Fall always puts me in the mood to bake and cook a lot more than usual. Well let’s be honest, I’m rarely in the mood to do either. But the crisp air and lack of desire to get out of the house in the cold always makes me a little more Susie Home Maker like. Baking with apples is always a must and whipping up batches of comforting hearty chili. My personal favorite recipe coming soon to the blog! These are just a few things you do in the fall, right?
In an effort to expand my baking skills, I wanted to try my hand at homemade pop-tarts or hand pies, whichever you want to call it. I decided to make apple ones in honor of the season but knew I had to add something a little extra to it to make it a little more special. Dried cranberries were a perfect way to balance out the sweetness of the apples and add a little bit of color to the filling. These hand pies were insanely easy to whip up believe it or not. The dough was simple and can be made ahead of time. As for the filling, you can create whatever you like and put in any of your favorite fruits, or spreads.
When making these, all you have to do is roll out your dough to about 1/4 of an inch thick. Then have a template on hand (I did a 2×3 inch template) to cut out your rectangles. I allowed a little more space for the top layer to fit in the filing when cutting the top layer out. You want to make sure once you fill them, that you’re two layers of dough can be crimped together with a fork so that all the goodness stays inside. Lastly, be sure to poke a few vent holds, or create a cute fall shape, to allow steam to escape. Full recipe and directions below.
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Photos by JNelly
Apple Cranberry Hand Pies
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 2 ⅔ Cup flour
- ¾ cup cold butter cubed
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 egg yolk
- 4 Tbsp water
- generous pinch of salt
For The Filling
- 1-2 apples diced (I used granny smith)
- handful of dried cranberries
- 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp of nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp of clove
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
- For the dough, add all ingredients, except water and egg yolks, to a mixer and pulse. Slowly add in water and yolks until dough forms. Place in saran wrap and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. You can even freeze it and pull it out later to use.While it chills, make your filling.Roll the dough out to 1/4 of an inch thick and cut out the shape you want. Fill with filling, leaving edges to crimp. Top with 2nd piece of dough and crimp with a fork. Poke a few holes in the top layer to allow steam to escape.Bake at 400degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
