Apple Caramel Hand Pies

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These Apple Caramel Hand Pies feature my Amazing Pastry Dough Recipe that mimics puff pastry without all the fuss. With apple season just around the corner, what could be better than caramels and apples enclosed in a flaky pastry?

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time45

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Apple Caramel Hand Pies, Apple hand pies, Hand pies

Servings: Hand pies

Calories: 569kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Ingredients

Amazing Pastry Dough

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (245 grams)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, (225 grams or 2 sticks)
½ cup sour cream, cold (114 grams)
2 tablespoons water

Apple Caramel Hand Pies

1 large Granny Smith apple
2 Gala apples
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
2 5 oz. bags Werther's Original Chewy Caramels
Coarse Sea Salt, optional
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Amazing Pastry Dough

Cut the very cold butter in about ¾" pieces per stick. If prepping the remainder of the recipe, refrigerate the butter until needed..
Place the flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a mixer. Mix briefly to combine.
Place the butter over the flour and mix on low to medium to break up the butter but keep it in large pieces.
Add the sour cream and mix to bring it together. Add the water and mix to form large crumbs. It should not ball up or come together completely.
Pour it out onto a work surface and push together to form a rectangular block of dough. Knead it 3 or 4 times to smooth it out, keeping the butter in large pieces.
Press a rolling pin into the dough about 3 or4 times several inches apart from the top to the bottom. These "hills and valleys" will help roll out the dough more evenly.
Sprinkle the surface lightly with flour. Roll the dough to a 16" x 8" rectangle. If the pastry begins to soften, chill it until firm.
Brush off any flour and fold the top and bottom to the center of the pastry, leaving a ½" channel in the middle.
Brush off any flour and fold the top and bottom to the center of the pastry, leaving a ½" channel in the middle.
Fold the top over the bottom, creating a book like pstry. Turn the pastry 90° with the fold to left.
Lightly sprinkle the surface with flour and repeat the rolling and folding. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until cold throughout, overnight or up to 3 days. It can also be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for several months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.
Keep the dough refrigerated while preparing the filling.

Apple Caramel Hand Pies

Peel the apples and cut into about ½ inch dice. You should have about 4 cups.
Combine the apples with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Place them in a medium saucepan and simmer until the apples are tender.
When the apples are almost done, stir the potato starch into the lemon juice and add it to the apple mixture. Bring to a boil and cook several minutes until thickened. Cool completely.

Assembly

If at any point the pastry becomes soft, refrigerate or freeze to firm it up. The butter needs to be kept in pieces for the highest rise. Lightly flour the surface.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a ½ sheet with parchment. Set aside.
Roll the pastry into a 12 ½" x 18 ½" inch rectangle. With a 6" round cutter (a saucer or cake round is fine) cut 6 rounds out of the pastry. Refrigerate if soft.
Line 4 caramels along the bottom of the rounds, leaving a ½ inch border on the bottom and sides. Sprinkle with a little sea salt if using. Place ⅙ of the filling (scant ⅓ cup) over the caramels.
Wet the bottom border with water, bring the top down over the apples matching the edges. Press together. Seal with the tines of a fork. Refrigerate until cold.
Brush with egg wash. Cut a vent in the top.
Double pan and bake for 18 to 22 minutes until medium golden brown. Cool. Serve slightly warm.
These will keep up to 2 days at room temperature or they can be frozen either baked or unbaked without the egg wash. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, brush with egg wash and bake as called for. If baking from the freezer, brush with egg wash and add extra time baking to a medium golden brown.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above. If you have questions, look at the photos or read the header of the article. Many of them will be answered there.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest

Cold and clean are two of the most important points when making laminated doughs. If the butter softens at any time, refrigerate or freeze briefly to get it cold again. Make sure if any dough sticks to the rolling pin, to clean it off with a paper towel immediately. If you continue to roll, more pastry will stick to the pin and the pastry can tear.

Refrigerate the filled pastries before cutting the vents on top and egg washing. This will make cleaner cuts for a better looking pastry. This should be done just before baking.

The pastry can be made in its entirety and frozen well wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight to use. Warm in a 350° oven for 10 to 15 minutes if cold, less if room temperature.

The completed pastries can also be frozen well wrapped for up to 3 months without the egg wash. Egg wash them just before baking. Either thaw them overnight and bake cold or bake them from the freezer adding additional time.

Mixing a Granny Smith with Gala apples is a great combo for these hand pies. Cutting the apples in about ½" dice is a good size.

If using cornstarch instead of potato starch these should not be frozen or they may leak after thawing and heating. Cornstarch breaks down in the freezer.

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