Apple Hand Pies are made with apple pie filling, homemade pie crust or biscuit dough. Buttery, flaky pie crust, warm, tender cinnamon-coated apples that makes a perfect hand-held dessert. Watch the video below of how to make them!
While we love them fried, they can also be baked in the oven or in the air fryer. This apple pie recipe has been shared nearly 200,000 times- one of our most popular recipes!
This easy to make apple dessert is perfect for picnics, barbecues or as a holiday dessert.
We’ve used our favorite pie crust recipe that makes a consistent flaky pie dough. It’s the perfect compliment to this apple dessert! This is the perfect way to use freshly-picked apples.
I’ve recreated Grandma’s Apple Jack recipe. This is the perfect easy to make dessert recipe for any backyard BBQ, potluck or family gathering!
Assemble ahead of time, placed on half sheet pans and frozen for later. They’re easy to make using either homemade or store bought pie crust or biscuit dough. Although, personally we prefer homemade pie crust.
Be sure and try one of our other cobbler recipes using fresh or frozen fruit including; blueberry cobbler, apple cobbler, blackberry cobbler, peach cobbler and cherry cobbler any time of year.
Why this recipe works
- Uses simple ingredients – This apple pie recipe uses ingredients readily available at most grocery stores.
- Prep ahead of time – Make the pie filling ahead of time. Refrigerate it for a few days or freeze for 1-2 months.
- Flavor – Flaky pie crust and chunks of apples with warm spices.
- Freezer friendly – Assemble ahead of time, place on half sheet pans lined with parchment paper and freeze. Cover the entire pan with plastic wrap to prevent frost bite.
- Makes a great individual dessert – The perfect hand-held dessert for summer picnics, barbecues or even a Thanksgiving dessert. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.
What you’ll need
- Apples – Granny Smith, Macoun, McIntosh and Honeycrisp are great options for apple pie. Granny Smith is tart and holds up well. Use another variety, such as McIntosh that will break down and create an apple sauce texture.
- Cinnamon & nutmeg – Warm spice of cinnamon adds plenty of fall spice to your apple pie.
- Cornstarch – Helps thicken the pie filling. Make a slurry with cornstarch and cold water mixed together.
- Butter – Adds a nice touch of flavor to the filling.
- Pie crust – Use homemade or store-bought pie dough. Refrigerated biscuit dough rolled out will also work well.
How to make apple hand pies
- Make apple pie filling – Let it cool completely. You can even make this a few days ahead of time to save time!
- Cool completely – It’s very important to let pie filling cool completely before assembling hand pies. If you put hot pie filling inside the pie dough it will melt it.
- Make pie dough – Prep and put in the refrigerator to chill for a few hours or overnight.
- Roll out pie crust – Roll out biscuit dough or pie crust on a lightly floured surface, into 4-6 inch ovals.
- Fill with cooled pie filling – Scoop about 1 tablespoon or so of the cooled filling in the center of each round.
- Seal pie crust – Fold over, lightly press down on the filling, trim and crimp edges with a floured fork. (If a little pie filling leaks out, toss a little flour on it!)
- Place on sheet pan – Place hand pies on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Chill – Refrigerate or freeze for later. (Our preferred method is to freeze pies right away! This prevents pie filling from leaking and chills the pie dough well.)
- Fry or bake – They can be either fried or baked in the oven.
Best apples for pie
- Granny Smith – Granny Smith apples have a tart and tangy flavor, along with firmness. They are also readily available in most grocery stores.
- Macoun – A variety native to New England and perfect for pie. It’s a cross between the ‘McIntosh’ and ‘Jersey Black’ cultivars. Sweet, slightly tart and perfect for pie.
- McIntosh – This variety is sweet and tart. It also tends to break down when it cooks.
- Honeycrisp – This variety is sweet, firm, and great apple flavor. This combination of flavor and texture makes it a great choice for pie.
This heirloom recipe is just like grandma’s! Grandma would be proud!
As you create each hand pie, place them on a half sheet pan lined with a piece of parchment paper. Overlap them slightly with 5-6 in each row, with a total of 3 rows per sheet pan.
What is a Apple Hand Pie?
When we moved to North Carolina, a local gentleman asked me to make something called “Apple Jacks.” These yummy individual pies are small pieces of dough with a dollop of apple pie filling, then crimped and fried.
They are an old-fashioned tradition here in the South. Sprinkle with sugar or drizzle with a simple glaze.
History of Apple Jacks
Years ago, when ladies made these, they certainly were not using store-bought crusts. They likely did not have the disposable income that many of us have today, nor did they have access to convenience products such as these. Traditionally, they used dried apple pieces, mixing those with water, sugar and cinnamon.
Recipe FAQs
I personally love a combination of Granny Smith and either Macoun, Macintosh or Honey Crisp. This brings the perfect amount of texture and flavor.
Absolutely! I make them the night before and slightly overlap them on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Loosely cover the entire sheet pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer.
How to freeze hand pies
- As you make each hand pie, place onto a half sheet pan lined with a piece of parchment paper. Overlap them just a tad and be able to fit about 5-6 in each row, with a total of 3 rows per sheet pan.
- Wrap entire sheet pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer flat. Be sure the entire sheet pan stays flat. Once they are completely frozen you can stack another sheet pan on top, if needed. But, not until they are completely frozen– otherwise you will squish them!
Thawing Hand Pies
- Thaw in the fridge, uncovered. This also makes the pie dough super cold when you fry them, helping them become perfectly flaky.
- NOTE: If you leave them covered with plastic wrap after being frozen, they end up with too much condensation! Just remove the plastic wrap and they’ll thaw perfectly overnight.
- Fry them right out of the fridge. You want them to be cold so the pie crust stays flaky!
More Pie and Cobbler Recipes
- Apple Pie
- Blueberry Pie
- Blueberry Hand Pies
- Blueberry Crumble Pie
- Blackberry Cobbler
- Blackberry Hand Pies
- Cherry Hand Pies
- Cherry Crumb Pie
- Cherry Cobbler
- Peach Hand Pies
- Peach Cobbler
- Pecan Pie
- Peach Crumb Pie
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Apple Hand Pies
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Pie Filling
- 5 medium/large apples Granny Smith & Macoun
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼-1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Homemade pie crust or biscuit dough
Instructions
Apple Pie Filling
- Peel, core and chop the apples into small pieces. Melt the butter in a 10-12 inch skillet or Dutch oven. Cook the apples over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes or until soft. Sprinkle with brown sugar, sugar, and lemon juice while they cook.
- Stir with a wooden spoon occasionally, making sure they do not burn.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in about ¼ cup of cold water. Stir to combine.
- Pour in the cornstarch mixture once they are almost done and let cook to thicken the apples and juice. The pie filling will need to bubble up around the edges for the cornstarch to properly thicken.
- Remove from the heat and add the cinnamon, nutmeg and stir to combine. Let the pie filling cool completely.
Apple Hand Pies
- Roll out your biscuit dough or pie crust on a lightly floured surface, into 4-6 inch ovals, about ⅛-1/4-inch thick.
- Scoop about 1 tablespoon or so of the cooled pie filing in the center of each round.
- Fold over, lightly press down on the filling and the edges. (Lightly wet edges with water, using your fingertip if needed) Crimp the edges of the dough with a floured fork.
- Or cover the sheet pan loosely with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for later use. Overlap them slightly on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer. Cover the tray loosely with plastic wrap.
- Place uncooked pies on a half-sheet pan which is lined with parchment paper. Place the entire tray into the refrigerator while the oil heats.
- Fill a fry pan with about 2-3 inches of canola oil. Heat the oil until very hot (about 370 to 375 degrees F).
- Place only a few hand pies in the hot oil at a time, as to not overcrowd the pan or let the oil cool. Fry until they are brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the hot oil and let drain on paper towels on a half-sheet pan. Sprinkle with granulated sugar or dust with powdered sugar while they are still warm.
- Or drizzle each hand pie with a simple glaze. Let dry slightly before handling.
- These are best served warm. Delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with warm caramel sauce.
Video
Recipe Notes
Hand Pies
Assemble AHEAD of time. Overlap them slightly on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer. Cover the tray loosely with plastic wrap. Thawing Remove the plastic wrap that was covering the tray and discard it. It will have extra moisture you DO NOT want! Let them thaw, uncovered in the refrigerator overnight OR on the counter for 1-2 hours. You still want them very cold when frying. Cooking Use canola oil heated to 375 degrees. This is so the pies do not absorb any odd flavors. OR bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven. Place hand pies on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the pie crust is golden browned. Monitoring the oil temperature If you do not have a thermometer. You can test if the oil is hot enough by sprinkling a tiny bit of flour off of your fingers into the center of the oil. If the flour bubbles out to the edges of the pan quickly, the temperature is ready.Nutrition
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Amy Hannah says
These sound delicious. Reading the previous comments, it brought back memories of my mom always having lard in the fridge. She used it for pie crust and frying. (I’ll have to buy some.) Can I use puff pastry for these hand pies?
Jessica Robinson says
You can use puff pastry if you are baking them. I would not suggest frying that.
Kathy Holm says
Beautiful ❤️
Jessica Robinson says
thank you!
Karen Thompson says
I just made these & I am delighted how they turned out! Great recipe. Thank you.
Kim says
What biscuit dough is recommended? I used pillsbury grands and they burned on contact with the oil. I ended up baking the pies in the oven so that the biscuit cooks all the way through. Yummy recipe but would love to use better biscuit dough (I don’t want to make my own, thanks!)
Jessica Robinson says
Hey Kim,
Thanks for commenting and giving our hand pies a try.
I always use homemade pie crust. If you look at Brenda Gantt, she uses leftover biscuit dough – which is very common in the South. She adds a little extra flour to make it a stiffer dough. Empanada dough is an option too.
If you don’t want to make your own pie crust or biscuit dough (which I highly suggest you do) you can also use store-bought pie crust and cut out circles. I’ve never personally used refrigerated biscuit dough for these, therefore do not have a particular brand to recommend. I would say that the pie filling is already cooked, so you’re just looking to brown the pie crust, biscuit dough or Empanada dough. It’s possible that you need to lower the oil temperature to about 360 degrees F if using store-bought biscuit dough because from personal experience you’ve found it burns easily.
If you’re willing to give homemade biscuits or pie crust a try, we have those recipes on our website. And there’s extensive videos on posts and Facebook. Homemade biscuit dough would just need to be rolled out in flour to create circles or ovals of dough.
Tracy says
I like to use the FROZEN Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits. They come in a bag, so I take out as many as I want to make at the time, most of the time do 2. You just let them thaw on some parchment paper with flour sprinkled under and on them, when thawed just roll them out and put your goody inside. I like to fry mine in lard on medium heat, glaze the top. THEY ARE DELISOUS!
Jessica Robinson says
There’s lot of options for the dough. We prefer to use homemade pie crust, while others don’t have the time to make things homemade. I feel like if you’re gonna take the time to make pie filling from scratch, you can do biscuit dough or pie crust from scratch. Takes only a few minutes to make crust. And I get to control the ingredients. We also prep a BUNCH of hand pies at once, freeze them on half sheet pans and only cook a few pies as needed. Glad you found frozen pre-made store-bought biscuits worked.
Dee says
how long can pies stay in freezer?
Jessica Robinson says
A few months
Mike Simmons says
Excellent recipe, delicious! Just made this and I am very pleased.
Jessica Robinson says
Happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Rosetta Sperring says
I’m getting ready to make my fried pies and do not have lard. I have my go to pie crust using all butter (which I love), but I do have some Crisco. To make it easier for me, is using all butter okay, or should I use some Crisco?
Jessica Robinson says
Hey Rosetta,
Lard is fat from pork that is refined, so it won’t taste like bacon or pork. Available in the baking aisle in major grocery stores, Walmart, etc.
Butter and lard or vegetable shortening have different melting points. Therefore using some lard or vegetable shortening in a pie dough along with butter is the best result. That’s what will give you flakiness. I’d suggest substituting vegetable shortening for the lard portion since you have it on hand and buy some lard for later.
Rosetta Sperring says
Thank you so much Jessica! I have no issues using lard. I grew up in the mountains of W. VA. (now in the south for most of my life), and I remember my grandmother and mother and church ladies frying hand pies. I’m not sure what they fried them in, but I can almost bet it was lard. I have my grandmother’s recipe for pie crust and she used eggs, lard and evaporated milk in hers. I will use your recipe, using Crisco since I have no lard on hand. Thank you for such a quick response! I will let you know how they turn out when I fry them this Thursday.
Jessica Robinson says
Hey Rosetta!
Absolutely! I’m happy to help!
They probably fried hand pies in Crisco… but we prefer either that or canola oil. Canola oil doesn’t add any “off” flavor to things like fried pies, donuts, and apple fritters. Plus has a good heat point, so it won’t burn.
Rosetta Sperring says
Jessica, I just made your apple and blueberry hand pie filling for fried pies. I’m pretty sure you said you can freeze the filling, but I’m not making the hand pie dough until Monday (3 days from now). Would the fruit filling be okay in the fridge until I make them on Monday to freeze and then thaw 4 days later to fry?
Thank you!
Rosetta
Jessica Robinson says
Hey Rosetta,
Apple pie filling is perfectly fine in the fridge for 2-4 days. Just put it into a bowl covered with plastic wrap or Pyrex with lid. After that, I’d recommend freezing the filling. But a few days will be just fine in the fridge!
I always freeze hand pies. Always. They pop apart really easily when completely frozen. There’s a video on Facebook showing how to thaw and fry them.
Rosetta Sperring says
Thank you! By the way, the apple filling and blueberry are awesome!
Jessica Robinson says
Rosetta,
So happy to hear that!! I so appreciate you taking the time to let me know.
Sherry says
This recipe is definitely like my mamaw used to make!! Delicious!!
Jessica Robinson says
That is one of the kindest comments!! Thank you!
Sherri says
Hi Jessica, Fried hand pies that I made in the past tend to lose their crispness and get soft the day after. Because of my health I move at a snails pace so I when I do have the energy to make fried pies I like to make a lot. What are your recommendations for keeping pies their freshest longer?
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Sherri,
We freeze them unbaked/unfried and fry one or a few at a time as you want them. They’ll last that way great. Fried pies are best served the same day, though can be briefly reheated in the microwave the following day.