Apple pies are an American classic, beloved by many! We’ve reinvented this timeless treat into mini apple hand pies: a mini version of the classic pie that fit perfectly in your hand.
This is an easy to make dessert featuring a simple flavorful filling of diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, all wrapped in a flakey buttery pie crust. Mini hand apple pies are the perfect bite of nostalgia in handheld form!
You’ve Got To Try These Mini Hand Apple Pies!
The kids had such a blast making these hand held apple pies. We all agreed on these adorable little apple shapes, which is why they’re the perfect mini apple hand pies. When I need to decide on what to bake with the kids, I keep in mind that we need to make something that will keep their attention.
This recipe was the perfect choice to keep them busy. Lots of fun steps, like rolling the dough, using the cookie cut out, dicing the apples, licking their fingers, and getting flour all over themselves.
I have to say it was fun to watch them! Despite a fair amount of clean up and eating of ingredients before the pies had even made it in the oven, the results were amazing. Simply delicious mini apple hand pies!
Serve them up with a dollop of whipped cream as a warm and comforting dessert, warm them up for a quick grab and go snack after school. Or pack them into lunchboxes to eat cold another day.
What Is A Mini Hand Pie?
A hand pie is a pastry made into a desired shape that fits in your hand. It can be filled with a yummy sweet, or savory filling. A mini hand pie is usually made of pie crust, with a filling inside.
There’s a bottom pie dough layer, filling in the middle, and then a top dough layer. You can make hand pies with one piece of dough that is folded over, then crimped around the edges so the filling won’t run out. Or you can make them like a regular pie, with two pieces of rolled dough, crimping around the edges to seal.
Mini Apple Hand Pie Ingredients
- Granny & honeycrisp apples
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- Brown sugar
- Flour
- Pre-made pie dough
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Ground cinnamon
- Egg
What Are The Best Apples For Making Mini Hand Pies With?
There are so many different apple varieties it can be difficult to know which to use. My recommendation for the best apple pie is to use a mix of tart and sweet apples. Our personal favorite is a combination or granny smith, and honeycrisp apples.
Here’s a short list of other tart, sweet, and tart/sweet combination apples to consider for your pies.
TART: Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Jonathan, Suncrisp
SWEET: Crispin (Mutsu), Fuji, Golden Delicious, Jonagold
TART/SWEET: Braeburn, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Spigold
For mini hand pies or regular apple pie, it’s also best to choose firm apples. This way the filling won’t become mushy after being cooked.
However, I’m a big advocate for minimising waste. So if you’ve only got soft apples that no one will eat, I’d use those rather than let them go to waste. (Stewed apple is a lovely way to make use of soft over-ripe of bruised apples otherwise.)
How To Make Mini Hand Apple Hand Pies
Here’s the step-by-step in pictures.
Here are some more simple treats and desserts from the Busy Little Chefs kitchen:
- Simple Chocolate Candy Cane Hearts
- 2 Banana Choc Chip Banana Bread
- Healthy Banana Pancakes With Sweet Potato
- Easy Banana Muffin Tops
- Deliciously Moreish Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels
How To Make Mini Apple Hand Pies
You will want gather, measure, and prep all the ingredients for your mini hand apple pies before starting. I’m a great believer in being properly prepared before getting started!
THE YUMMY FILLING
Grab a pot, and on a medium heat add the diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Cook on medium heat until it starts to bubble, and thicken. This’ll take about 15 minutes. I
If the juices are runny, add a teaspoon of flour to thicken, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add more if needed, and repeat step. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Cooking the filling is one of my favorite steps, because the whole house smells so good. It’s sweet, with the cinnamon aroma.
PREPPING THE DOUGH
I think this is the part my kids enjoy the most. It’s physical, and they get instant reward. Also, it’s what makes the basis of the apple hand pies.
You need to start with pie crust dough at fridge temperature. It needs to be cold, but not frozen. So if you’ve bought it from the store frozen, remember to defrost it in the fridge over night. Or if making it by hand, make sure to chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before starting.
Roll the pie crust on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of around 3-4mm. Then use your cookie cutter to cut out your shapes of choice.
Place the cut outs on a plate, and into the refrigerator to keep cold. Re-roll the remaining dough, and repeat steps. Be sure to have an even number of cut outs as half will become the tops of the mini hand pies and the other half will be for the pie bottoms.
ASSEMBLING THE MINI HAND PIES
Place the apple cut outs on the parchment paper about 2″ apart. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into the middle of each one.
Then dip the pastry brush into the egg wash, and brush the inside edge going around the filling. (This will keep the edges sealed.)
Next, place the top apple cut outs over the filling, lining the edges up so the shape seals evenly. Gently press around the edges, and pressing out any air bubbles from the edges.
Then, crimp the edges with a fork to create a tight seal.
CHILLING & BAKING
I recommend chilling the pies after assembly, and before baking to chill the dough. This will help the pies hold their shape when baking. To chill, place them in the freezer for 3 minutes, or in the refrigerator 5-7 minutes until they feel cold and a little stiff to the touch.
Once chilled, you need to vent the tops of the mini hand pies to let the steam out. Simply poke the top of each twice with a fork or make 3 small slits with a knife.
Finally, to achieve the lovely shiny golden color on your mini hand pies, brush the tops and edges with the remainder of the egg wash.
Then bake in your preheated oven at 350F for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
GLAZING THE HAND PIES
The glaze is really easy to make, using only 3 ingredients: powdered sugar, milk and cinnamon. Simply heat in a small-medium size bowl and stir. Your glaze should be thick, but run off the spoon.
Once the hand pies have been baked, and cooked then it’s time for the kids to have more fun, glazing their mini apple pies!
Pour or spoon the glaze into a piping bag, or a sandwich size ziplock baggie. Make sure glaze is at the tip of the baggie. Tie off the other end with a rubber band, or clip. Then snip a a very small piece of the tip off with scissors and squeeze to test how much comes out.
Increase the size of the hole as necessary, little by little. You don’t want to risk cutting too much off, or the glaze will run out too quickly.
Now drizzle the glaze over the hand pies in a back and forth motion. You may need to demonstrate to the kids first. Or, while the kids are holding the piping bag, guide their hand back and forth over the pies.
Tips To Make The Best Mini Apple Hand Pies
- When cutting shapes out of the dough, before lifting the cookie cutter up, twist it a little from side to side while pressing down. This helps ensure the dough is cut all the way around, so that the shapes lift out easily.
- The dough needs to be cold, so the hand pie will hold their apple shape when baking. After you’ve constructed and sealed the pies, place them in the freezer for 3 minutes, or in the refrigerator 5-7 minutes until they feel cold and a little stiff to the touch. Then brush with the egg wash, and bake them.
- If the dough sticks to the rolling surface when lifting the cut outs, slide a flat metal spatula under the dough, then slowly lift.
- Don’t over work the dough, or add too much dusting flour. It will be hard to work with, and may shrink up.
Do Mini Hand Pies Need To Be Refrigerated?
Yes, mini hand pies should be refrigerated if they have egg, or dairy in them. However, fruit pies don’t need to be refrigerated. Fruit pies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container, or in the refrigerator up to 2 days.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture claims that fruit pies made with sugar and fruit can be stored at room temperature. This is because of the combination of sugar, and acid in the fruit which is sufficient to prevent bacterial growth.
More Seasonal Recipe Inspiration
Including our favorite spooky sweet treats.
- Easy No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Protein Balls
- Fall Chocolate Covered Oreos
- Pumpkin Cupcake Cones
- Magic Cookie Bars
- Super Easy Pumpkin Carrot Cake
- Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Halloween Graveyard Candy Bark
- Halloween Fruit Kabobs
MINI APPLE HAND PIES
Ingredients
APPLE FILLING
- 2 med granny & honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and diced (about 2 cups) (or choose your favorite firm varieties)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons flour (to thicken the filling)
- 1 box pre-made pie dough (includes 2 per box)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour (to sprinkle on the rolling surface and prevent the dough from sticking)
CINNAMON GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
EGG WASH
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients, and get everything measured and prepped. You will want the pre-made pie dough to be defrosted, unless it's homemade. Dough should be fridge temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Making the apple filling
- To a medium pot, add the diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter, and cook on medium heat until it starts to bubble, and thicken. This will take about 15 minutes. If the juices are runny, add a teaspoon of flour to thicken, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add more if needed, and repeat step. Remove from heat, and let cool.
Prepping the dough
- Roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 3-4mm. Then press the apple cookie cutter into the dough. Place the apple cut outs on a plate, and keep chilled in the refrigerator.
- Re-roll the remaining dough, and repeat steps. Be sure to have an even number for the top and bottom of the hand pies. (You should have enough dough to make 16 hand pies.)
Assembling the pies
- Place the apple cut outs on the parchment paper about 2″ apart. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into the middle of each one.
- Then dip the pastry brush into the egg wash, and brush the inside edge going around the filling. This will seal the edges when you crimp them together.
- Now place the top apple cutouts over the filling, lining the edges up so the shape seals evenly. Gently press around the edges, and press any air bubbles out through the edges. Then, crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
Chilling & baking
- Next chill the dough to help the pies hold their shape when baking. Place them in the freezer for 3 minutes, or in the refrigerator 5-7 minutes until they feel cold and a little stiff to the touch.
- Once chilled, brush the tops and edges of the hand pies with the egg wash.
- Now you need to vent them: with a knife make 3 small slits on the top of the pie, or poke a couple times with a fork.
- Place in oven and bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven, and transfer them to a cooling rack.
Glazing with cinnamon glaze
- In a medium bowl, add all the powder sugar, milk, and cinnamon, then stir until well mixed. If the glaze is stiff, add more milk a little at a time. It should be thick, but run off the spoon.
- Pour or spoon the glaze into a piping bag, or a sandwich size ziplock baggie. Make sure glaze is at the tip of the baggie. Tie off the other end with a rubber band, or clip. Then snip a a very small piece of the tip off with scissors, then squeeze to test how much comes out. (Do this in small steps if needed, you don't want to cut too much off, or the glaze will run out.)
- Once cooled, place the rack with hand pies over parchment paper and drizzle the glaze over the pies in a back and forth motion across them. Let them dry, and the glaze will become firm. Once they're dry, they will be ready to eat!!
Notes
Ready To Try This Mini Version Of The All American Classic?
These mini apple hand pies are the perfect blend of simplicity and nostalgia, offering all the cozy flavors of a classic apple pie in a fun, handheld treat. Whether you’re serving them at a festive Fall gathering with lashings of whipped cream, packing them into lunchboxes to eat cold, or enjoying one as a quick snack, they’re guaranteed to be a hit with the whole family.
So grab some dough, cook up some apples, and get ready to fill your kitchen with the irresistible aroma of warm cinnamon and buttery pie crust. Happy baking!
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If you love Halloween, you’re going to love these fun festive recipe round ups:
These are really cute apple pies!
Thank you!