Apple Pie Cookies

These apple pie cookies were a huge hit! I found the recipe on Pinterest and had to try it out. I am not an apple pie fan, its something to do with the texture of the apples I think. I originally wanted to make these as a treat to bring to Hadley's teacher during child orientation but we just found out the day before that school has now been postponed until September. At first I was pretty upset about the change, if I'm being honest I haven't done well with the constant changing that this pandemic has brought. I'm sure I am not alone on that! Now that I've had time to process the change, I think its a good thing. The next two weeks are going to be hot so we will just enjoy some more summer time together! Now, the reason I'm sure most of you are here for...the recipe! I will add my changes to it below in parentheses. These were super easy to make just a bit time consuming. Peeling and chopping up apples takes some time but again, super easy. I made the apple filling the night before and let it sit in the fridge in an air tight container. Then in the morning I just warmed it up in the microwave for a little bit. The smell of these baking in the morning was a great start to our day. I hope you all love them as much as we do!  

INGREDIENTS: 

1 double crust pie crust recipe (I USED PILLSBURY'S REFRIGERATED PIE CRUSTS. YOU WILL NEED 4 CRUSTS TOTAL TO USE ALL OF THE APPLE FILLING) 

4 cups apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I USED 4 LARGE GALA APPLES) 

3 tablespoons butter 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 teaspoon cinnamon (I USED A LITTLE EXTRA) 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1 egg 

 INGREDIENTS FOR THE GLAZE: 

2 cups powdered sugar 

3 tablespoons milk (I ENDED UP ADDING A SPLASH MORE MILK, I FOUND IT TO BE TOO PASTE-LIKE, SO THE EXTRA MILK HELPED.) 

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Prepare pie crust and refrigerate for 1 hour. Pull from fridge and let rest on the counter for 10 minutes so they will roll out more easily. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. 

2. While the oven heats, peel, core, and dice the apples. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When butter is melted, add the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and cook for 5-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples have softened and released their juices. 

3. Sprinkle the flour over the apples and stir thoroughly to combine. Cook for 1 minute more to thicken the juices released from the apples, then remove from heat. 

4. Roll out 1 crust on a lightly floured surface and cut it into apple shapes with an apple cookie cutter, or use a large circle cutter. Gently transfer the apple-shaped pieces of crust to a parchment lined backing sheet. You may need to combine and re-roll scraps of pastry dough. 

5. Scoop 1 tablespoon of apple pie filling into the center of each apple crust, leaving space on the edges to seal with a second crust. Roll out the second crust on a lightly floured surface and cut it into apple shapes with the same cookie cutter or large circle cutter. Carefully place each top crust on each mound of apple pie filling and press the sides down to match the sides of the bottom crust. You may need to slightly stretch the top crust to reach the edges. Use a fork to press around the edges of each hand pie for a good seal and a decorative finish. 

6. Make an egg wash by beating the egg in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon of water, then brush the tops of each hand pie with the egg wash using a pastry brush. Cut a slit in the dough on top of each hand pie. 

7. Bake at 425 degrees for 18-20 minutes, ( I BAKED THEM FOR 13-14 MINUTES, THE DOUGH WAS THIN) until the crust is lightly browned. While the hand pies are baking, prepare glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and milk in a medium bowl. 

8. When pies are done, transfer them to a wire rack and brush with the glaze using a clean pastry brush. Alternatively, you could drizzle the glaze over the pies or even dip them into the glaze. (I USED A PASTRY BRUSH.) Allow to cool and let the glaze set for at least 10-15 minutes before serving either warm, cold or room temperature.