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Close-up of apple pie slices on a wooden board, surrounded by fresh green and red apples. The pie is cut to show its filling. Nearby, a small glass bowl with caramel, garnished with yellow flowers, complements the delightful array of apple hand pies on a checkered cloth.
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Apple Hand Pies (Oven and Air Fryer) Recipe

Make easy homemade apple hand pies with a delicious cinnamon apple filling in the oven or air fryer. A scrumptious treat for any occasion.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings: 14 servings
Calories: 162kcal
Author: Stephanie Wilson

Ingredients

  • 2 large apples about 1 lb., peeled and diced small
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch ground nutmeg
  • pinch allspice
  • 2 unbaked pie crusts rolled into two 12-inch circles
  • 1 egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk or water)

Instructions

Apple Filling

  • Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add apples, sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Stir in water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice; cook for about 4 minutes more. Let cool completely (I will often refrigerate the filling while preparing the hand pie crust).

Assembling the Hand Pies

  • Roll the dough into 12-inch circles (working with one pastry at a time) and then cut out apple shapes or circles of dough. You will need 2 shapes per pie, a top and a bottom. Reroll the pastry scraps until used up. In half of the shapes, use a sharp knife to cut three slits in the pastry for vent holes.
  • Make the egg wash by whisking the egg and milk or water together and set aside. Arrange half of the circles about 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, this is the bottom. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center, leaving the edges bare. Place the vented top shape over the filling and press around the edges to seal. Using a fork, crimp the edges of the pies. Lightly brush the top of the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.

Air Fryer

  • To cook hand pies in the air fryer, place 4 (if they fit) in the basket of an air fryer. Cook at 350℉ for 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining pies until done.

Oven

  • Preheat oven to 400℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer pies to the prepared sheet and bake until golden and the filling is bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Notes

  1. Making Ahead and Storing: You can make these hand pies ahead in a couple of ways. You can make the filling ahead and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Assembled and unbaked hand pies can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days (apply egg wash just before baking) or frozen for up to 3 months. If frozen, there is no need to thaw before baking; add a few more minutes to the baking time. Baked hand pies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen hand pies in the refrigerator and then bring them to room temperature before serving.
  2. Apples: I love a combination of apples for complexity of flavor, one sweet and one tart. A Granny Smith apple is tart, holds it's shape when baking, is a great choice. Honeycrisp would be a sweet apple.
  3. Pie Crust: Any store-bought refrigerated pie crust works. I'm loving Trader Joe's pie crust as it's the closest to homemade that I've found.
  4. Servings: I used a 3-inch apple cookie cutter which resulted in 14 hand pies. Recipe servings will depend on how large or small your hand pies are. 

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 155mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 68IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg