Gluten-Free Apple Hand Pies

Sweet and delicious, these perfectly imperfect Gluten-Free Apple Hand Pies stuffed with cinnamon apples and drizzled with a cinnamon glaze. Dairy-free.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan

Prep Time 1 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 1 40

Servings pies

Calories 570kcal

Author Tessa

Ingredients

Dough

1 ½ cups almond flour 170 g
¾ cups tapioca starch* 85 g
2 teaspoons psyllium husk powder
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons vegan butter or solid coconut oil
3 tablespoons ice cold water

Apple Filling

2 apples (such as Gala) peeled and diced into small pieces
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon tapioca starch
2 pinches salt

Pastry Wash

2-3 tablespoons non-dairy milk

Cinnamon Glaze

¾ cup organic powdered cane sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3-4 teaspoons non-dairy milk of choice (like almond)

Instructions

For the dough

In the bowl of a food processor, add almond flour, tapioca starch, psyllium husk powder, and salt. Put on lid and pulse several times until flours are integrated.
Add vegan butter in small pieces to bowl of food processor. Pulse until mixture starts to come together. Add ice water a little bit at a time and continue to pulse until the dough comes together.
Squeeze the dough with your hands. It should come together and hold together. If not, add an additional teaspoon of water.
Form the dough into a flat disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least one hour.

For the Filling

While dough chills, place apples, cane sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, tapioca starch, and salt into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until apples have softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

To Assemble

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a piece of parchment paper on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Once chilled, turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with tapioca starch. *Place another piece of parchment on top, press to flatten, and roll out with rolling pin. Using a 4 ½ to 5-inch round cutter (or lid), cut out 5 rounds of pastry. **Transfer each round to prepared baking sheet as you go. You will find that the dough seems hard and tough, but softens as soon as you start to flatten and roll it.
*I find that rolling out, cutting 2 rounds, and then gathering dough together again and re-rolling before cutting 2 more works best. You don't want the dough too thin, it is too delicate otherwise.
**To best transfer each round, use a metal spatula coated in tapioca starch. Re-coat each time.
Place about 1 ½ tablespoons of apple filling just right of center on each pastry round. Making sure to coat your hands with extra tapioca starch, fold pastry over apple filling and press to seal with your fingers. Pinch or press together any seams, then press the tines of a fork along seam.
Add the non-dairy milk for the pastry wash into a small bowl. Using a pastry brush wash liberally over tops and sides of each hand pie, especially over seams and cracks (there will be cracks!).
Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and place on a wire cooling rack.
In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients. Add a little extra milk if too thick, or a little extra powdered sugar if too thin. Drizzle over hand pies. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, or in the refrigerator for 3-4.

Notes

*Arrowroot starch can be used in place of tapioca starch if needed.

Nutrition