Apple & Hawthorn Hand Pies
Flaky, buttery hand pies filled with spiced apples and tart hawthorn berries, drizzled with a rosy hawthorn glaze. A cozy apple hawthorn dessert perfect for fall.
Servings: 12 mini pies
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter diced
- ⅓ cup cold water (more or less as needed)
Apple Hawthorn Filling
- 3 cups apples (about 3-4 apples) peeled & diced
- 1 cup* fresh hawthorn berries seeded
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- pinch of salt
Hawthorn Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2-3 tablespoons hawthorn juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare hawthorn juice. Harvest hawthorn berries, rinse them well, cook them until they fall apart, and strain. Find full instructions for making hawthorn juice here.
- Make the pie dough. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 ½ cups flour, 2 tbsp sugar, and ½ tsp salt. Add cold diced butter; toss to coat. Blend butter in with your fingers or a pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly and butter is in pea-sized pieces. Add water 1-2 tablespoons at a time, slowly incorporating with a fork until mixture starts to form a shaggy mass. Pour onto lightly floured surface and fold gently until it all comes together. Cut dough in half and form each into a 1-inch thick disc. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
- Prepare fruit. Peel and dice apples. Remove seeds from hawthorn berries using a small tool or by simply pushing them out with your fingers.
- Make hawthorn apple filling. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan. Sauté 3 cups diced apples with seeded hawthorn berries, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp each nutmeg & cardamom, and pinch of salt just until lightly softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
- Roll & cut rounds. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one pie dough at a time to about ⅛-inch thickness. Cut out small circles (I like to use a 5" yogurt or tupperware lid) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place dough rounds in the fridge as you cut them out - you want them to be fairly cool when you fill them.
- Fill. Scoop about 2 tbsp of apple hawthorn filling onto one side of your dough rounds. Fold the other side over, making a half moon shape, and pinch shut to seal. Crimp edges with a fork. Slice a few small vent holes into each hand pie. Chill in the freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
- Bake. Preheat oven to 375° F. Bake pies until golden brown and bubbling, about 25-30 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and let cool completely before glazing.
- Glaze. Whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp hawthorn juice. Add a little more hawthorn juice if needed to get the right consistency. You want the glaze slightly thick but pourable. Spoon glaze onto cool pies. Enjoy!
Notes
*Measure the hawthorn berries before removing seeds.