Amy Pennington’s Fried Apple Hand Pies

By Seattle Mag September 2, 2014

Excerpt from Apples: From Harvest to Table – 50 Recipes & More Starring the 
Tried-and-True favorite, BY AMY PENNINGTON, St. Martin’s Griffin

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
21⁄2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
FILLING
3 medium apples, cored and chopped into 1⁄2-inch pieces
1⁄2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1 large egg
5 tablespoons ice-water
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1⁄4 cup apple cider (or water) 
1⁄2 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 1⁄2 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 1⁄2 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.

 

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