Baked Apple Hand Pies

I've been wanting to attempt "fried" pies for quite a while now. There's all sorts of decisions to make before you begin I learned. What type of fruit? Do you want to make your own crust, use pre-made, canned biscuits, etc.? The first decision I made was not to fry them! Baked instead of fried was a great choice for me. Next time, I'll fry them in a cast iron skillet, but for this batch, baked was perfect.

I had apples in the freezer already peeled, cored and sliced. So, apples it was! You'll need about 3 cups of fruit.

1/4 cup of unsalted butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples (Granny Smith or Red Delicious)

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

2 T. dark brown sugar

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt butter and granulated sugar together. Add chopped apples and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. Stir apples occasionally. Remove from heat and add cinnamon and brown sugar. Stir to blend together and taste. You may decide (based on the tartness of the apples) that you need a little more sugar and/or cinnamon.  Let mixture cool to room temperature.

Now let's make our pastry crust.

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour, divided

1/2 cup Crisco

2 T. granulated sugar

yolk from one egg

1/2 cup ice water

cinnamon sugar

Cut the Crisco into 2 cups of flour until mixture is crumbly. Stir in the sugar, egg yolk, and ice water until dough is sticky. Turn out onto a floured surface and sprinkle more flour on top. Work the dough until it is smooth. Roll out to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.

Cut pastry into 4 - 6 inch circles. I found this handy dandy little gadget at World Market. You can use a biscuit cutter, a drinking glass, a saucer, you get the idea. If you have one of these little pie makers, place the dough carefully inside the form.

But whichever method you use, you will add 1 - 2 T. of the apples onto half of the circle.

Fold over the handle and gently press down and the edges will automatically be crimped together.

In the alternative, you can add the apples, carefully fold over the other half of the crust and crimp together with a fork.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the pies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make a few small slits in the dough to allow the steam to escape. Brush the tops of the pies with some of the juice from the apples or an egg wash. Sprinkle the top of the pies with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

adapted from Deep South Dish