It's an apple palooza in the Terra Kelly house, and by apple palooza, I really mean I made way too many apple desserts.
There was a bag of apples that needed to be eaten, and so, here we are.
You, the reader, asked for an apple hand pie recipe, then I stepped it up a notch and thought, let's make an apple galette (which is a super simple apple pie).
That's not all, though. I still had more apples, so I made my Grandma's Homemade Apple Crisp (it's so freaking good).
Let's grab a hand pie and enjoy the recipe and book inspiration together.
SOME BOOK INSPIRATION:
“What’s that?” Milo from Defend My Heart (Crystal Shores Book Three) pointed to the basket of apples in Angie’s arms.
She looked down, then gave him a quizzical glance. “Um, a bushel of apples.” She set the basket on the ground and put her hands on her hips. “Isn’t that something my sexy farmer should already know?”
He stepped closer and tickled her side. “You think you’re so cute, don’t you?” She put her finger and thumb just a quarter inch apart and giggled as he tickled her some more and wrapped his arms around her waist. “What do you plan to do with all those apples?”
“Since we have an overabundance of them this year, I’ve been thinking about making a few recipes.” Angie placed the palms of her hands on his chest and slid them up to lace her fingers behind his neck. “Then I remembered those apple hand pies we discussed not too long ago.”
“Oh, I like where this is heading.” He leaned in and kissed her. “What about an apple galette, too?”
She stepped back and picked the basket of apples up. “Look at you with all the fancy names.”
“Well, it’s that or make me an apple pie.” You could tell he was holding in a laugh as he shrugged his shoulders and started to walk away.
“Make you, huh.” She smiled and turned in the opposite direction. “How about this, I’ll surprise ya?”
“You know I love surprises.”
SOME BEHIND THE SCENES:
It's no secret that apple recipes are probably one of my favorite desserts to make. That basically means my characters in my books will probably talk about desserts that include apples frequently.
For Milo and Angie in Defend My Heart (Crystal Shores Book Three), it just made sense to have them chat about apple pies since he owns a farm. There are many apple trees on the farm, and some years they bear an overabundance of apples. Angie loves thinking about new ways to use up the delicious apples.
The hand pies are pretty simple and can easily be tailored to you if you use a knife to form a shape or cut squares for the pies, perfect. If you decide to use cookie cutters, that's wonderful, too.
I did add an estimate of how many hand pies you might get with your recipe, but honestly, it's hard to know. It all depends on what you decide to use to form your pie. In the end, have fun and enjoy the process.
MORE BEHIND THE SCENES:
It's funny, I planned to make only hand pies for this post, but then I realized it would be fun to share two options. You can make the pies, and everyone can enjoy their very own treat. Or you could throw together a super-simple apple galette (also known as an apple pie) using the same ingredients.
Personally, I love making galettes because you can use any fruit, or you can make them savory, and they are so freaking easy to assemble.
For both the hand pies and the galette, it's important to stir the apple mixture and make sure there's some liquid in the apples before you add them to the dough. The trick is, you don't want too much liquid because it could make the bottom of the pie or galette soggy. There's this fine line, but use your best judgment. Adding a little liquid to the apples gives the pies and galette an extra depth of flavor that is truly wonderful.
Disclaimer: the recipe looks long, but it's honestly not hard to make. Oh, and it's okay to buy store-bought pie dough, already made. You'll need to mix up the apples, which would be really easy.
Have fun with the recipe and make it your own!
Apple Hand Pies/Apple Galette
Recipe by Terra Kelly
Prep: 35-45 minutes
Cook: 30-45 minutes
Makes: 12-14 Hand Pies/One large (or two small) Galettes
Ingredients
Dough:
2 ½ cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp granulated sugar (extra for sprinkling on prepared dough)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup (8 oz) cold unsalted butter, cubed
2-4 oz cold water
(You can buy premade dough for the recipe)
Filling:
4-5 cups (small to medium) diced apples (peeled or not peeled, you choose)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp cornstarch
Extra:
2 eggs for egg wash
Directions
For dough: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Then add the cubed butter and, using your fingers or a pastry cutter, break it into the flour. You want the butter completely mixed in, and the flour crumbly from the butter. Slowly add the water because you may not need the full four ounces. Bring the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight. (See notes for how I quickly cool the dough.)
For apple mixture: In a medium bowl, add apples, brown sugar, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cornstarch, and mix. (See notes about the extra liquid that forms in the bowl.)
To assemble apple hand pies: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add parchment paper or Silpat to two sheet pans.
Flour the surface and roll out the chilled dough until about a quarter-inch thick. You can use a knife to cut squares or use your favorite cookie cutters. (I used a large heart and medium-sized circle cookie cutter.)
For each hand pie, you need to have two cutouts for the top and bottom. Stir the apple mixture, then drain off some of the liquid to add to the center of the dough (you want the liquid, just not too much). Press down with your thumb or use a fork to seal the top and bottom of the hand pies. Try not to overstuff the pies, or you'll end up with juices leaking out during baking.
In a small bowl, whisk the two eggs with a fork for the egg wash.
Once the hand pies are ready to bake, brush them lightly with egg wash and sprinkle the tops with sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. The pies should be golden brown on top and bottom.
To assemble the galette: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add parchment paper or Silpat on one or two sheet pans.
Two options: either divide the dough in half to make two galettes, or make one big one.
Flour the surface and roll out the chilled dough until about a quarter-inch thick. Place the dough on a prepared sheet pan, then stir the apple mixture and drain off some of the liquid to add to the center of the dough (you do want the liquid, just not an excessive amount).
Start folding the edges of the dough up to lay flat on the apples. The edges will fold in on themselves, but you still want to see the apples at the center of the galette. (see image up above.)
In a small bowl, whisk the two eggs with a fork for the egg wash.
Once the galette is ready to bake, brush lightly with egg wash and sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 40-45 minutes, depending on the oven. The galette should be golden brown on top and bottom. (Check under the folds of the dough to ensure all the layers are cooked thoroughly.)
It's time to enjoy!
Notes:
For the dough, if you need to chill it quickly, add it to the freezer. It's essential to briefly freeze the dough, as it can harden and make it challenging to roll out. If you freeze the dough, keep it in the freezer for only 15-25 minutes.
For the apple mixture, the longer it sits in the bowl, the more liquid will form (which is okay). Every time you need to use the apples, stir the mixture because I noticed a lot of sugar had sunk to the bottom of the bowl.
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