These easy to hold apple hand pies are filled with sweet apple pie filling and can be made with canned, or fresh apples. These mini apple pies bake up to a buttery perfection and are glazed with a simple sugar icing.
If you love recipes that use either canned or freshly cooked apples, these Apple Hand Pies are for you. These are made extra easy because I used canned apple pie filling and refrigerated pie crust.
My kids and husband loved them because they reminded them of the 2/$1 Glazed Apple Pies you could find at convenience stores back in the day. I think they might even still make them, but they are not as cheap.
I personally love these Glazed Apple Hand Pies because they are super flaky and have that old fashioned taste. They make an amazing fall dessert because you can make them for $3, with minimal effort.
If you love apple recipes, you will love these Apple Turnovers, and this Homemade Apple Crumble
Ingredients for apple hand pies
Pie Dough– You can use a 14.1 ounce box of refrigerated pie dough. You can also choose to make your own. I really love this Lard Pie Crust Dough recipe which I feature in my Custard Pie Recipe. You would need to double this recipe since it is for just one crust.
Apples- I used canned apple pie filling, but did find it to be more jelly than apples. You can make your own apple pie filling by using this Apple Crescent Danish filling recipe. My favorite two apple types for making apple pie filling are Macintosh and Granny Smith apples because they are a little tart and bake up nicely without turning mushy.
Cinnamon- I sprinkled each pie center with a dusting before closing. It adds a classic taste.
Egg white- You will brush the closed pies with an egg wash to give the crust a light golden brown color, and nice texture.
Powdered Sugar– This is the main star to make the classic, thick icing that the baked pies are dipped in.
Water- They powdered sugar will turn into a thick liquid consistency when mixed with water.
How to make apple hand pies
For this recipe, you can choose to use refrigerated pie dough. If you do, you will need a 4″ biscuit cutter, or something circle in size. I was feeling a bit resourceful and used a small glass bowl to “cut out” my pie crust circles.
Each pie crust circle should be able to be cut into 4-5 circles each. However, you will be saving the pie crust dough scraps to re-roll the dough to a 1/4″ thickness. Use a large glass that is about 4″ in diameter to cut out pie crust circles. My recipe made 12 pies, but this could vary.
Add 1 tablespoon of apple pie filling to each pie. Fold over the crust to make a half moon shape. Some filling might be spilling out a bit, but just wipe off the excess.
Use your fingers to gently press the crust edges to seal and then pinch or crimp them closed.
Use egg whites to gently brush the dough before baking.
Bake pies for 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Some filling might bubble out–don’t be alarmed.
In a medium-size bowl, mix water and powdered sugar to make the pie glaze. It thickens as it sits, but will need to be stirred before dipping pies in since it might get a layer of crust.
Allow pie to cool and then dip them in the glaze. They should just be dipped and fully coated. Set pies on a cooling rack to drip and harden for 15-20 minutes.
Freezing Apple Hand Pies
These hand pies taste best within 48 hours of making them (when kept at room temperature). However, they do freeze very well once cooled. I do not recommend glazing them before freezing.
These pies can be enjoyed without the glaze so that is not much of an issue. If you do want glaze, allow pies to thaw, and heat them in the toaster oven, or conventional oven for about 3-5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to warm and crisp them up.
You can then ice them following the above directions if you want icing.
More pie recipes
Glazed Apple Hand Pies
Equipment
- large baking sheet
- 4" biscuit cutter or 4" diameter bowl or cup
- pastry brush
- Cooling Rack
- medium bowl
Ingredients
- 14.1 oz refrigerated pie crust dough *see post for homemade pie crust recipe
- 1 cup canned apple pie filling *see post for fresh apple pie filling
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 large egg white
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsps. water add 1/2 tbsp. of water at a time to thicken
Instructions
- Line a medium-sized baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Flour a work area and unroll the pie crust packages.
- Use a large glass that is about 4" in diameter to cut out pie crust circles. You should be able to make 4 crusts but will have to re-roll the excess dough to 1/8-1/4" thickness (doesn't have to be perfect) to make another. Repeat the process for the next roll. You should have 12 pie crusts total.
- Add 1 1/2 apple slices to each pie. Fold over the crust to make a half moon shape.
- Using your fingers gently press the crust to seal and then crimp it with the back side of a fork.
- Use egg whites to gently brush the dough.
- Bake pies for 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- In a medium-size bowl, mix water and powdered sugar to make glaze. It thickens as it sits, but will need to be stirred before dipping pies.
- Allow pie to cool and then dip them in the glaze. Set them on a cooling rack to drip and harden for about 15 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe calls for 1 tsp. of Cinnamon but does not say what to use it for. What is it for?
Hello, you sprinkle a tiny bit on each pie once the filling is inside (before closing up). It is optional, but I’ve found it adds more flavor.