Makes 12 to 15 hand pies
The filling for these apple hand pies is heavily spiked with warming spices and cooked down to a thick fragrant syrup. The crust is flaky and layered, and it makes for perfect hand pies. These can be shaped and made ahead, and fried just before serving. It is important that shaped pies are trimmed of any extra dough, and that the dough is kept thin so that it cooks completely in the oil.
SUGGESTED VARIETIES: Cooking apples are best in this recipe, as they retain their apple flavor and easily break down to a smooth puree. Try Winesap, McIntosh, or Braeburn.
DOUGH
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1 large egg
5 tablespoons ice-water
FILLING
3 medium apples, cored and chopped into ½-inch pieces
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup apple cider (or water)
½ cup vegetable oil
To prepare the dough: Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the butter evenly over the top of the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 30 pulses. Combine the egg with the ice water and beat until blended. With the machine running, quickly pour the egg mixture down the feeding tube and process until the dough just comes together into 1 or 2 large balls, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto the countertop. Divide it in half, pressing each half into a flat round disks about 6 inches in diameter. Be careful not to work the dough. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling out.
To prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan, add all of the filling ingredients and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and the liquid forms a thick syrup. You don’t want a watery filling, so you’re aiming to evaporate some of the moisture from the pan. You should end up with a thick mass of apples that can be easily mashed with a fork. When the mixture is cooked, remove the pan from the heat and cool completely.
To prepare the apple pies: remove one dough disk from the fridge. Divide the disk into into 6 even pieces. Working with one at a time, roll out into a thin, rectangular sheet, about 5 inches long and 4 inches wide, between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. (Using plastic wrap cuts down on the need for board flour, which dries out this dough.) When all 6 sheets are rolled out, add a heaping spoonful of filling to the bottom half of a rectangle, leaving a bit of spice along the edges. Fold the dough over to form a small rectangular pie and press out the air while sealing the edges together. Using the tines of a fork, crimp the edges, pressing down, which will help thin the dough so you don’t end up with thick, uncooked edges. Trim any long dough from the edges—you are aiming for them to be about ½ inch wide.
Once each pie is formed, place it on a sheet pan and hold in the freezer. Keep adding to the sheet pan as you form more pies. Divide the second piece of dough into 6 pieces and repeat the rolling, filling, and folding process. Any extra dough from trimming can be re-rolled and formed into a pie.
When you’re ready to fry the pies, add ½ inch of oil to a large sauté pan, and set the pan over medium heat. The oil is ready when it hits 375 degrees F, or a small piece of dough dropped in bubbles quickly and floats. One by one, carefully drop the pies into the oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Cook until the first side is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn the pie over and cook the other side until golden brown, another 4 minutes. Remove the pies from the oil and place on a paper bag or layer of paper towels to drain. You can hold the warm pies in the oven or serve them immediately.