer the dough rounds to your lined baking sheet. Re-roll the scraps no more than once. Repeat with the second disc of dough.

Cut out shapes: Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out shapes in half of the dough rounds or use a knife to slice a few lines to allow steam to escape when baking.

Assemble hand pies: Spoon a generous mound of apple filling onto the middle of each "bottom" round, leaving about 1/2"-3/4" of the edge empty. Gently stretch a matching "top" round and place it on top of each bottom round. Press a floured fork around the edges of each hand pie to seal.

Chill and preheat: Chill the whole baking sheet of hand pies in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brush with egg wash: Right before baking, brush each hand pie with a thin layer of beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar crystals or coarse sugar for extra crunch.

Bake: Bake hand pies for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices inside are bubbling. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving warm or let cool completely.

Nutrition

• Calories: 293 kcal
• Total Fat: 16 g
• Saturated Fat: 10 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
• Trans Fat: 1 g
• Cholesterol: 55 mg
• Sodium: 107 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 34 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 10 g
• Protein: 4 g