Breakfast in Bed – Spiced Apple Hand Pies

Spiced Apple Hand Pies 11

Post by Alison Hein.

Oh no! I cannot believe I forgot to do a Valentine’s Day post!

Well, as they say, better late than never, so here’s a sweet recipe you can either save until next year or surprise your beloved with an unexpected, heartwarming anytime breakfast in bed.

These little pies are deliciously spiced with an amalgam of exotic flavors, and tuck neatly into a small hand for nibbling on the go. If you like, use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a heart in each half-moon. Then gently lay the little heart back over the filling before baking.

Spiced Apple Hand Pies 3

Ingredients

Pie Crust
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon water
1/3 cup butter

Pie Filling
2 tart apples, such as Granny Smith
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon sugar, plus an additional 1 teaspoon for topping
½ teaspoon flour
¼ teaspoon cloves
A dash each of cardamom, ginger, mace and nutmeg
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Spiced Apple Hand Pies 4

Preparation

To make crust, sift together flour and salt. Remove half of the flour mixture and add to a separate small bowl. Add water to flour mixture and stir to make a paste. Cut butter into small cubes and cut into remaining flour mixture, using a pastry cutter or two forks. Mix all ingredients together until a smooth, uniform dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Remove dough from refrigerator and cut in half. Gently roll out one piece of dough on a lightly floured board, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Roll dough to form an approximate 12×12-inch shape. Cut 3 to 4 6-inch circles from the dough, using a large cookie cutter, a tin coffee can, or cutting around a small plate. If possible, re-roll any leftover dough to form an additional 6-inch circle. Set circles aside until ready to use.

Spiced Apple Hand Pies 8

To make filling, peel and finely dice apples. Add to a large bowl and stir in cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of sugar, flour, cardamom ginger, mace and nutmeg. Place about 1½ teaspoons of filling on the lower half of each circle, leaving enough room to crimp dough ends together. Fold top half of dough circle over filling to create a moon shape. Crimp edges together with the tines of a fork. Repeat with remaining dough. Poke a few holes in the top of the pie for venting.

Place pies on lightly greased baking sheets. Brush with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Makes 6 to 8 hand pies.

Spiced Apple Hand Pies 13

Posted in Breakfast in Bed | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.