Apple Hand Pies
These Apple Hand Pies feature a sweet apple pie filling inside a buttery, flaky pie crust. So easy to make and perfect for fall!
Aside from cake recipes, some of the most requested recipes I get from readers are for pies. I can’t say I blame you all either. I mean, what’s not to love about a flaky pie crust with a delicious filling tucked inside?
I plan to post more pie recipes closer to Thanksgiving, but I couldn’t wait to share these adorable apple hand pies with you. While I love regular pie, I also love mini pies and hand pies because you can easily pick them up and they take a lot less time to bake!
Another thing that I love about these apple hand pies is that you can get as creative as you want with them. You can cut them larger and fold the pie crust to make them look more like a turnover or use different cookie cutters to shape them however you like.
Ingredients For This Recipe
These hand held apple pies come together with the same ingredients you’d use to make classic apple pie! Here’s what we’ll need for this fruit hand pie recipe:
- Pie dough: If you want to make these pies a little easier, then you can use store-bought pie crusts for the hand pie dough. If you want to stick with homemade pie crusts, I have a full tutorial here showing you how to make your own. Super easy too!
- Apples: You can use any kind of apples that you prefer for the filling, I really love to use a mix of Granny Smith and either Honeycrisp or Gala apples.
- Granulated sugar: You need some sugar to sweeten the filling.
- All-purpose flour: A little flour gets added to the filling to help it thicken up.
- Vanilla extract: Flavors the filling.
- Ground cinnamon & nutmeg: Feel free to add more or less to suit your own tastes.
- Egg & milk: Creates an egg wash, which helps the pie crust get that pretty golden color on top.
- Butter: The butter makes the filling a little richer, but I’ve tried these pies without it too and they taste just fine.
How to Make Apple Hand Pies
To make these hand pies, you’ll start by rolling out your pie crusts. Then, you’ll cut out your circles for the hand pies. I used a 3.5-inch cutter for these hand pies and I don’t suggest using one much smaller. If you want to shape your hand pies more like a turnover, then you can use a larger cutter and just adjust the baking time slightly if needed.
Once your circles are cut out, refrigerate them while you make the filling which is just a simple mixture of chopped apples, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, and spices.
Then, spoon the filling on top of half of your pie crust circles. You’ll only need about 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling per circle, just make sure to evenly distribute the filling the best that you can. You also want to leave some room at the edges so you can place the other pie crust circles on top and crimp the edges together.
I love to add a little bit of butter fruit pies, so I added some to these as well. I just cube about one tablespoon of butter into small pieces and add 1 to 2 pieces on top of the filling on each pie.
Once you’ve added the filling, top each pie with the other half of the remaining pie crust circles and crimp the edges with a fork. If you want to make the pie crusts stick together a little better, you can dampen the edges of the circles with a little water or your egg wash.
The egg wash is just a simple mixture of one egg and some milk that you’ll brush on top of the pies. You can also top your pies with some coarse sugar or leave them plain.
Once the pies are ready, just bake them until they’re golden brown and you can see the filling bubbling inside. You can either serve these while they’re warm or store them for a day or two until you’re ready to serve them.
FAQ’s
How Do You Store Them?
Store the pies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Can I Freeze These Hand Held Pies?
Yes, these mini apple hand pies freeze incredibly well. Freeze them on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a freezer bag once hardened. To thaw, place on your counter overnight.
Can I Use This Recipe to Make Regular Apple Pie?
If you’d like to make a classic apple pie rather than hand held apple pies, I suggest following my Apple Pie recipe instead.
Baking Tips
- You can use any kind of apple that you prefer for this recipe. I love to use a mix of two different apples and usually use Granny Smith, Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Gala apples.
- Make sure to peel and core your apples before chopping them. It’s also best to chop the apple into uniform size pieces so the filling bakes evenly.
- Feel free to use a different cookie cutter or larger cutter for these hand pies, just adjust the baking time slightly if needed.
- I suggest cutting a few slits in the pies too before you pop them in the oven. I just did a little cross pattern, but you could even use small cookie cutters to cut out tiny designs.
- I topped these hand pies with a little bit of coarse sugar, but you could top these with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and milk or some homemade salted caramel sauce.
More Apple Desserts to Try!
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 cups (240 grams) chopped apples
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (15 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 -1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (adjust to your personal preference)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 large egg , lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) milk
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) butter ,cubed into small pieces (optional)
- coarse sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 1 to 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie crusts to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3.5-inch cookie cutter (or cup) cut out as many circles from the pie crusts as you can, reroll any scrap pieces of dough as needed. You should get about 18 to 20 circles. Place the cut-out pie crust circles on the baking sheets and transfer to the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling.
- Combine the chopped apples, sugar, flour, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg in a mixing bowl until fully combined and all of the apples are coated with the mixture.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk until well combined. Set aside.
- Remove the pie crust circles from the refrigerator and evenly distribute the apple pie filling between half of them, making sure to leave some room at the edges. Place 1 to 2 pieces of the cubed butter on top of the filling on each pie.
- Place the other half of the pie crust circles on top (use some water or the egg wash to dampen the edges and help seal them together if needed) then crimp the edges with a fork.
- Brush the top of each pie with the egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired, then cut 2 to 3 slits in the top of each pie.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until the pies are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly before serving.
Apple pies are on my to do list already today. These will be great to snack on all weekend with no dishes required! Yours look perfect! Thank you.
Thank you, Ramona! Hope you enjoy the pies if you try them!
I will make Friday to take in a nursing home
Thank you for the recipe
I just made an apple pie using your homemade crust and it is amazing! Could this same apple pie recipe be used for a regular sized apple pie? Do you think the cooking time or oven temp be the same?
So glad to hear that, Emily! If you’re wanting to make a regular sized apple pie, you’d likely need to double the apple pie filling in this recipe. I am working on an apple pie recipe and hope to post one in the next month or so!
Hello! Do we need to cook the apples beforehand on the stove or will the bake time be enough to cook the apples?
I don’t find it necessary as long as you chop the apples small, the baking time is enough to cook them.
These pies are beautiful!! Have you tried making these with different types of fruit? Also, your pie crust looks ridiculously flaky and perfect!!
Thank you! I haven’t tried it with other fillings, but I imagine you could use just about any kind of pie filling in them!
Just out from the oven, they are so cute!! Oh, and delicious too 🙂 Used your crust, was so flaky and nice.
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hello. I’ve made your mini apple pie recipe for a potluck and they were a hit! I wanted to ask, would this pie crust recipe work well for 9 inch apple, pecan and pumpkin pies as well? Hope to hear back. Thank you for your time☺️
Hi, Ginger! The pie crust recipe I linked to will make two pie crusts and they will work great for 9-inch pies!
I used my own recipe for crust, they turned out delicious and adorable! I accidentally used more cinnamon than the recipe called for, but it still turned out great.
So glad the recipe turned out great for you, Willow!
Wow these look so good and I’m definitely going to try this recipe. I just posted on my own blog. I am a kid baker (12 years old) and I am SO inspired by your recipes! By the way, the photos that you take are gorgeous, along with everything you make 🙂
~ Natalie
Thank you, Natalie! Hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it!
I am also 12 years old and just got the ingredients to make this. Though I would share this
– Lillie
Can you do these ahead of time and freeze them?
I think that would be fine!
Can I make these pies using the can biscuits? I’ve seen other recipes that have used them. Just wondering if you had ever used them and if it was successful. Can’t wait to make these!
Hi, Jennifer! I haven’t tried using biscuit dough, but I think it would probably work. You may need to adjust the baking time though.
Do you freeze before or after they are baked?
If I’m going to freeze them, I bake them first.
Delicious!! Your homemade pure crust is so light and flaky!!, this recipe went into my recipe box
With premade crusts I wasn’t able to get 18-20 crusts with a 3.5” diameter; I managed to squeeze out 14 total. I would advise not attempting this with premade crusts, they’ll never be pliable enough and reworking the crusts can leave them tough. I lay retry this recipe with homemade dough and see if it goes better.
Additionally, I saw that there was an optional butter in the recipe, but I’m not entirely sure where it would be added. Could the author provide clarity?
My first attempt of these with premade dough was rustic at best. But the filling tastes amazing. I put 1/4t nutmeg with 1T cinnamon because I like spiced pies. I think the filling is scrumptious. Next time I might also mess around and put some brown sugar in the filling and cut the amount white, just to give it a little more caramelized apple feel.
The optional butter is added on top of the apple filling, this is noted in step 5 of the recipe card.
I agree, I used a pre made crust and they didn’t turn out too well. I actually peeled the crust off the bottom and just ate them like that. They’re perfect with some vanilla ice cream!
I made these today with store bought pie crusts, and they were delicious! It’s great that the apple filling doesn’t need to be pre-cooked. Can’t wait to make these again, will try the homemade crust next time! 🙂
I made these this evening and they were absolutely fantastic!!
Do you peel the apples?
Yes, I do.
I was pressed for time and made these with store bought pie crust. Next time I will assemble and bake in batches as the disks were drying out by the end of assembly. That being said, these were easy and delicious. An error on my part caused me to forget to add the butter. Don’t forget it – I think it would have added a little depth to the filling. Either way, my office devoured these and asked me what flavor I was making tomorrow!
How long do you suggest refrigerating the discs prior to assembly?
They don’t have to be refrigerated for a certain amount of time. You just want to keep the dough cold while you’re assembling the filling.
Made these tonight and they turned out great, even though I added a tablespoon of cinnamon instead of a teaspoon ??♀️ Still tasted great thank goodness! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Made these tonight (baking is my favorite way to avoid homework) to take to work tomorrow for Pi Day. I had to have a taster to ensure they turned out, and they are AMAZING! Thanks for the recipe and happy Pi Day.
I don’t understand how u get 18-20 3.5” circles out of 2 pie crusts. I use the Pillsbury pie crust and only manage 12 3” circles
Did you roll it out to 1/8-inch thick and re-roll any extra pie dough you had left over?
Deb, I used the Pillsbury crust also. I liked it better when it was rolled out thinner. It makes the pies more tender. I also easily rerolled the leftover pieces to make more circles. ??
Made these with her crust recipe that’s pinned !!! YUM
These pies were very tasty. ?? I think the butter really hits the spot. I need to practice making them “prettier,” but that’s okay. ?
My first time making hand pies and I’m so glad I found this easy recipe. I ended up with 15 little pies and they are delicious. I completely forgot the egg wash and granulated sugar for the tops (will remember to do next time) and they still turned out amazing. They are Hubby approved!