Apple Hand Pies

I have a special love in my heart for those little Hostess fried pies, especially the apple. There is something wonderful about little apple pieces loaded between two pieces of fried pie dough and glazed. My only complaint about them (other than the amount of fat, calories, and hydrogenated oils) would be the coating in my mouth after I eat one. I'm not gonna lie - It's a little gross. 

Now imagine all the deliciousness, but no oily feel or hydrogenated oils, hot and fresh from the oven. Perfection.

I picked up an apple filling from a local farm market, but the filling included in the original post sounds tasty, too. If you don't have the time to make a pie crust from scratch, we used Trader Joe's, and it tasted great.

Adios, Hostess. Heeeelllloo mostly homemade goodness. Check out Our Best Bites for some other really cute ideas, including turning these treats into Pie Pops.

Apple (or Fruit) Hand Pies

• 1 recipe of homemade or store bought pie crust dough
• Small bowl of water
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Course sugar or sprinkles for top
• Canned pie filling, or homemade apple (below)
• Cookie or Biscuit Cutters

Apple Pie Filling (combine all ingredients below):

• 1 medium tart green apple, peeled and grated
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cold butter, grated

Glaze (Whisk all ingredients until smooth.  Add milk until desired consistency is reached):

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1-3 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 375°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat if desired.

Roll out pie dough on a floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out heart shapes (or other shape of your choosing) and place them on your baking sheet.  Place about 1-2 tsp of filling on one cut out, keeping it at least 1/4 inch away from the edges.  Wet your finger in a small bowl of water and wet the edge of the pie dough shape.  Wet the edges of a 2nd pie dough shape (one without filling) and place on top of the other.  Press together gently with your fingers to seal the pieces together.  Use a fork to crimp edges.  Poke a fork into top of pie one time so steam can vent.  If desired, brush top of pie in melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.  (Or leave plain to glaze after).

Bake pies for 15-20 minutes until barely golden brown.  Cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.  If glazing, gently brush or spoon glaze over pies while still warm.

Source: Our Best Bites