Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies
These apple hand pies are the seasonal treat you’d line up for - nostalgic, portable, and flat out delicious. The filling is a slow-baked, miso-swirled apple butter, and the crust is crisp with sesame-sugar spiked with a bit of chile flake.
These apple hand pies live in the space I strive to hit when it comes to baking - classic, rustic, with a bit of a wink or surprise. I make them with a strong, homemade apple butter filling. The smooth kind. Like when you were a kid. But I add a bit of miso to it for some depth. The crust is showered generously with sugar and sesame then kissed with a bit of red chile flakes. Bake it to the point where it crisps and caramelizes, you have the sugar crust dreams are made of.
Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies: The Ingredients
- Pie Dough: Your hand pies are only as good as your pastry. I use this pie crust. It is flaky, structured, and easy to work with. It bakes into deep, golden buttery deliciousness.
- Apple Butter: Thick, concentrated, homemade apple butter is the filling for these hand pies. You can make it when apples are in season, and the apple butter will keep, refrigerated, for a couple weeks. It will keep frozen for up to six months. I try to fill each pie as full as possible and still get them sealed.
- Sesame-Sugar-Chile Crust: I like some texture to play off the smooth filling here. After an egg wash, each hand pie is sprinkled with large granulated sugar that has been tossed with sesame seeds and red chile flakes (I use these smoked red chile flakes). Some of the sugar melts and caramelizes, the sesame gets toasted, and you get little pops of heat from the chile flakes. So good.
How To Make Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies
Here's the step-by-step of how to make these hand pies. You need pie dough, apple butter filling, egg wash, and sesame-sugar sprinkle. They're super simple to pull together (really!). You start by rolling out your pie dough. Then make large circles using a cookie cutter (or bowl, like I did).
Brush a bit of egg around the perimeter of each pastry, then add a couple tablespoons of filling. (pictured below)
Carefully fold in half, pressing along the edge with your finger to create a seal. Use a fork to reinforce that seal all along the edge of each pie. (pictured below)
Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with more egg, and sprinkle generously with a sesame-sugar mixture. (pictured below)
Bake until deeply golden. 
Make Ahead:
The two main components here are the pie crust and the filling. Both can be prepped ahead of time. Both can be frozen for weeks/months.
- Pie Dough: If you keep pie dough in the freezer, transfer it to your refrigerator a day before you want to roll out and fill your hand pies.
- Filling: You can make the apple butter filling a week or two in advance of filling your hand pies.
- Freezer Hand Pies: Once you’ve assembled your hand pies, they freeze wonderfully. Freeze in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate. Transfer to a container for up to a couple months. When you’re ready to bake the hand pies, brush them with eggs, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and cut a couple slashes in the top of each pie before placing in the oven.
More Hand Pie Recipes
More Pie Recipes
- Shaker Lemon Pie
- Pumpkin Pie
- Deep Dish Quiche
- Shaker Apple Pie
- Vegan Samosa Shepherd’s Pie
- Vegetable Pot Pie
- Berry Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
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Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies
This is the all-butter pie crust recipe I use for these hand pies, I swear by it. To shape the pies, I tend to use a 5-inch round cookie cutter, or equivalent. This is the apple butter I use for the filling. Applesauce isn’t going to have as much flavor or be nearly as good, unfortunately. But if you have a highly flavorful apple butter you like to buy, by all means give it a try.
- 1/3 cup tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar (large)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
- 1 recipe all-butter pie dough
- 1 1/2 cups homemade apple butter
- 1 egg
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Pre-heat oven to 400°F with racks in the top and bottom third.
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Toss the sesame seeds, sugar, and chile flakes in a small bowl and set aside.
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When you’re ready to assemble the hand pies, if your pie dough is in the refrigerator, let it sit out for a few minutes. Long enough to be receptive to a rolling pin. On a lightly floured counter, roll the pie dough out to about 1/8-inch thick. Thinner than you might be inclined. Make sure it isn’t sticking to your surface - flour and rotate all along the way. If it gets too warm, re-chill.
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Assemble your hand pies. Cut or stamp the pie dough into large circles, about 5-inches in diameter. Brush each of these with the egg wash. In the center of each square, leaving a border around the edges, place a couple tablespoons of apple butter (as much as you can get in there without issue). Carefully fold each pastry in half and press together with your finger at the edge, creating a seal. Crimp with a fork as well if you like, so the filling doesn’t leak from the sides.
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Pop the pies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Brush each pie with egg wash, sprinkle generously with the sesame-sugar mixture, and use a knife to cut a couple slashes in the top of each. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden, crisped, and beautiful! Allow to cool a bit, and enjoy!!
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen hand pies.
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