by Hannah McClure
8
SERVINGS
Don’t miss this delicious breakfast dessert. Make apple hand pies for an on-the-go twist to apple pie.
Apples are one of my favorite fruits to keep on hand, especially when they’re locally grown, fresh-picked, and full of flavor. Hand pies are my favorite way to get a bit of apple on the go. It’s apple pie meets Pop-Tarts! Aside from brown sugar hand tarts, apple is my favorite, although any fruit will work. I sure hope you enjoy this tasty twist on one of my nostalgic, on-the-go breakfast treats.
Ingredients
- Filling: 4 ounces butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon clove
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- 4 apples (‘Granny Smith,’ ‘McIntosh,’ or another sweet-tart apple is best), peeled, cored, and diced
- Crust:2-1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 8 ounces butter, cubed and chilled
- 1/2 cup cold water (plus more if needed to make the dough come together)
- 1 egg plus 3 tablespoons water
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Sprinkles or raw cane sugar (optional)
Directions
- Prepare the Filling: In a large cast-iron skillet, melt butter.
- Stir in the sugars, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add the apples and stir until well-blended, and cook on medium heat until the apples are soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Make the Dough for the Crust: In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, and sugar.
- Cut in cold butter using a fork or pastry blender until coarse and crumbly.
- Slowly mix in the cold water until dough comes together.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal amounts and roll each into a ball. Pat each dough ball into a flat disk shape. Wrap with plastic and chill for 2 hours.
- Assemble the Pies: Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 3 tablespoons of water. This will help seal the tarts and provide an egg wash before they go into the oven.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Trim uneven edges as needed and cut the dough into 8 equal-sized rectangles.
- Place 4 rectangles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spoon the cooled filling into the center of each rectangle, leaving space around the edges.
- Lightly brush egg wash on each edge. Position the remaining 4 rectangles on top of the first 4. Use a fork to press together the top and bottom.
- Lightly brush the tops of each hand tart with the remaining egg wash and bake for 24 to 30 minutes or until they’re golden-brown.
- Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack.
- Top with Icing (Optional): Whisk together the icing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.
- After the hand tarts are completely cooled, top each one with icing. Add sprinkles or raw cane sugar if desired. Allow the icing to set before serving.
Don’t miss this delicious breakfast dessert. Make apple hand pies recipe for an on-the-go twist to apple pie.
Bonus: There’s no pesky wrapper to worry about removing before microwaving. I may have sparked a flame as a child, not realizing that aluminum wrapping shouldn’t be put in the microwave. Needless to say, that happened only one time, and it can be avoided entirely by making homemade.
Note: If you’re short on time, canned filling or preserves can be used as a substitute for fresh-baked apple filling; or, try different jams, marmalades, pie fillings, and preserves.
Hannah McClure is an old soul and mother of four from Ohio. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing, gardening, raising chickens and seasonal hogs, and baking and cooking from scratch. With a love of good food, she enjoys using high-quality local sourced or homegrown ingredients in her recipes. Find Hannah on Instagram @MuddyOakHennHouse.
