Hand Pies Recipes

HAND PIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Place flour, salt, and cold butter pieces into the bowl of your stand mixer and blend on low until mixture resembles coarse sand.
• Add in your egg and just enough water to bring the mixture together
• Press into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
• Prepare your fresh fruit by chopping into small cubes (if needed) or use frozen fruit. No need to defrost.
• Place your fruit and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the butter is melted and bubbling.
• Add in your water (or juice), sugar, lemon juice, and salt and mix until combined. Bring to a simmer.
• Combine your ClearGel with your water and whisk to make a slurry. Pour into your simmering mixture and mix for 1-2 minutes to cook the gel. If you're using cornstarch, you only need to cook until it's clear.
• Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool.
• Preheat your oven to 400ºF and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper
• Let your dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to let it soften a bit
• Dust your surface with flour. Begin by pressing your dough with your rolling pin to start flattening it.
• Roll your dough out to 1/8 thick or about the thickness of a cake board. Thinner than you think. Thinner dough results in a crisper, crunchier crust for your hand pies.
• Cut your dough into 6" circles. I used a 6" cake board as a template or you can use a 5" circle cutter if you want smaller hand pies.
• Fill your 6" hand pie with 3 tablespoons of fruit filling (5" circles take 1 heaping Tablespoon). Do not overfill.
• Brush the outside edge with egg wash (one egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of cold water)
• Fold the hand pie over and crimp with a fork to seal well
• Use a knife or fork to make some vents on top
• Brush the hand pies with more egg wash and place them onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Chill for 20 minutes.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. They should be golden brown and the filling will just be starting to bubble.
• Let your hand pies cool for 10 minutes.
• While your hand pies are cooling, make your glaze. Just whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth.
• Use a pastry brush to brush the thin glaze over the hand pies and enjoy!
• These hand pies taste best the day they are baked but will last for three days in an airtight container in the fridge or frozen for up to 2 months.

APPLE HAND PIES

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Cut peeled and cored apples into quarters, cut each quarter into 3 wedges, and cut wedges into chunks.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; let butter brown to a light golden color and until butter smells toasted, about 1 minute. Stir apples into hot butter; sprinkle with salt, white sugar, and brown sugar. Cook and stir apple mixture until apples are softened, about 5 minutes. Mix in cinnamon and water; continue cooking until apples are soft and sticky, 1 to 2 more minutes. Spread apple filling onto a plate to cool.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Form a dough piece into a ball, place on a floured work surface, and roll into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. Spoon 1/3 to 1/2 cup apple filling in the center. Fold dough over filling, leaving about 1 inch of dough on the bottom side visible below the top side. Gently press dough closed around filling, using your fingertips.
• Fold the overhanging bottom part of the dough up over the top edge, working your way around the crust, and pinch the overhang tightly to the top part of the crust.
• Crimp the edge tightly closed, pinching a little bit of dough with the thumb and forefinger of one hand and using your index finger on the other hand to push a small notch into the pinched dough. Continue pinching and notching all the way around until the crust is tightly crimped together. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Transfer pies onto prepared baking sheet.
• Whisk egg with milk in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Brush top of each hand pie with egg mixture and sprinkle with about 1/4 teaspoon white sugar. Cut 3 small vent holes in the top of each pie.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pies are golden brown and filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

EASY APPLE HAND PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil.
• Mix apple pie filling, 3 tablespoons cinnamon, and allspice in a bowl until well combined. Lightly whisk egg and water together in a small bowl.
• Gently unroll each pie crust and cut into quarters; you will have 8 pieces of dough. Put 4 pieces on the prepared baking sheet. Spoon about 1/4 cup filling onto the centers of those pieces, leaving 1/4 inch around the edges uncovered. Cover each filled quarter with a top crust and press the edges together to seal. Roll the edges up and over, and crimp them with a fork. Cut 3 slits for ventilation in the top of each pie with a sharp knife.
• Brush egg wash over top crusts and all edges. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon, sugar, and salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
• Cool on rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

APPLE HAND PIES

Steps:

• Tip the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter into a saucepan set over a medium heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 6-8 mins until the apples are soft. Tip the mixture into a bowl and leave to cool.
• Meanwhile, unroll the pastry with a short side facing you. Cut in half lengthways so you have two long rectangles, then cut each into five smaller rectangles, so you have 10 in total (they should be 12 x 7cm).
• Once the spiced apple mixture has cooled, toss with the cornflour. Spoon into the middle of half the pastry rectangles, leaving the remaining five empty. Brush some of the beaten egg over the exposed pastry around the apples, then carefully place the plain pastry rectangles on top of the filling. Press down around the sides so the filling is encased. Crimp the edges using a fork to seal, then use the tip of a knife to lightly cut three lines across the top of the pies so that steam can escape during cooking.
• Arrange the pies on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and brush all over with more of the beaten egg. Chill for at least 30 mins in the fridge or 10 mins in the freezer. At this stage, the pies can be chilled for up to 24 hrs or individually covered and kept frozen for two months.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush with more of the beaten egg, sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake for 15-20 mins, or until the pastry is golden (add another 10 mins if baking from frozen). Once baked and cooled, will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.