Apple Hand Pies
These Apple Hand Pies are portable and delicious, and bring back memories of those little pies in the grocery store checkout line. You could use this base pastry recipe and mix and match all sorts of pie fillings to suit your tastes and use up seasonal fruit.
Apple Pie: rustic, flaky, tart, and spicy. The most iconic of American traditions.
These marvelous little pies package up the best parts of apple pie, eliminate a lot of the work, and deliver scrumptious, addictive fruit-wrapped-in-crust that can be stowed away in your pocket for safe keeping.
I originally shared these apple hand pies with you way, way, wayyyyyyy back in the dark ages of 2008. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve made them myself, but when Joseph saw an episode of his favorite show, Hey Duggee, and it featured an apple pie, he proceeded to walk around the house saying “apple pieeeeeeeee” for days and days. He’d never had apple pie; how could I deprive my child of something so delicious?? I immediately thought of these hand pies, since they would be much easier for him to eat than a slice of apple pie, and I got baking!
The dough for this recipe is really just incredible. I admit that I was somewhat skeptical at first, as it contained sour cream. I had never heard or seen sour cream used in a pie or pastry dough before, so it certainly caused me to raise an eyebrow. But like the good trooper that I am, I forged ahead. This dough has such an incredibly buttery, flaky texture, much like that of a laminated dough you would create for croissants. When you bite into one of these pies, the crust just flakes and shatters, which is basically a crust-lover’s dream come true.
I made two modifications to this recipe (and those changes are reflected in the recipe as it’s written below):
- The original recipe required A LOT of time chilling ingredients and the dough at different steps, which I have now condensed a bit. I didn’t find there to be any reduction in the quality of the final crust by doing so. I also made the dough mixing step a little easier to execute, as well.
- I added a little cinnamon to the filling – I can’t believe I left it out originally!
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I couldn’t wait to get these baked and cooled enough for Joseph to try one. When I told him I had made him little apple hand pies, he said, “APPLE PIE?!?!”
I gave him half of one and he went over and sat on the fireplace, took a bite, and said, “Mmmmmmmm!” He polished it off quickly and then requested the other half. I’m so happy that I could make his apple pie dreams come true, ha!
These hand pies are a fantastic option for changing up the traditional slice of apple pie and ice cream and would be especially welcome as a dessert at an outdoor gathering or one that includes small children.
And really, for the kid in all of us – what’s much better than a slice of apple pie that you can pick up and carry around with you?
More Delicious Apple Recipes:
- Jewish Apple Cake
- Homemade Apple Butter
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Classic French Apple Cake
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings
Watch How to Make Apple Hand Pies:
If you make these apple hand pies and love them, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the Pastry
- 2½ cups (312.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup (115 ml) sour cream
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup (125 ml) ice water
For the Filling
- 2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced small
- ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
To Finish
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons water
- Coarse sugar
Instructions
- Make the Pastry: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water. Add to the flour mixture and, using a fork, gently toss and stir together until large lumps form and all of the flour has been moistened. Using your hands, pat the dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour (if preparing ahead of time, the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month).
- Assemble the Pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the refrigerated dough in half. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one half of the dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Using a 4½-inch round biscuit cutter, cut seven circles out of the rolled dough. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining half of dough. Refrigerate the dough circles for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small pan, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon and salt, and cook over low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are tender. Set aside. Prior to preparing the pies, drain any accumulated liquid from the apples.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Spoon about 1 to 2 tablespoons filling onto one half of each circle of dough. Brush a little water around the circumference of the dough, and fold it in half so the other side comes down over the filling, creating a semicircle. Seal the hand pie, and make a decorative edge by pressing the edges of the dough together with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate the assembled hand pies for 30 minutes.
- Bake the Pies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and water for the egg wash. Remove the chilled hand pies from the refrigerator, and lightly brush with the egg yolk wash. Using a paring knife, cut a few small slits on the top of each hand pie, then sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Bake until the hand pies are golden brown, anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how thick you rolled the dough. Remove the pies from the oven, and let stand to cool slightly before serving. The pies are best eaten within a day of baking them, but they can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can also be wrapped with plastic wrap and placed in a freezer storage bag and frozen for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Feel free to use any type of apple you’d like in this recipe, as it’s quite forgiving. I’ve used Granny Smith, Gala, and Honeycrisps!
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on October 15, 2008.
The dough looks curiously similar to King Arthur’s blueberry hand pie recipe. King Arthur’s version has a better salt ratio and the dough handling instructions provide better lamination in the pastry dough once baked . In addition the size of the pies just seems a little small. I’d rather have larger pies with more filling. Third the pie filling is seriously lacking. I altered this recipe filling by adding a bit of cornstarch, unbleached white flour and gelatin along with clove, allspice and nutmeg and lemon juice plus a tad bit of salt and ghee. This allows for a luxurious filling that is not boring at all- without any binder the filling can drain of its juices during baking and taste bland once cooked and saturate the dough.
The crust on these turned out great – flaky and delicious! I rolled out the dough and it was easier to handle than regular homemade pie crust. Followed the directions to a ‘T’ and the quantities worked out. These are a new favorite in my house. Can’t wait to make them again!
This is the first time I have ever baked any type of pastry.. I can’t even make biscuits. But amazingly they came out pretty good. Took me forever to make them. The flaned edges were kinda hard but I probably put too much sugar and egg around edges. I didn’t feel like they had enough apples in them. But they only had so much room. Maybe next time I make 6 inch pastries
I am also in the process right now- just finished with the dough & waiting for it to chill.. I noticed the recipe didn’t specify when to stop whisking the wet ingredients- however I whisked mine until they were nice & foamy, not just incorporated… & to me my dough ball did not turn out overly sticky like some others have mentioned in the comments. So if you are struggling with a overly sticky dough, try whisking until foamy- then pour into your dry ingredients! <3
Great recipe. I veganized it using vegan sour cream, vegan butter. and vegetable shortening (as I miscalculated the butter amount otherwise I would have used only the vegan butter). I also made four times the amount (I was a bit worried at first) and still it was delicious. My apple choice were honeycrips thanks to a free bag. I highly recommend this recipe. Delicious!
I’m just starting the process now, but I ended up with only 7 piecrust rounds. I used a 4 1/2” cutter and they’re not 1/2” thick, so not sure what’s going on here. But 7 apple pies are better than no apple pies!
I read all the comments before I made these, which I think helped. Yes, the dough is sticky – but it does form a ball nicely. When I took it out after refrigerating, I only used half at a time, and put the rest back in the frig.
I also used flour quite liberally while rolling out the dough, so sticking was minimal. By the time I was done with all of the shaping, etc. it was late so I just kept them all in the frig and baked the next morning, which turned out fine.
The dough is nicely flaky, but I think I’d add a tiny bit of sugar so that it has more flavor. And rolling it out on the thicker side so that it has more texture to go with the filling. I used jostaberries for the filling and they all leaked, but, not a big deal. Overall quite tasty and fun to make!
Can I use greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
I made these today and they were sooooooooo delicious😋 some friends gave us a box of apples and I made a whole bunch of mini pies. My family loved em. Will definitely save this recipe. Pie crust was so good. Thanks for sharing!
This was absolutely perfect. The pastry was so flaky and delicious, I added a bit of butter, milk and brown sugar to the filling and it was so good! Definitely making this again.
This recipe was so good! Yes not enough filling so we filled the extra with Nutella.
The dough was so fluffy. After I baked the pies it was so buttery and flakey!! Yum!!
I’m trying this recipe for a quiche I loved the dough so much!!
I made these today and they came out amazing. I did cook the sugar a bit with the apples to almost caramel stage and then added a small pat of butter. A bit of a tarte tatin type flavor that way.
My pastry was sticky at first but I gave it a few gentle kneads and then wrapped in plastic and rested and it wasn’t too sticky wHen I rolled it out. It had an excellent texture and withstood handling well.
My crust was AMAZING! Thank you!
Michelle, these were fantastic. The crust is sooo flaky and buttery. The misses is ready for an assortment of fillings after she tasted a few. Thanks for sharing!
Oops….I commented earlier but forgot to add the star rating!, 5 stars!
I made these yesterday and then read the reviews today! I was initially surprised at the sticky dough, I used my food processor to bring it together and thought I had messed it up because it was so sticky, and I weirdly added the butter last, even though I knew I should have added it first…I ended up having to use my hands to help incorporate the diced butter. I shaped it into a ball, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and prayed it would still work. I felt I could have done four apples for filling, and ended up with extra dough, I may just make chocolate filled pies with the rest but haven’t decided yet. Anyway, the point is, I baked the ones that I had enough filling for and they turned out delicious! After baking I set them on a rack to cool and then moved them to paper towels to soak up any extra butter. This recipe was easy, it did take a long time, and the dough was delicious. I love your recipes and thank you for this one!!!!!
did not like this dough it was sticky too much liquid should have known better i followed the recipe to a tee so will not make it again!
This pastry is brilliant, with a few modifications. I find I don’t need the water or the extra lime juice, just the sour cream is adequate. It is imperative to work quickly and ensure that the dough is quite chilled at all times though, because it does get sticky as it warms up. If it does, I just pop it back in the fridge for a bit to firm up and then continue. This makes for a longer process but its all worth it in the end.
I’ve made a few recipes from this site they’ve been great. I was hoping to try a new pocket pie crust, made A.Brown’s several times without problems. I was skeptical about adding sour cream….you should be because this pie crust recipe is awful. It was wet and sticky and stuck to everything, even with a bit of flour and rolling it on parchment paper. Epic fail for my egg allergy kids Thanksgiving dessert. Don’t let this deter you from trying the other recipes here though, this is my first fail.
Can I use this crust to make a regular apple pie?
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why not!
This was a wonderful recipe! My hand pies turned out so well and taste delicious! They puffed up so nicely and the egg wash made them such a lovely golden brown! I added a bit of butter and flour to my apples to make a bit of a thick sauce which worked out well and made the apple insides nice and melty!
This is a great pie crust recipe. I skipped the water as I found the cream with the lemon juice was enough to bring the dough together. Very nice and flaky, though not as photogenic as the pictures make it seem.
Great recipe. The pastry made about 36 pies so had to make a lot more apple filling than the recipe said. Used about 8 Jonogold apples. Didn’t have sour cream so used yoghurt and substituted 1/4 cup of shortening for 1/4 cup butter. Will definitely make it again. Thank you for the recipe.
These are fantastic! I made the first batch until the egg wash and froze them overnight before yolk washing, sugar sprinkling, and putting them in the oven for breakfast… I made the mistake of not adjusting for the fact they were frozen! Crust would NOT ‘crust’. This afternoon I finished the second half of the dough & THIS TIME I followed the recipe exactly. They were photo perfect!! A few separated at the edges but they were still beautiful. I’ll definitely be remaking this over and over again!
Thanks!
Wondering if I could make fried pies with this crust? Went to local farmers market and Amish sell these as fried pies
I’ve never fried hand pies, so I’m not sure, but let us know how they turn out!
My great grandmother would use buttermilk biscuit dough to make her fried pies. You fry in a cast iron skillet. Heat oil to 375F and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown.
Made these pies for a family gathering. Everyone loved them. Followed the recipe exactly except I did use 3 extra large Granny Smith apples as 2 seemed to be not enough. Making these pies is time consuming so don’t expect it to be quick.
I made these for my DH today to use up some freezer apple pie filling I need to use up. At first the dough was really crumbly so I had to add a few sprinkles of cold water to get it to roll out. After that, the dough rolled and cut beautifully. I had to drain and cut my pie filling so that i could measure the filling for the pastries. I could only get 1 Tbsp of filling in each pie and it still wanted too ooze out. Even though I used a fork to crimp them shut, everyone burst at the seam. I think an egg wash around the edges would help to seal them better. I brushed the finished pies with cream and sprinkled with raw sugar for a little sparkle. No matter the burst seams, DH will be in heaven when he enjoys them. I’m not sure I’ll do these again though since it took all afternoon to complete the treat.
The BEST pastry I have ever used for hand pies! So flaky and easy to make. I found I didn’t have quite enough filling, so I would suggest adding an extra apple. These were a big hit with my pre teens and husband!
Hey! I’m making the dough and it’s oddly very sticky. Is it supposed to be like this?
Same here. Too sticky to use. I even went scant lemon, sour cream and water. Hrmmm
Same here, how did you work around it
Hi Michelle,
I would love to make a vegan version of your crust! I’ve searched online for Sour Cream substitutes and found many options. Do you have any suggestions for what the best substitute would be?
Thanks! Looking forward to making these hand pies for Thanksgiving.
Hi Pearl, I haven’t made the crust using any substitutions, but I wonder if a plain dairy-free type yogurt would work?
Hi, I only used flour, salt, shortening (organic palm & coconut shortening which was kept in fridge instead of cold butter/ghee) and ice cold water.
I also switched out the flour to cassava flour (Otto’s brand)
Kept the measurements to everything exactly. And dough result was flakey and great. Any flour without gluten/wheat in them like the cassava flour is very sensitive to tears but it is also very easy to pinch back together with some patient.
I made these for my parents and siblings and they loved them! I didn’t have butter so I used vanilla greek yogurt and they were still super fluffy and soft.
These turned out really well, but I think that you must have some giant apples since I diced three pretty decent sized apples and was still a tiny bit short on filling. I didn’t use all of the sour cream/ice water mixture (only needed about half). I can’t imagine how sticky it would have been otherwise! I was impatient, so I used the freezer to chill the dough after the initial 1 hr chill in the fridge. The pastry is delightful and much better than I had expected. I cannot wait to use it for other recipes. The apple mixture was decent, but I think I’d like to come up with something with some thickened sauciness in the mix like a traditional pie. Overall, I was delighted with the recipe and can’t wait to use it again. I can imagine the flavor being even better when apple season rolls around.
Just found your site when Googling “apple hand pies”. Since I had store-bought pie crust, tried first that way. Excellent! Next batch will be the right way-crust sounds great. And love the pic of your boy!