It’s apple season! My dad has a big apple tree in the back yard. Every year, I fill up a bunch of buckets with apples and spend a few days cranking out jars and jars of applesauce.
Then, my fruit loving son spends the following week eating them all. It’s a labor of love.
I figured this year I would bake my apples instead.
Here’s a fun fact about me: I make a mean pie crust. Flaky, buttery, fragile, delicious, and downright ugly. I have absolutely no gift for making pie crust look pretty.
So, these hand pies are one work around. They don’t have to look pretty. In fact, they have a lot more character when they’re not pretty. And they still taste fantastic.
If you’re choosing apples carefully, pies are best made with a crisp, tart apple. Something like Granny Smith or Cortland.
If you’re just getting your apples from the tree in the backyard, then any variety will do!
Here in Utah, the summer is taking it’s time dwindling into fall, which is just fine with me. I’ve been enjoying the warm, sunny days, pretending summer will never end.
But that’s hard to do when you’re eating apples.
The family loved these little hand pies. I even had a couple left over for lunch boxes the next day. Which made my kids the envy of the school cafeteria. It’s one of the perks of having a food blogger as a mom!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 salt
- 1 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup very cold water
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- about 2 apples
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- dash cinnamon
Instructions
- Place flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Place shortening in the center of the bowl. Add cold water. Use your hand to mix the dough, gently bringing ingredients from the bottom of the bowl to the top and center, turning bowl a quarter turn each time. Mix only until ingredients come together, about 16-20 strokes. Do not over mix the dough.
- Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- While dough is chilling, core and thinly slice apples. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Let apples steep while dough is chilling.
- Roll chilled dough on a generously floured countertop, to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a knife to cut circles approximately 6 to 7 inches in diameter.
- Place each circle on a baking sheet. Place a small amount of apples in the circle, fold dough over the top, and seal edges with a fork.
- Brush top with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, if desired. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until edges are slightly brown.
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