Vegan Apple Hand Pies

♫ Listening to: Safe Inside by Classixx and Passion Pit ♫

If you know me, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of pie, unless it’s chocolate pie, pumpkin pie, or nutella pie. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE fruit. I eat fruit for breakfast everyday (I’m eating figs right now). But I like fruit all by itself and not mixed with anything else. Oddly, I have quite a few people in my life who really love fruit pie. So, these hand pies are for one of them.

This recipe makes ~10 hand pies.

Hand Pie Filling Ingredients

• 4 cups of finely diced apples
• ½ cup organic sugar*
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Hand Pie Filling Directions

Peel and de-core apples. Dice them into small pieces (like half the size of a scrabble tile).

Combine apples, sugar, coconut oil, and cinnamon in a pot on medium heat.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 min. While the filling simmers and cools, you can make the pie crust.

Pie Crust Ingredients

• 4 cups unbleached flour
• 1 cup vegan butter or margarine (if you avoid soy, buy the soy-free earth balance; otherwise buy the organic whipped earth balance)*
• ¼ cup evaporated cane juice (or any organic or vegan sugar)*
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ cup ice water

Pie Crust Directions

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and vegan butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook or a food processor with an S-blade.

Slowly add cold water in a steady stream while the stand mixer or food processor is running. Stop adding water when the dough forms a ball.

Roll a third of the dough on top of a large piece of parchment paper or rolling mat rolling it as thinly as you can without it breaking, adding flour when needed to keep from sticking to the surface or the rolling pin. I rolled mine to 1/6 of an inch.

Cut shapes out of the dough using a cookie cutter or jar lid. If you cannot easily transfer the shapes to your baking stone or baking sheet, then chill the dough in the freezer for 5-10 min.

Chill the dough whenever you’re not actively using it.

Hand Pie Assembly Directions

Preheat your oven to 375º.

Place one shape onto a baking stone or onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Spoon some filling onto the shape, leaving a quarter inch around the perimeter so that it won’t squeeze out the sides.

Cover with another piece of dough that is the same size and shape.

Crimp the edges using a fork.

Brush the tops with vegan creamer (or just some sweetened nondairy milk) using a silicone basting brush . This step is optional. It’s only to help the tops get a little brown in the oven.

Bake at 375º for 20 minutes. Cool before serving or wrapping up.

If you like fruit pies, you might also like my peach pie lollipops and my vegan apple tarts.

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* I use mostly organic ingredients when I cook, but I realize that not everyone has the disposable income to purchase all organic ingredients. Therefore, I only specify organic on the ingredients that really matter - when buying the organic version is the only way to ensure that the item is vegan.