These apple hand pies have a flaky all butter pie crust, a gooey spiced caramel apple filling, and a sweet glaze. I made them in the shape of apples to make them extra fun. These are much easier to make than apple pie and are the perfect handheld sweet treats. You can also omit the glaze and stick with a classic coarse sugar topping.
If caramel and spiced apples are one of your favorite combinations, you're going to love my salted caramel apple cheesecake bars.
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🍎 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Easier than making a whole pie: I love making hand pies because they're so much more approachable and easier to make than a whole pie. Plus they're a lot faster to make.
- Caramel apple: A soft caramel in each hand pie adds an ooey gooey caramel element that is just so delicious.
- Homemade or store-bought crust: Use my recipe for a flaky and buttery pie crust, or take a shortcut with store-bought pie crust.
- Spiced apples: The apple filling is spiced with a gorgeous mix of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice. Leave them in for all the spiced fall feels, or leave them out for a more basic caramel apple flavor.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
Apples: The best apples for baking with are tart, crunchy varieties like granny smith or pie apples. These will give you the most flavor and hold their shape so that they don't turn into a mushy mess inside the apple hand pies.
Dark brown sugar: Adds beautiful molasses notes into the apple filling.
Cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice: These add beautiful spice and fragrance in the apple filling. If you don't have allspice, you can substitute it with cloves which have a similar flavor profile. If you don't like spiced apples you can of course leave out the spices.
Soft caramels: The caramel melts down into the filling adding flavor and stretching when biting into it. You can omit the caramels but I highly recommend them
Butter: The key to flaky buttery pie crust is butter... You can use unsalted butter or if you prefer a salty crust - go with salted butter! The better quality the butter is, the more delicious the crust will be.
Vinegar: I love adding vinegar into my pie crusts. I find that the acidity helps balance out the richness of the butter and adds depth of flavor into the crust.
Lemon juice: A touch of lemon juice in the apple filling gives it a balanced flavor that isn't just "sweet."
All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
👩🍳 How to make apple hand pies
The full recipe in the recipe card (scroll down to the bottom) has instructions on how to make your own all butter pie crust. You can use store-bought pie crust or even butter puff pastry for a shortcut.
Apple hand pie filling step by step
Step 1: Combine apples, sugar, spices, flour, lemon juice, and butter in a medium pan or saucepan. Cook on low heat until it thickens and the apples soften. This will take about 8 minutes.
Step 2: Set the filling aside to cool for 10minutes. I like to roll out my pie crust in the meantime.
Assembling apple hand pies step by step
Step 1: Crack one egg into a small bowl. Add the cream and whisk together well. Set it aside while you roll out the crust.
Step 2: Dust a clean, dry surface with flour. Unwrap one piece of pie crust and place on top. Sprinkle with more flour. Roll out the pie crust to about ⅛" thick.
Step 3: Cut out eight apples or circles, about 4 inches in diameter. Set them aside on a parchment lined baking sheet. Do the same with the second piece of crust.
Step 4: Unwrap and flatten a caramel with your fingers slightly and place it into one of the eight crusts. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of filling over the caramel.
Step 5: Brush the edges of the pie crust with the eggwash you made previously. Using a finger to do this makes it easier.
Step 6: Place an unfilled piece of pie crust on top of the filled crust and use a fork to crimp the edges. You can also use a pie maker to crimp the edges like I did. Repeat with the rest of the pie crusts, carefully transferring them onto a parchment lined baking sheet when they're ready.
Place the assembled pies into the freezer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Step 7: Brush the tops of the pies with eggwash and sprinkle coarse sugar on top. If you plan on adding glaze on top I'd omit the coarse sugar on top so that they're not too sweet. You can cut out leaves from excess pastry to attach on top. Poke holes with a fork into the top layer of crust if there aren't any holes.
Step 8: Bake the pies for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Be careful not to overbake them or else the filling will ooze out completely.
Let the pies cool before glazing them.
Glaze step by step
Step 1: Combine powdered sugar and milk in a medium bowl. Whisk to form a glaze. Add more milk as needed to make a pourable glazed consistency.
Optionally, set aside a tablespoon of the glaze and color it green. Color the rest of the glaze red.
Step 2: Use a spoon to spoon and paint the glaze over the pies. Place the glazed pies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Let the glazed pies set for 15 minutes then they're ready to enjoy! It will take about 1 hour for the glaze to set completely but you can dig in earlier. The pies are best served warm or at room temperature.
✔️ Expert hand pie tips
- Don't add too much liquid into the pie crust: Too much liquid will make a soggy pie dough that won't be as tender and flaky.
- Cook the apples down before baking: Since these are hand pies and don't need a lot of baking or they'll burn, you need to cook the filling down to ensure that the apples become soft and stay juicy.
- Chill the pies before baking them: This helps the pie crust bake up beautifully and hold its shape in the oven.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
The apple hand pies are best served the day they are baked. Store any leftovers in an airtight container the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Heat up any leftovers in the oven to make them taste as if they were freshly baked.
📖 Recipe FAQs
The best apples are firm, tart varieties. I love using granny smith apples because they're easily found at the grocery store. If you can find pie apples, those are typically great as well! I will occasionally use honeycrisp apples if I can't find other varieties.
Yes you can! If you can find one that's a butter crust that would be perfect. Premade pie crust is typically found in the freezer section. You can also use a butter puff pastry.
It's important to cut out vents in your pie to allow steam to escape from. If there aren't any holes, the steam will escape from the sides and the pie will burst, spilling the filling out.
I don't recommend adding hard caramels into the pie filling as the filling may get stuck in your teeth after it's baked. It's best to use soft caramels or to omit the caramel altogether.
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📖 Recipe
Apple Hand Pies
Equipment
Ingredients
Pie Crust (alternatively use premade double pie crust)
- 1 cup unsalted butter cold
- 1 tablespoon vinegar apple cider, white, or lemon juice
- 1 cup ice water
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour 300g
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Caramel Apple Filling
- 2 large apples about 2 cups, peeled and diced finely, 225g
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
- 8 soft caramels I used Werther's original soft caramels
Eggwash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- green and red food coloring optional
Instructions
Pie Crust (alternatively use premade double pie crust)
- 10 minutes before making the crust, cut the butter into small cubes (¼"). Spread on a plate in a single layer and freeze. Add vinegar to ice water and stir.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 cup ice water
- Mix together flour and salt with a whisk to break up lumps. Add frozen butter and cut with a knife or pastry cutter (or food processor) until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with larger pea size pieces.2 ½ cups all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Add vinegar water a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing well in between. Stop adding when the mixture forms clumps and starts to come together. Don’t add too much or the crust will be tough.
- Working quickly, press dough into a disk, fold in half, press, and fold in half again. Cut in half and press each half into a disk. Wrap each disk and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Caramel Apple Filling
- Combine apples, sugar, spices, flour, lemon juice, and butter in a medium pan or saucepan. Cook on low heat until it thickens and the apples soften. This will take about 8 minutes.2 large apples, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon allspice, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
- Set the filling aside to cool for 10 minutes. I like to roll out my pie crust in the meantime.
Eggwash and Assembly
- Crack one egg into a small bowl. Add the cream and whisk together well. Set it aside while you roll out the crust.1 large egg, 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Dust a clean, dry surface with flour. Unwrap one piece of pie crust and place on top. Sprinkle with more flour.
- Roll out the pie crust to ⅛" thick. Cut out eight apples or circles, about 4 inches in diameter. Set them aside on a parchment lined baking sheet. Do the same with the second piece of crust.
- Flatten a caramel with your fingers slightly and place it into one of the eight crusts. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of filling over the caramel.8 soft caramels
- Brush the edges of the pie crust with the eggwash you made previously. Using a finger to do this makes it easier.
- Place an unfilled piece of pie crust on top of the filled crust and use a fork to crimp the edges. You can also use a pie maker to crimp the edges like I did. Repeat with the rest of the pie crusts, carefully transferring them onto a parchment lined baking sheet when they're ready.
- Place the assembled pies into the freezer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Brush the tops of the pies with eggwash and sprinkle coarse sugar on top. If you plan on adding glaze on top I'd omit the coarse sugar on top so that they're not too sweet. You can cut out leaves from excess pastry to attach on top. Poke holes with a fork into the top layer of crust if there aren't any holes.2 tablespoons coarse sugar
- Bake the pies for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Be careful not to overbake them or else the filling will ooze out completely.
- Let the pies cool before glazing them.
Glaze
- Combine powdered sugar and milk in a medium bowl. Whisk to form a glaze. Add more milk as needed to make a pourable glazed consistency.1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk
- Optionally, set aside a tablespoon of the glaze and color it green. Color the rest of the glaze red.green and red food coloring
- Use a spoon to spoon and paint the glaze over the pies. Place the glazed pies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Let the glazed pies set for 15 minutes then they're ready to enjoy! It will take about 1 hour for the glaze to set completely but you can dig in earlier. The pies are best served warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Don't add too much liquid into the pie crust, only enough to moisten it
- Cook the apples down before baking
- Chill the pies before baking them to help the pies hold their shape and bake up beautifully
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