My parents used to take us apple picking every fall, right around this time of the month. It was one of the local family trips that I would look forward to every year. Sometimes we would bring home a couple of buckets to make a bunch of apple chips. Most of the time, my sister and I would just snack on apple slices after school and dunk them into a bowl of creamy caramel sauce or plum powder. If we had enough apples left over, my mom would make a hot apple drink with apple chunks and a bunch of aromatic spices. But you know what? My most favorite apple recipe to make is apple pie. They’re even better when they’re hand pies because you don’t have to fight for the bigger piece!
Even though apples, and apple hand pies are delicious, we thought it would be interesting to add a twist to it: Chinese five spice. Yep! It adds a nice spicy warmth. And here’s the bonus for the typography and lettering obsessed people out there like me: these pies have pop-out messages.
We suggest sticking to one to three letter words on the hand pies because it would get really crowded!
Five Spice Hand Pies
Ingredients
1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup finely chopped, peeled baking apples (we used Granny Smith)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1 tablespoon water
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon water
Directions
Bring the refrigerated pie crust to room temperature. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Heat 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add butter and heat until melted. Add the apples and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, five spice powder and water. Stir constantly until the apples are crisp tender and a sauce forms in the pan, about two minutes. Put the apple filling in a small bowl and set aside until it cools to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 375F. Using 3 inch round cutter, cut 10 rounds from each crust, for a total of 20 rounds. Discard the leftover scraps of dough. Place 10 pie crust rounds on work surface or cookie sheet. Spoon about two teaspoons of the cooled filling in the center of the pie crust rounds.
Cut out the desired letter or 2 to 3 letter word with a small letter cookie cutter on the remaining crust rounds.
Place the rounds on top of the filling on each.
Use a fork to seal the two pie crust pieces together. Place the cut-out letters on top, lowering it slightly so the filling looks like a shadow.
Make an egg wash to give your hand pies a shiny sheen by mixing together the beaten egg and one teaspoon of water. Brush the egg wash all over the tops of each of the hand pies. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Prep Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 10
P.S. They’re really good when dipped in a caramel sauce or even vanilla yogurt!
Here are some awesome hand pie ideas to check out:
- White Peach, Rose, and Basil Hand Pies from Local Milk
- Cheddar Apple Hand Pies from Desserts for Breakfast
- Mapled Apple Hand Pies In a Brown Butter and Smoked Almond Crust from A Stack of Dishes
- Pear, Sage, and Toasted Vanilla Hand Pies from Tartlet Sweets
