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Is there anything more nostalgic than warm apple hand pies straight from the oven? A healthy alternative to fried pies, these mini handheld apple pies are refined sugar free and you wouldn’t know it. The natural sweetness of the apples shines when paired with warm pastry and cinnamon. Absolutely divine, and too easy not to try!
Why You’ll Love These Apple Hand Pies
Here are just a few of the reasons we’re swooning for these little treats, and why we think you and your family will, too.
- They’re easy to make and come together relatively quickly.
- Your little ones will have fun helping make these mini apple hand pies that fit perfectly in sweet little hands.
- Refined sugar free without compromising in taste means you can enjoy these homemade hand pies without the guilt or blood sugar spike.
- This recipe is easy to double or triple when you need a side dish or dessert for a potluck or party.
The Ingredients
We kept this list short and sweet, like these refined sugar-free apple hand pies. Here’s a quick list of what you’ll need:
- Egg
- Milk or cream
- Pastry dough
- Flour
- Apples
- Lemon juice
- Unsalted butter
- Cinnamon
- Cornstarch
- Turbinado sugar (optional)
How to Make Apple Hand Pies
Making homemade apple hand pies is easy when you have the benefit of refrigerated pastry dough. That means they’re technically not “homemade,” but if it saves (which it does!) we’re happy. The sooner these sweet little sugar-free mini pies get in our bellies, the better.
Step 1. Prepare the ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. You can use parchment paper if you’d prefer. Combine the egg and milk and whisk to make an egg wash. Dairy free? Feel free to sub water for the milk. Set the egg wash aside and bring it to room temperature.
Step 2. Cook the sugar-free apple filling.
Heat a Dutch oven or large saucepan to medium-high heat and combine the apples, unsalted butter and ground cinnamon. Stir in the cornstarch. Increase the heat to high and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and the apples are fork tender. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool.
Your kitchen should be smelling delectably sweet right about now!
Step 3. Prepare the dough.
Prepare a work surface lightly with flour and unroll the pie crusts. Roll the dough with a rolling pin as many times as it takes to achieve a crust that is roughly 1/8-inch thick. Using a wide mouth Mason jar or mini pie cutter, cut 16 rounds from each pastry sheet. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of apple filling on one half of the dough and fold into a half-moon shape. Use a fork to seal the edges of the crust.
Step 4. Bake the apple hand pies.
Spread the hand pies evenly on the baking sheet and gently brush the egg wash over the top of each pie. If you’d like to sprinkle a little turbinado sugar over the top, now’s your chance. It’s completely optional. You could also use light brown sugar if you don’t have turbinado sugar on hand.
Bake the mini apple hand pies for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Step 5. Devour!
This is the best part!
When the hand pies are done, gently place them on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes. We highly recommend you serve these warm, but they’re good anyway you’d like to serve and enjoy them!
Quick Tip
Extra apple pie filling? Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Warm it up in the microwave to use as a topping over vanilla ice cream or serve it on pancakes or French toast alongside a drizzle of caramel or maple syrup.
Make Ahead + Storage
Short on time? Make the apple filling a day in advance and store in the fridge until you’re ready to bake the apple hand pies. Let the apples sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes, if time allows.
These apple hand pies are best served fresh and warm. We do not recommend baking the pies until the day that you intend to serve them.
Leftover apple hand pies can be stored in the fridge for a few days, but note that the dough is going to be soggy or mushy at that point. Crisp up in an air fryer or the oven.
Apple Hand Pies FAQs
What apples should I use for apple pie?
Honeycrisp apples are wonderful in apple pie, as are varieties like Granny Smith and Golden Delicious. They hold their texture well and sweeten as they cook.
What apples should not be used in apple pie?
While we do want tender, we don’t want mushy apples in this recipe, otherwise your dough will swiftly become soggy. Avoid apple varieties like Red Delicious, Gala and Fuji when baking apple pie.
Do I need to peel the apples?
Ultimately, this is a personal choice. We highly recommend peeling the apples in this apple hand pies recipe to ensure the result is a crispy, flaky dough on the outside with a warm and tender apple center.
Can I use flour instead of cornstarch to thicken my apple pie filling?
Yes, flour is a fine substitute for cornstarch in this recipe. You’ll double the measurement, so four tablespoons of flour will replace the two tablespoons of cornstarch. The same applies if you choose to use tapioca starch in place of the cornstarch.
Apple Hand Pies
This Apple Hand Pie recipe is free of refined sugar with the exception of a few optional tablespoons of turbinado sugar for sprinkling. Don’t worry. You won’t miss the sugar. The natural sweetness of the apple speaks for itself in every bite. Enjoy!
- Total Time: 45 mins.
- Yield: 16 pies 1x
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon whole milk or cream
- 1 box refrigerated pastry dough
- Flour, for work surface
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
- Combine egg and milk and whisk to make an egg wash. Set aside to bring to room temperature.
- Remove the pie dough from the box and thaw according to directions.
- Heat a Dutch oven or large saucepan to medium-high heat and combine apples, unsalted butter and ground cinnamon. Stir in cornstarch. Increase to high heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and the apples are fork tender. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Prepare a work surface lightly with flour and unroll pie crusts. Roll the dough with a rolling pin as needed to achieve a crust that is about 1/8-inch thick. Using a wide-mouth mason jar or mini pie cutter, cut 16 rounds from each sheet of crust. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of apple filling on one half of the crusts, fold into a half-moon shape and use a fork to seal the edges of the crust.
- Spread the hand pies evenly on the baking sheet and gently brush egg wash over the top of each pie and sprinkle with light brown sugar.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Gently place pies on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
Notes
- Every oven is different, so keep a close eye on the pies and adjust cooking time as needed.
- Prep Time: 20 mins.
- Cook Time: 25 mins.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Original recipe posted 10/26/22 and updated on 2/15/24.