Buttery, flaky, and filled with cinnamon-spiced apples — these mini apple hand pies are everything you love about apple pie in a perfectly portable package. The dough comes together quickly and chills while you cook the filling, and each little pie bakes up golden in about 20 minutes. If apple desserts are your thing, try our Apple Cinnamon Sponge Roll and Cottage Cheese Pie with Apple and Cinnamon next.
Ingredients
- 80 g (1/3 cup) cold butter
- 220 g (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 50 g (1/4 cup) sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 3 g (1/2 tsp) baking powder
- 1 egg
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) cold milk
- For the filling:
- 400 g (2 large) apples, diced
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Cut the cold butter into small cubes and rub with the sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Mix the flour with the baking powder and rub with the butter into fine crumbs, by hand or in a food processor.
- Add the cold egg and milk and quickly gather into a dough; do not overwork it.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, cook the diced apples with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice until just tender; cool.
- Roll out the chilled dough and cut out rounds with a cup or cookie cutter.
- Place apple filling in the center of each round, fold and seal the edges.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 20–25 minutes until golden.
Tips
- Keep everything cold — cold butter and cold milk are the secret to a flaky crust.
- Do not overwork the dough; mix just until it comes together for the most tender pies.
- Serious Eats has a wonderful deep dive into pie dough science, and Allrecipes is full of hand pie inspiration.
Nutrition (per 100 g):
110 kcal, protein 2.8 g, fat 3.5 g, carbs 16.5 g.