These buttery little hand pies are filled with almond pastry cream and apple butter. They are flaky, creamy, & packed with warm apple flavor.
Let's start by saying that I got a bit carried away this season making No Peel Slow Cooker Apple Butter. We have kind of a lot of the stuff in our pantry. Although, perhaps not enough now that I've made these little pies.
They are, in my opinion, the perfect little sweet treat because: a.) they are not too sweet, b.) one recipe makes enough to feed a small crowd (or 2 hungry teenagers), c.) flaky pastry, apple butter, and pastry cream, (!) d.) they make a delicious on-the-go hand-held breakfast, lunchbox treat, afternoon snack, e.) they can be easily dressed up with scoops of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Hand Pie Pastry Dough
I recently made this pastry dough for ham and cheese hand pies. It's a very wet dough and contains an entire half cup of sour cream. I was as skeptical as you about adding sour cream to pastry dough when I first started playing around with it. But, I'd read that it can create an exceptionally flaky and easy to work with dough, so I decided to give it a go and I'm glad I did.
When you're making it, you'll think the dough is too wet and be tempted to add more flour. Restrain yourself. Just wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour so that it's very cold. When rolling it out, make sure to use plenty of flour so that it doesn't stick to everything. It's also important to refrigerate the assembled pies for at least an hour before baking them so that the dough is cold when you put it in the oven.
Follow these simple steps and you'll be rewarded with a delicate pastry, richly flavorful, and so flaky it may remind you of a croissant.
Almond Pastry Cream
The almond pastry cream in this recipe is simply a half batch of my standard, tried-and-true, turns-out-gorgeous-every-time, pastry cream. This lovely confection shows up in recipes all over this blog because it's extremely easy to make, keeps for days in the refrigerator (you can even freeze it), is extremely versatile (add flavorings, lighten it with whipped cream), and absolutely delicious.
For these hand pies, I've used both vanilla and almond extract, but feel free to use only one or the other. Paired with the crispy apple slice and spicy apple butter, the pastry cream is a deliciously creamy contrast or flavor.
Apple Butter
My favorite slow cooker apple butter recipe requires NO coring and peeling of the apples. The entire process takes about 24 hours - apple butter must simmer at a low heat for a long time - BUT, only about 30 minutes of that is actually hands-on work. The rest of the time you're just letting it do it's thing while you get on with your life.
Having said that, you can also pick up a jar of apple butter at your local market, or order some from Amazon.
Optional toppings:
One of the greatest things about hand pies is that, obviously, they can be eaten with your hands, no plate and fork required. But, if you really want to step up your game, a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of Salted Caramels Sauce or Caramel Rum Sauce is where it's at.
More Popular Apple Recipes:
- Caramel Apple Pie
- Apple Cake with Cider Buttercream
- Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce
- Apple Cobbler with Gooey Brown Sugar Cookie Crumble
- Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
- Apple Fritters with Maple Glaze
- Saucy Apple Slab Pie
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Streusel
- Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Apple Butter and Cream Hand Pies
These buttery little hand pies are filled with almond pastry cream and apple butter. They are flaky, creamy, & packed with warm apple flavor.
Ingredients
For the pastry dough:
- ½ cup sour cream (full fat)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup ice water
- 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1-inch pieces
FOR THE HAND PIES:
- 1 medium size apple
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cup apple butter, good quality prepared or homemade
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon milk
- Turbinado sugar, sanding sugar, or granulated sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Make a batch of Perfect Vanilla Pastry Cream, and allow it to chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
Make the pastry:
- Add the sour cream, apple cider vinegar, and ice water to a measuring cup and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the flour and pulse 5 or 6 times, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea sized pieces of butter scattered throughout.
- Pour the sour cream mixture into the bowl, and pulse just until the dough begins to come together. Dump the mixture into a large bowl and gently squeeze together with your hands just until it forms a cohesive dough; do not not overwork the dough.
- Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
Assemble and bake the hand pies:
- Peel and core the apple and cut it into thin slices no more than a ¼-inch thick. Put the apple slices in a bowl and toss with the teaspoon of lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Working with half the dough at a time, roll the dough out to an ⅛-inch thickness on a floured work surface. This is a sticky dough; flour the surface of the dough and the work surface as necessary to keep it from sticking. Using a large 3 & ½ to 4 & ½-inch round pastry cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. (Can also use a wide rimmed drinking glass.)
- Put about 2 teaspoon of pastry cream in the center of each circle of dough, spreading it out slightly but not getting it too close to the edges of the dough. Top the pastry cream with about 2 teaspoon of apple butter and 1 slice of apple. Fold the dough over the filling to form a half moon shape and press the edges together gently with your fingers. Lay the pie on the parchment covered baking sheet and press the edges together with the tongs of a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining pies and dough, re-rolling the scraps of dough, until you have approximately 18-20 pies.
- Cover the pies loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and teaspoon of milk. Remove the pies from the refrigerator and use a sharp knife to cut three slits in the top crust of each pie. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of the pies with the egg mixture. Sprinkle each generously with sugar.
- Bake the pies for 28-32 minutes, turning the sheet around in the oven about halfway through baking, until the crust is golden and you can see the filling bubbling through the slits in the pies.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Store leftover pies in the refrigerator.
Notes
Serve with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of butterscotch sauce, salted caramel sauce, or caramel rum sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
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Kristy Jo says
So delish!
Rebecca Blackwell says
I'm so happy to know that you liked these little pies, Kristy! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! I truly appreciate it! xo
Melanie says
Just a quick couple of questions: 1) I only need a half batch of the pastry cream recipe correct? 2) You mention using vanilla and almond extract but I can't find any mention of how much almond extract to use.
Thanks!
Melanie
Rebecca Blackwell says
HI there! Great questions. You'll want to make a full batch of pastry cream. Just don't add the whipped cream after chilling the pastry cream. In looking at the recipe I wasn't at all clear about how much almond extract to use - so sorry about that! I've corrected that oversight thanks to your question. 🙂 I'd suggest using 1 tsp of almond extract in addition to 2 tsp vanilla. But, please adjust the flavorings to your personal tastes, adding more or less, tasting as you go, until it tastes right to you. Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to hear what you think of these hand pies after you make them! xo