Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Apple Hand Pies


Mmmmmm.....these little apple hand pies are simply delicious. To be honest, I do not enjoy making them. In fact, they are a pain in the ass but the results are so yummy that every once in awhile I make them. This is one of those days. Yeah, I guess I could do it the really quick way and purchase pie crust or puff pastry and I could also purchase the apple filling. But I had a big supply of apples and these are what came to mind. I made the apple pie filling yesterday, I made the dough last night and put them all together today. By the time I was putting the last hand pie together, I was sooo ready to be done. Ugh! I'm not going to post a recipe because I just made it up as I went along and each time I make these they turn out a bit different than the last time. If you have a favorite pie crust recipe, then throw that together. The filling could easily come out of a can. Any filling would be great - one time I used the "Wilderness Raspberry Pie Filling" and it turned out to be one of my favorite pies I've ever made. I think I might have thrown a handful of fresh raspberries in there for better flavor and texture. I've made peach, blackberry, raspberry and also lemon. I had some left over buttercream icing from the baby shower cake the other day so I heated it up and spread it over the finished pies. It was wonderful.



I was careful to make sure I securely sealed each pie edge. In the past I've had many a pies that have leaked. Before going in the oven, I brushed the dough with heavy cream.



Aren't they...um.......rustic looking? They aren't the most beautiful pies but believe me, they are so delicious. I have a difficult time getting them all to look the same. I don't even try, really.






My pie dough turned out really tasty this time and super flakey. I put shortening AND butter in the crust and instead of ice cold water, I used cold heavy whipping cream. Oh, and a touch of vinegar which is supposed to make crusts more flaky. It was pretty good and that's saying a lot because I'm not good at pie crusts!


My apple filling was perfectly spiced and just the right thickness. I used a bit of cornstarch and a bit of tapioca starch to thicken it. I sweetened the filling with both granulated and brown sugar.







6 comments:

Blasé said...

The next time you fill those babies with "Raspberries"...I WILL be coming to pay you a visit (if that is what I have to do to get me some of those..mm hmm).

Allison said...

Wow...your hard work on these definitely paid off! They look amazing... I'm drooling just looking at the pictures!

Josipa said...

they look so delicious... a perfect autumn dessert :)

Joyce said...

They might be a pain in the *** to make but they still look delicious. I make a Greek recipe that takes me forever to make and is a huge pain in my *** to make but my family loves them. SO I spend the entire day in the kitchen and then watch the family inhale it all in 10 minutes so I only make them twice a year. Then I drop from exhaustion and swear I am not going to make them again but I always do:) Oh I wanted to say that I went to the Julia movie today and enjoyed it. Since you like to bake as much as I do you may enjoy the movie.
Joyce

Anonymous said...

Heidi, I cannot WAIT to make these. They look absolutely delicious. Maybe these will be next week's project!! I love them -- you could fill them with so many different things! Mmmm!

Anonymous said...

By the way, I'd love to know more about what crust recipe you use. I'm an absolute newbie at crusts and yours looks so lovely.