I have an confession. While I adore pumpkin everything during the fall, I love apples even more. That’s right, I believe apples are the superior fall flavor to pumpkin. So while there is room for both in our household, today we’re celebrating apple with all kinds of seasonal spices.

This particular recipe also adds a little sour cream to the pie dough, adding a little tartness and interest to the flavor profile. If you want to make it even more special, click on the original recipe for instructions on adding premade caramels to the filling.

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Spiced Apple Hand Pies
(Original recipe: Just a Taste)

PIE DOUGH

2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 C cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 C cold sour cream

Preheat the oven to 425F.
Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
Add the cubed butter to the bowl and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand.
Stir in the sour cream (the dough will be very wet), and then turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface.
Knead the dough a few times until it comes together, adding more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough is too sticky to handle. Roll the dough into an 8×10-inch rectangle and dust both sides with flour before folding it into thirds as if you were folding a letter.
Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again into an 8×10-inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into thirds then wrap it securely in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes while you make the filling.

APPLE FILLING

2 C Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced into corn-kernel sized pieces
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp all-purpose flour

In a small bowl, combine all filling ingredients, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE THE HAND PIES

1 egg, beaten with 1 TBSP water
Large flake sea salt (we prefer Maldon)
Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unfold it onto a well-floured surface, rolling it out to a 14×14-inch square. If the dough is too firm, let it warm on the counter for 10 minutes first.
Using a 3-inch circular cookie cutter or cup, cut out as many circles as possible. Re-roll the scraps and continue cutting out circles until you run out of dough, ensuring you end up with an even number of circles. (You should have approximately 20.)
Place six of the dough circles on a Silpat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Spoon a small portion of the apple filling into the center of each circle, leaving enough of a border around the filling. Top the apple filling with a pinch of sea salt. Place a second dough circle atop each filled circle then use a fork to crimp the edges together, sealing each pie.
Brush each pie with the egg wash, and using a sharp knife, cut two or three vents on the top of each pie. Sprinkle the pies with turbinado sugar.
Bake the pies for 15 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
Remove the pies from the oven and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Repeat the filling and baking process with the remaining dough circles.