Apple flavored hand pies adorned with dainty and delightful flower shapes.
Make pie crust from favorite recipe. I doubled the crust recipe to give me extra dough to work with for the flowers.
Peel and core apples. Chop into small, bite size pieces.
Gently coat apple pieces with lemon juice.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in apples. Coat apples with butter.
Add salt, brown sugar and white sugar.
Add cinnamon and continue to stir until apples are soft and slightly caramelized.
Remove hot apple mixture from stovetop. Transfer mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool completely.
Use a cheese grater to shave the almond paste so that it's very fine.
Sprinkle the almond paste over the apple mixture and mix gently but thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough and use a 3-1/2inch circular cookie cutter to cut out 12 shapes for the bottom of the hand pies.
Roll remaining dough onto a lightly floured surface. Use the flower, spring-loaded cookie cutter to cut the flower shapes. If the flower shape does not have a circular opening in the center, use a straw to create one. This will allow the pies to vent adequately.
Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of apple filling into the center of the pie bottom. Press the filling down just a bit to flatten it. Leave @1/2-inch clearance along the outside edge of the pie bottom. This will give you room to affix the flower shapes to the pie bottom.
Use a pastry brush to apply egg wash along the outer edge of the pie bottom.
Gently affix flower shapes to the edge. After each application, brush a light amount of egg wash over the flower shape to allow the next flower shape to adhere to the pie.
Keep adding flowers until the entire hand pie is covered.
Don't overload the pie because this will give you far more crust than is needed after it's baked. You basically want to make sure the filling is covered so that it doesn't spill out of the pie during baking.
After assembly, use pastry brush to apply a thin layer of the egg wash over the entire hand pie. Be sure to get the nooks and crannies for even browning.
Place pies on a parchment paper-lined baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
Baking times may vary depending on the heat output of your oven.
Remove from oven and serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream and optional homemade caramel sauce.
Serve with vanilla bean ice cream and homemade caramel sauce.
Sit back and watch the smiles.