Mini apple pies, with homemade all butter pie dough and spiced apple filling, baked until crisp and flaky, then coated in cinnamon sugar. These delicious apple hand pies are the perfect combination of sweet, juicy honey crisp apples inside flaky pastry crust, while the cinnamon sugar coating makes them taste like an apple donut or a fried apple pie.
You might also love these recipes for French apple tart with walnut crust, brown butter crumble apple pie bars, and apple butter cinnamon rolls with maple icing.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Everything Homemade. From the apple filling to the buttery pie dough, these mini apple pies are completely made from scratch.
Fresh for Days. You can enjoy warm, freshly baked apple pie when these are hot from the oven, but they’re still fantastic a day or two later.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. Today’s recipe will work at any altitude, though.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Apples. I used Honey Crisp apples, which I love for both baking and eating. They have a wonderful flavor, and they hold their texture well when baked, rather than turning soft and mushy.
- Lemon Juice. Adds a little brightness to the apple filling.
- Sugar. Light or dark brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture to the apples. You’ll also need granulated sugar for the cinnamon sugar coating.
- Flour. Just a little flour is needed to help thicken the filling so it’s not runny.
- Spices. A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice adds warmth and coziness, and nicely complements the flavor of the apples. You’ll also be using cinnamon in the cinnamon sugar coating after baking the pies.
- Butter. A little melted butter brushed over the pies helps the cinnamon sugar stick.
- Pie Dough. I used my trusty recipe for All Butter Perfect Pie Dough, which is flaky, buttery, and just delicious. Seriously so much tastier than store bought pie dough.
Instructions
Filling
- Peel and core the apples, then chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. In a saucepan, combine the chopped apples with the lemon juice, brown sugar, flour and spices.
- Over medium low heat, cook the apples, stirring frequently, until the apples are softened and the liquid is thick and syrupy. This should take about 12 minutes.
- Set the apple filling in the refrigerator to cool down while you make the pie dough, or make one day in advance and refrigerate until needed.
Dough
- Make 1 Recipe Pie Dough (double crust).
- On a lightly floured surface, work with half the dough at a time, and roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Use a 4-inch round cutter to cut rounds of dough. Gather up the scraps, roll them out again, and continue cutting rounds of dough until you’ve used up all the dough. You should be able to cut 16 rounds of dough for 8 apple hand pies.
- Set 8 of the dough rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon the apple filling into the center of the dough, using several tablespoons of filling per pie. You may have a tablespoon or two of filling leftover.
- Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the edges of the dough with water or milk, then place the rest of the dough rounds on top. Press the edges together, then press a fork around the edges to seal them together. Use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of each pie to vent the steam.
- Set the pan in the refrigerator to chill the pies while you preheat the oven.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the pies for about 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and baked through, and the filling is bubbling.
- Let the pies cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
- Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the top and bottom of the pies with the melted butter, then coat in the cinnamon sugar.
- Serve the pies warm, or at room temperature.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store leftover pies?
Let your mini apple pies cool completely, then store them loosely covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. You don’t want to put them away while they’re warm, or the steam can make the crust soggy.
What kind of apples are best for pies?
You should choose a firm apple with a great flavor. You don’t want an apple that turns to mush when it’s baked. My favorite apples for apple pie are Granny Smith and Honey Crisp apples. They have a perfect texture and nice tart flavor.
Will this recipe work with any shape cookie cutter?
Yes. Besides circles, these little pies would be so cute in heart shapes or apple shapes.
Can I freeze the unbaked pies to bake them later?
Yes, you sure can. Assemble the pies as instructed, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 3-6 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight, before baking them cold from the fridge. You can bake them from frozen, but they will take longer to bake through. This is a great option for the holidays, when you want to make your mini apple pies ahead of time, then bake them fresh on Thanksgiving or Christmas.
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Mini Apple Pies with Cinnamon Sugar
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- 4-inch Round Cutter
- Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 large Honey Crisp apples (about 1 1/2 – 2 lbs)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- â…“ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 ½ tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- â…› tsp ground nutmeg
- â…› tsp ground cloves
- â…› tsp ground cardamom or allspice
Crust
- 1 recipe All Butter Perfect Pie Dough (enough for a double pie crust)
Other
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
Instructions
Filling
- Peel and core the apples, then chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. In a saucepan, combine the chopped apples with the lemon juice, brown sugar, flour and spices.
- Over medium low heat, cook the apples, stirring frequently, until the apples are softened and the liquid is thick and syrupy. This should take about 12 minutes.
- Set the apple filling in the refrigerator to cool down while you make the pie dough, or make one day in advance and refrigerate until needed.
Dough
- Make 1 Recipe Pie Dough (double crust).
- On a lightly floured surface, work with half the dough at a time, and roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Use a 4-inch round cutter to cut rounds of dough.Gather up the scraps, roll them out again, and continue cutting rounds of dough until you've used up all the dough. You should be able to cut 16 rounds of dough for 8 mini pies. (If you rolled your dough a little thinner and you have leftover dough, don't worry, just cut a few more rounds of dough to make another pie.)
- Set 8 of the dough rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon the apple filling into the center of the dough, using several tablespoons of filling per pie. You may have a tablespoon or two of filling leftover.
- Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the edges of the dough with water or milk, then place the rest of the dough rounds on top. Press the edges together, then press a fork around the edges to seal them together. Use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of each pie to vent the steam. (If you want the pies to have more color, brush them with a lightly beaten egg before baking.)Set the pan in the refrigerator to chill while you preheat the oven.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the pies for about 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and baked through, and the filling is bubbling.
- Let the pies cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
- Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the top and bottom of the pies with the melted butter, then coat in the cinnamon sugar. Serve the pies warm, or at room temperature.
I made these for Thanksgiving! They were absolutely delicious! I have never liked pie crust, but this recipe concerted me. My mom and husband said that this was the best pie crust they’d ever had in their lives. Thank you for giving me a huge baking win! We moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho from Southern California and the change in altitude has made baking a challenge for me. I’m so thrilled to find your web site. Do you have any plans for publishing a cookbook? I’d absolutely buy it!
This makes me so happy to hear! I do think about a baking book, but no concrete plans in the works yet. 🙂
Hi Heather, I would love to make these hand pies with some of our delicious Palisade peaches. I adore peach pie and have some of these gems from last summer in my freezer. Have you ever tried a peach version? Any suggestions on adapting your recipe? I have lived in the Boulder area for over 40 years and am so grateful to you for your work at simplifying baking at our altitude. Your chocolate cake recipe has made me a from-scratch cake baker again!
I haven’t done this with peaches (yet), although I’m planning some mini peach hand pies this summer. With peaches, you wouldn’t cook the filling first, you’d just toss the peach slices with a bit of sugar, flour/corn starch and lemon juice, maybe a spice (I’d use ginger), and then assemble with the dough from there.