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Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Apple Hand Pies

Yana, babushkacooking.com
Print Recipe
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • 1.5 C all purpose flour sifted and leveled
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1.5 tsp white sugar
  • 3/4 C unsalted butter, chilled (3/4 C=12 Tb=1.5 sticks)
  • ice water, as needed (around 1-1.5 Tb)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • brown sugar, for dusting

Filling

  • 1.5 granny Smith apples rinsed, cored, cut in 1/4-1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 Tb unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1.5 Tb brown sugar

Toppings

  • 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
  • cinnamon, to sprinkle on top

Instructions
 

Prepare ingredients and tools

  • Preheat the oven to 375 F.
  • Measure out all of your ingredients and prepare all of your tools.
  • For the ice water: place few ice cubes in a glass with water, and have a tablespoon nearby.

Filling

  • Melt 1 Tb of butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Pick one that won’t crowd the apples.
  • Add cubed apples and mix well to coat the apples in butter.
  • Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar, mix again.
  • Continue cooking over medium heat and stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. They won’t be completely soft, as they will finish cooking in the oven.
  • When finished, transfer them to a plate to cool down and set aside.

Crust

  • Whisk together sifted flour, sugar, and salt.
  • Grate the butter over it and mix using your fingertips. You can also cut it in very small pieces. Whatever you do, do it fast, so that the butter stays chilled.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of ice water and mix with your hands until it comes together in a shaggy ball.
  • If it doesn’t come together, add ice water, as needed, ONLY A DROP AT A TIME (sorry for yelling, but that’s important).
  • If at any moment it becomes too soft and tears apart, place it in the fridge on a cutting board for 1-2 minutes.
  • Roll between two floured sheets of parchment paper in a 12-14 inch square.
  • Cut in 4 strips or squares - each one will be folded in half for baking.

Assembly and Baking

  • Divide the cooled apples between the four pieces, placing them on one half. Leave 1/4-1/3 inch border for sealing. You may have some apples leftover - they make a great yogurt or ice cream topping.
  • Fold the second part of the crust over the filling and seal the edges by pressing down tightly. You can also press it down with the tips of a fork’s prongs to create a more unique pattern seal.
  • If at any moment the crust becomes too soft and tears, you can place it in the fridge for a couple of minutes. If it tears on top, it’s not a big deal, because in the next step you will be scoring the tops with a knife anyways, to let the steam out.
  • Add a couple of cuts with a knife across the top of all hand pies and transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with brown sugar and bake for 25 minutes.
  • After 25 minutes, check for color. You want a deep bronze color - use the picture at the top of this post for reference. Let bake for up to 10 minutes more or until desired color is reached.
  • When finished baking, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, sprinkle with cinnamon, and enjoy!