Tender apples cooked down with cozy fall spices, these apple hand pies are an irresistible little treat, especially when drizzled with caramel sauce.
Why this recipe works
These sweet little apple hand pies have a shot of bourbon which gives them added flavor on top of the brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice.
There’s nothing that screams fall more than a mini hand pie stuffed with the season’s best flavors! Making a batch of apple hand pies and pumpkin hand pies is our favorite way to bake our way into fall and Thanksgiving festivities.
RELATED: you might also like this recipe – Lemon Blueberry Hand Pies
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
APPLES – You can use a variety of different crisp sweet and tart apples – granny smith, honey crisp, or gala are all great options. It’s extra fun when they’re freshly picked from a local apple orchard.
SAUCE – If you prefer dark brown sugar over light brown sugar, feel free to substitute. Freshly shaved or ground nutmeg (in a bottle) both work well. We’re using a small amount of bourbon for additional flavor, and though we highly recommend you give it a try you can certainly swap it out for a bit of lemon juice. Lastly, you can substitute all of the spices for apple pie spice if desired.
DOUGH – To keep these apple hand pies super sweet and simple, we opted for a refrigerator pie crust you can find at your local grocery store. This makes these pies come together in a snap and is simple enough for even the kids to help with. You may substitute the refrigerator pie crust for your favorite homemade pie dough if that’s your preference.
How to Make Apple Hand Pies
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the diced apples, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and bourbon and stir to combine.
- Combine the water and cornstarch and stir, then pour into the pan with the apples stirring again well.
- Cook until the apples are soft and the sauce is thickened. Remove from the stove.
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Unroll the pie crust and cut out large circles with a large cookie cutter or turn a bowl upside down and cut around the bowl with a knife.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of apple filling in the middle of the circle. Wet your finger with water and run it around the edge of the circle. Place a top circle on top and press the edges together to seal.
EXPERT TIP– You don’t want to add too much of the apple pie mixture to the circles. A heaping tablespoon should be enough, depending on the size of pie crust circles you make. You’ll want to leave enough space around the edges to properly seal the dough together to avoid the mixture leaking out while baking.
- Use a fork to crimp the edges together. Place the pies on the pan. Use a knife to cut a few slits onto the tops of the pies. Brush the pies with egg yolk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes.
- Remove and serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Not all apples are the same, so you’ll want to stick to a baking apple. We like to use crisp, sweet apples like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady, or Golden Delicious for making apple hand pies as these apples tend to hold up well in the oven.
Yes, absolutely. To freeze, place the fully cooled hand pies on a baking sheet and pop them in the freezer to flash freeze. Once frozen, transfer them to a large Ziploc bag or an ait-tight container and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
You can store your apple hand pies in an air-tight container kept at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Serving Suggestions
Hand pies are a great little dessert after a filling dinner. They’re individual, portable homemade apple pies you can take to Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving celebrations or enjoy them as a mid-day snack (maybe even for breakfast)! They’re extra delicious with a small scoop of ice cream in a bowl, just as you’d enjoy regular apple pie.
Ways to Top Apple Hand Pies
- Drizzle with caramel
- Sprinkle with sugar or apple pie spice
- Make a simple glaze like we did on our blueberry hand pies
Imagine the aroma of sweet apples, fall spices, and flaky pie dough filling your home. These apple hand pies are crave-worthy and are such a fun treat to welcome in fall!
More Apple Recipes
- Mini Apple Pies
- Hot Apple Cider
- Apple Pie Cookies
- Crockpot Cinnamon Apples
- 3-Ingredient Apple Pie Cupcakes
- Apple Pie Bites
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Apple Hand Pies
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 large apples Granny Smith, Gala, or Honey Crisp
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp bourbon
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 box refrigerator pie crust 1 box, 2 sheets
- 2 Tbsp egg yolk for egg wash
- caramel sauce for drizzling
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- You don’t want to add too much of the apple pie mixture to the circles. A heaping tablespoon should be enough, depending on the size of pie crust circles you make. You’ll want to leave enough space around the edges to properly seal the dough together to avoid the mixture leaking out while baking.
- You should be able to get about 6 or maybe 7 hand pies from 1 box (2 sheets) of store-bought refrigerator pie crust. You may need to roll out the dough after cutting the first 5 circles.
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, combine the apples, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and bourbon and stir to combine.
- Combine the water and cornstarch and stir, then pour into the pan with the apples stirring again well.
- Cook until the apples are soft and the sauce is thickened. Remove from the stove.
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Unroll the pie crust and cut out large circles with a large cookie cutter or turn a bowl upside down and cut around the bowl with a knife.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of apple filling in the middle of the circle. Wet your finger with water and run it around the edge of the circle. Place a top circle on top and press the edges together to seal.
- Use a fork to crimp the edges together. Place the pies on the pan. Brush the pies with egg yolk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Use a knife to cut a few slits onto the tops of the pies.
- Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Remove and serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Nutrition
This post originally appeared on this blog on Aug 19, 2021.
Amanda Davis
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Sue LaPointe says
Sounds delicious, do you also have a recipe for caramel sauce?
Amanda Formaro says
I don’t have one on this blog yet, but definitely should. Thanks for the suggestion!
Mrs H says
Can you give an approximate time on how long to cook apples? I understand people can and will cut in different sizes, and that you state until soft, but can you offer guideline of time it took for yours? Thanks
Amanda Formaro says
The apples should be cut smaller so they will fit into the pies easier. This also helps them cook quicker. They will only need to cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, because they will cook more in the oven as well.