These Apple Hand Pies are dangerously delicious! They take me back to my McDonald’s eating days, when I’d have my mom get me not one but two apple hand pies. Yes, my love for desserts has always been strong. Luckily, these pies are way healthier than anything at McDonald’s. They’re both vegan and gluten-free (like all of my recipes) and are made with wholesome, natural ingredients (like all of my recipes!).
The crust is my go-to pie crust recipe, it never fails! It’s exactly what you want in a pie crust: buttery, flaky and delicious. The filling is my best apple pie filling yet! The apples are soooo tender, juicy and smothered in gooey, sweet, saucy goodness. I made an apple glaze to top the pies with and, although it’s delicious, it’s definitely not necessary!
The cool thing about this recipe is that you can switch out the apples for the same amount of just about any fruit! Blueberries, strawberries cherries or pears would make fabulous hand pies!
I can’t wait to hear what you think! When you try it out, snap a photo and tag @bunnysbite so I can see your results!
Enjoy!!
Apple Hand Pies (V/GF)
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
- 1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp gluten free all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling dough)
- 1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp almond flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup coconut oil chilled solid
- 1/4 cup ice water
Apple Pie Filling
- 2 1/2 cups apples (honey crisp, granny smith and pink lady apples are my go-tos) peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- A pinch of ground cloves
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
Optional Apple Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered beet sugar *see notes
- 1 tbsp apple juice
Instructions
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In a food processor, combined the both of the flours, salt and sugar. Pulse until mixed. Chip up the chilled coconut oil and add it to the processor. Pulse until it becomes crumbly (the size of peas). Next, add the water, and process until the dough forms into a ball.
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Split the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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In the meantime, make the apple filling.
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In a medium saucepan, add apples, maple syrup, lemon juice and water. Bring to a boil.
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Once it boils, let the apple cookie for about 2 minutes, while stirring. Then, add the vanilla and the cornstarch mixture. Reduce heat and let cook until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
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Remove from heat and set aside to cool and thicken more.
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Remove the balls of dough from the refrigerator. Set on aside and place the other ball of dough on a piece of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll it out until it’s about a 1/4-inch thick. You may need to add more flour to the surface as you go.
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With a 3 ½ - 4 inch circle cookie cutter (or something with a similar sized round object like the mouth of a glass), cut the rolled out dough into as many circles as possible. You should be able to get 7 circles of dough.
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Transfer circles to a parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch between them, and place in the refrigerator while you roll out and cut the second ball of dough (repeat the last 2 steps for the second ball of dough).
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Remove the tray of cut out dough from the refrigerator. Top each piece of dough with about a tablespoon of the apple pie filling. Use more or less filling according to your best judgment. I used a little more than a tablespoon.
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Top each pie filled piece of dough with a second piece of dough and seal the edges by gently pressing down on the dough with your fingers. Then, gently press down on the edges with a fork. With a sharp knife, cut two small slits on top of each pie.
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Freeze the tarts for several hours (at least 2).
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and bake them for about about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
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While they’re baking, make the glaze by adding the optional glaze ingredients together in a bowl mixing until smooth. Set aside until ready for use.
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Once the tarts are done baking, allow them to cool slightly before glazing.
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Once tarts are slightly cooled, glaze the tarts by lightly brushing the tops of each one.
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Enjoy!!! Store leftovers tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to a week.
Recipe Notes
Notes: For the powder beet sugar, simply process or blend beet sugar with 1 1/2 tsp of cornstarch until it becomes a powder-like texture. This will take about 5 or so minutes. Then, sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl. You can also use regular powdered sugar for this recipe and it will still be great!
Still hungry? Check out my Pecan Sweet Potato Pie, Hazelnut Banana Cream Pie Bars and my Apple Crisp Cheesecake!
