It’s turning to autumn these days of course, and that means pie to me. Hand pies in this case. And honeycrisp apples. Delightful with warm with a bit of ice cream as a snack or dessert, or even as a breakfast danish.
Ingredients (makes 4 hand pies)
For the pastry
2 cups plain flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/4 cup) cold butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
For the filling
3 cups apple, peeled, cored and cut to 1/4 inch dice
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water, for slurry
1 egg, mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water, for egg wash
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse until only pea sized lumps remain in your mixture. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk. Add the mixture all at once to the dry ingredients and pulse until moisture is introduced to all of the flour mixture. Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and knead the dough until it starts to hold together. Divide the dough in two, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine apple, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Let come to a boil and then simmer 5 minutes, until the apples are soft. Then add the corn starch slurry. Let return to a rolling boil to start thickening, stirring all the while. Once the mixture starts to thicken (usually just a minute or two), remove from the heat and add the cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Set aside to partially cool before continuing.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper
Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator. On a well-floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/3 inch (4mm) thick. Using pastry cutter or form, cut out your squares. Spoon about 4 tablespoons of the apple mixture onto one of one of the cut outs, leaving about 1/8 inch of space before the edge. Place another dough piece on top of the mixture and seal the edges together with the tines of a fork. Repeat with remaining dough. Make the egg wash by whisking egg together with water. Brush each pie with egg wash and make a few small vent holes on the top. Alternatively, you can use a very small cookie cutter to cut vent holes in the top pastry (note that you have to do this before you assemble the hand pies though, obviously).
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for at least a few minutes before serving (can be eaten warm or cold).
