These heart apple hand pies are completely irresistible with their utterly flaky crust and scrumptious cinnamon and apple filling.
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and I am SUPER excited! Besides Christmas, Valentine’s Day has to be my favorite commercialized holiday. It always has been, ever since I was a little girl :) For me it was never about having a valentine (I was a late bloomer in the crushing on boys department). I just loved swapping valentines at school and how teddy bears and pink and red candy boxes took over the store shelves.
To this day, I still get giddy when I see Valentine’s Day themed anything. Like this cutting board and these cocottes. Oh my gosh…soooo cute!
When I began this blog last year, it was after Valentine’s Day so I didn’t get a chance to share any Valentine’s Day recipes. BUT this year, I am ready to play! I have a slew of recipes to share, beginning with these apple hand pies.
If you remember, I accidentally developed a copycat McDonald’s apple pie recipe. It was a hit around these parts so I decided to spread the love and turn them into a Valentine’s Day treat! Aside from the utterly flaky crust and the scrumptious cinnamon & apple filling, they are heart shaped, which just makes them taste 10x better! To get even crazier, I added sprinkles, which makes them irresistible. No one will be able to pass these babies up.
Valentine's Day Apple Hand Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into cubes.
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- 4-6 tablespoons ice water
Apple Filling
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced into cubes
- 1 Jonagold apple, peeled and diced into cubes
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and extra for sprinkling
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
- Decorative sprinkles
Instructions
Pie Crust
- In a food processor, pulse together the flour and sugar until combined.
- Sprinkle the shortening over the flour and pulse until it resembles cornmeal.
- Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Transfer into a large bowl and add 4 tablespoons of water. Mix with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together but is not sticky. If the dough does not hold together, add up to 2 more tablespoons of water.
- Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Apple Filling
- In a large bowl, stir all the ingredients together. Set aside.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
- Remove the crust from the refrigerator and place on the counter for 20 minutes. Place the apple filling into a sieve over a bowl to collect the juices.
- Roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thick and cut out hearts using a heart cookie cutter.
- Spoon a pile of the apple filling onto one heart, leaving a 1-inch rim. Aim for a tall pile, as opposed to a wide pile.
- Place a non-filled heart over the filling and pinch the sides to seal. Place hand pie on the prepared cookie sheet and brush with the collected juices from the apple filling. Sprinkle with cinnamon and turbinado sugar and decorative sprinkles.
- Collect the dough scraps and combine with the remaining dough. Repeat steps 3-5 until all the dough has been used.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Chill the pies in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Bake the pies for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the oven to 350°F, rotate the cookie sheet and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Notes
Adapted from The PKP Way
These are so pretty – and that crust looks irresistibly soft and flaky! I always loved Valentine’s Day as a kid…but in high school and college when I was perpetually single, not so much :P
I was a late bloomer when it came to crushing on boys so it wasn’t a big deal in high school (paired with the fact that I went to an all girl high school). College was a different story…when all the girls in relationships were being delivered bouquets of roses! Looking back, I should have thrown a singles party like Jessica Biel’s character in the movie “Valentine’s Day”! :)
I can personally attest that these hand pies are literally addicting. I fought my own mother for them. And I love my mother. But I also loved these hand pies. Please open an online shop so that I may love them some more.
:) Yes, they are quite addicting.