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Double Apple Hand Pies
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4.84 from 6 votes

Double Apple Hand Pies

To amp of the flavors of this apple hand pie, I combined dried and fresh apples and cooked the dried apples in orange to add tartness and roasted the fresh apples to bring out the natural sweetness.  
Prep Time40 mins
Cook Time1 hr 10 mins
Total Time1 hr 50 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 pies
Calories:
Author: Cheryl Norris

Ingredients

Flaky Pie Dough

  • 2-3/4 cups (400 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 cups (454 grams) unsalted butter, cold
  • 1/2 cup ice cold water

Apple Filling

  • 1-1/2 cups (116 grams) dried apples
  • 1-1/2 cups orange juice
  • 1/2 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 medium apples
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (96 grams) dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Egg Wash

  • 1 (50 grams) large egg
  • 1 tablespoon whole milk or cream

Pie Topping

  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Make the Pie Dough

  • The pie dough can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated.
  • Place the flour and the salt in a large stainless steel or glass bowl and whisk to combine. Cut the butter into small chunks and with your fingers toss the butter with the flour to coat the butter. With your fingers, smush the butter into flat pieces. Continue smushing the until all the butter is flattened but none of the pieces are larger than a quarter. The flour will look like course cornmeal.
  • Add half the water and quickly fold it into the flour/butter mixture with a wooden spoon to distribute the moisture. If the dough appears dry stir in the water 2 tablespoons at a time until the appears shaggy. Use your knuckles or your palm to smear the dough up the sides of the bowl.
  • Once you’ve gone all the around the bowl, fold the dough a few times to pick up dry bits. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll to an 8 x 10 rectangle. Fold the dough into letter fold and roll the dough again to an 8 x 10 rectangle. Repeat two more times. The last time fold the dough using a letter fold. Pat it into a rectangle and cut it into two pieces.
  • Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated up to 1 week and frozen for up to 1 month.

Make the Apple Filling

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
  • Combine he dried apples, orange juice and cinnamon stick in a 3-quart sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to o a simmer. Cook until the orange juice educes to thick syrup, about 30 minutes. There should just be a little syrup coating the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
  • Line a half sheet pan and line with parchment paper.
  • While the dried apples cook, peel the apples and cut into a small dice. You should have 4 cups of chopped apples. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, orange zest and whisk to combine. Add the apples and toss to coat the apples. Spread the apples into a single layer. Cut the butter into about 8 pieces and dot the apples. Bake for 20 minutes and stir the apples. Stir the apples every 10 minutes until the sugar mixture has turned syrup, about 40 minutes.
  • Scrape the apples into a large bowl, add the cooked dried apples and stir to combine. Cool the picture until room temperature. The mixture can also be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Assemble the Hand Pies

  • Make the egg wash by combining the egg and milk and whisking together with a fork. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  • Divide the dough into 6 pieces about 80 grams each. Roll out each piece into a rough circle slightly larger than 6 inches and then use a 6-inch pastry cutter to cut out a circle. Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the center. Brush the edges with the egg wash. Fold the dough in half. Seal the edges with a fork or crimp the edges. Chill the hand pies for 30 minutes. Repeat with the other dough half.  
  • While the hand pies are chilling preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl combine the raw sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  • Remove 6 pies from the refrigerator. Place them on the baking sheet, brush with egg wash and cut three slits across the top of the pies. Sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mixture on top.
  • Bake the pies for 30-35 minutes until the top of the hand pies are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack. Serve the pies warm or at room temperature.