Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the crisp cool weather in the mornings, and the slightly warmer afternoons. I love wearing sweaters (I’m obsessed with cashmere sweaters!), and I love curling up in a hoodie and drinking a warm cup of coffee or Caramel Apple Cider. The best part about fall is all of the great fall ingredients, and my favorite is apples!
Now, I was born and raised in the Midwest, and fall isn’t quite the same in the area I live in in South Carolina. It doesn’t get as cold here and it seems like everything stays a little bit greener in the most southern part of the state. It’s time for a road trip to the mountains of Tennessee to get my fall-fix.
Jon and I piled into a van with his mom and dad and we took a little trip to stay in a gorgeous cabin. While we were there, we ventured into the nearby town to the apple store. It’s safe to say I went a little apple-crazy. I bought everything from caramel apples, to apple cider, to apple butter, to apple sauce, and even some beautiful apples.
Now who doesn’t love a good ol’ fashioned apple pie? I think most of us do. Who wouldn’t love to have a pie all to themselves? I know what you’re thinking; how can I possibly eat an entire pie just by myself? You can, if it’s a Rustic Caramel Apple Hand Pie!
Ingredients:
2 9-inch round sheets of refrigerated pie dough
2 large firm cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and chopped
½ tsp lemon juice
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
½ tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
Caramel sauce or syrup
Turbinado sugar (optional)
Egg wash: 1 egg whisked together with 1 tbsp water
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut each round sheet of pie dough into quarters (4 pieces out of each, so to end up with 8 quarter pieces)
Toss the apples and lemon juice together in a bowl.
Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl.
Toss the sugar mixture with the apples, until all apples are coated well.
Divide the apple mixture into four, and spoon out each fourth of the apple mixture onto four of the pie dough quarters.
Drizzle some caramel sauce over the apple mixture.
Place the remaining four quarters of pie dough over the tops of the apples and pinch and crimp the edges of the bottom and top pie dough together. (This is why they are called “rustic”. I’m not a great pie decorator.)
Brush the tops of the unbaked hand pies with the egg wash.
Sprinkle a little bit of turbinado sugar on top of the hand pies. (This is an optional step.)
Bake the Rustic Caramel Apple Hand Pies on a foil-lined baking sheet on 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-25 minutes, or until crusts are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow the hand pies to cool; they will be extremely hot.
Time to eat one of the fabulous Rustic Caramel Apple Hand Pies!
- 2 9-inch round sheets of refrigerated pie dough
- 2 large firm cooking apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and chopped
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp flour
- ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- Caramel sauce or syrup
- Turbinado sugar (optional)
- Egg wash: 1 egg whisked together with 1 tbsp water
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut each round sheet of pie dough into quarters (4 pieces out of each, so to end up with 8 quarter pieces)
- Toss the apples and lemon juice together in a bowl.
- Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt together in a small bowl. Toss the sugar mixture with the apples, until all apples are coated well.
- Divide the apple mixture into four, and spoon out each fourth of the apple mixture onto four of the pie dough quarters.
- Drizzle some caramel sauce over the apple mixture.
- Place the remaining four quarters of pie dough over the tops of the apples and pinch and crimp the edges of the bottom and top pie dough together.
- Brush the tops of the unbaked hand pies with the egg wash.
- Sprinkle a little bit of turbinado sugar on top of the hand pies. (This is an optional step.)
- Bake the Rustic Caramel Apple Hand Pies on 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-25 minutes, or until crusts are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow the hand pies to cool; they will be extremely hot.
