Apple Hand Pies

Steps

1. 1

   Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and heat until melted.

2. 2

   Whisk in the heavy cream, cornstarch, vanilla extract, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt until completely incorporated.

3. 3

   Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the diced apples. Stir to coat them in the mixture.

4. 4

   Add the water and continue cooking over medium-low heat for 10–12 minutes, until the apples are fork-tender.

   Start 12-minute timer
5. 5

   Preheat the oven to 400°F (200 °C) (205°C (400 °F)).

6. 6

   Set the apple filling aside to cool while preparing the puff pastry.

7. 7

   On a lightly floured surface, roll the thawed puff pastry into a 14-by-14-inch square.

8. 8

   Cut the square in half, then cut each resulting rectangle in half once more to make four identical 7-by-7-inch squares.

9. 9

   For each square, identify the midpoint. About ½ inch down from the midpoint, use a bench scraper, knife, or pizza cutter to cut a north-to-south line down through the bottom of the square, creating independent bottom-right and bottom-left flaps.

10. 10

    On the bottom-right flap, make two evenly spaced parallel cuts to divide it into three dough strips.

11. 11

    Directly to the left of the midpoint, cut an east-to-west line through the pastry, then make two evenly spaced parallel cuts into the pastry. The top-right and bottom-left areas should remain uncut; the top-left should have three horizontal cuts and the bottom-right should have three vertical cuts.

12. 12

    Add one-eighth of the apple filling, about ¼ cup, to the top-right quadrant of each square.

13. 13

    Brush the outer edges of the bottom-left quadrant with beaten egg.

14. 14

    Pull the bottom-left quadrant over the apple-filled top-right quadrant and press along the edges to seal, forming an apple-filled pastry pocket with three attached strips on the left and bottom.

15. 15

    Flip the top and bottom strips from the left side over the apple-filled pocket. Then flip the leftmost strip from the three vertical bottom strips over the two horizontal strips, and fold down the middle horizontal strip to complete the first lattice column.

16. 16

    Flip back the middle horizontal strip and lift the rightmost vertical strip. Fold the middle horizontal strip back down to complete the second lattice column.

17. 17

    Flip back the middle horizontal strip and lift the rightmost vertical strip. Fold the middle horizontal strip back down to complete the lattice.

18. 18

    To keep the lattice from puffing up or coming undone during baking, pull on the ends of each lattice strip, brush the ends with egg wash, and tuck them underneath the pastry so they stick in place.

19. 19

    Brush the tops of the pastries with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using.

20. 20

    Bake for 17–19 minutes, until the tops of the hand pies are golden brown.

    Start 19-minute timer