Apple hand pie is a must have dish if you are having friends over tea. This recipe does not only yield in delicious hand pies but also very pretty pastries. Often, the apple hand pies are closed like an envelope but with this unique shape, your guests will be impressed and immediately ask for the recipe. Perfecting the dough of and apple hand pie is something to look out for. It needs to be crispy on the outside but soft in the inside. This way, a bite from the hand pie will easily melt in your mouth and you'll suddenly crave for another bite.
Even though I am not a big fan of fruits, this is probably one of my favorite desserts to bake and eat as well. Whenever I make a cake with raspberries or any other baked good with a fruit component, I just don't eat. However, the smell of a freshly baked cinnamon and vanilla apple hand pie with a generous amount of confectioners sugar dusted on top is something that I could never pass on.
As many of you know, I visit my grandparents' summer house in Çanakkale every year. Not only my grandparents welcome me with a spectacular table full of yummy food but also our neighbour Servet Teyze bedazzles me with a batch of apple hand pies. She keeps the recipe to herself but because she likes me a lot, she gave me a tip: to use equal amounts of margarine for the crunch and sunflower oil for the softness. So, here is the recipe that I worked on to recreate her amazing apple handpies:
Ingredients:
For the dough:1 cup sun flower oil
180 g. margarine, melted
1 cup yoghurt (greek)
10 g. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Flour, until the dough to reach the consistency of an earlobe
For the apple filling:
3 large Granny Smith apples
3/4 cup walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup granulated white sugar
Topping:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
1) By using a hand-held grater or a food processor, grate the apples that are deseeded and peeled. In a large pan, sauté them until they are cooked through and soft. Add the sugar and the cinnamon. Cook them for about 3-4 more minutes.
2) Crush the walnuts by using a pestle and a mortar or chop them using a knife. Do not blitz them in the food processor because we do not want fine walnut crumbs.
3) Take the apple mixture off heat. Add in the walnuts and give it a nice mix. Let the mixture cool.
4) In a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the dough until it reaches the consistency of an earlobe. Cover with a towel and let rest for about 15 minutes.
5) Divide the dough into walnut sized balls. Roll them into rectangulars. By using a crinkled cutter, create lines that are 1 cm apart, making sure to leave at least 1.5 cm from the bottom and 1 cm from the top.
6) Place 1 teaspoon of the apple filling into the bottom part of the dough. Roll them tightly and bend the pastry from the ends for it to have a moon like shape.
7) Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure that the apple hand pies have at least 3 cm between them. Bake them in the oven for about 17-20 minutes, until golden on top.
8) Let them cool on the tray for about 10 minutes. By using a fine strainer, dust with powder sugar and serve with a warm cup of coffee.
Enjoy.
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