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.
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.