Vegan Apple Hand Pies

I love apple season!  There are so many delicious things that you can make with them, like apple pie!  There is nothing like a home made apple pie made with local apple, served warm with ice cream!  The recipe I am sharing with you today is for apple hand pies, which are perfect for entertaining, or bringing along in lunches because you get your own little pie!  These happen to be vegan, I use coconut oil instead of the usual butter, and it makes for a really delicious buttery tasting crust!  I use maple sugar in them as well, which gives them a lovely sweet maple flavor.  These are the perfect thing to bake on the weekend when the weather is cool and you have a lot of apples on hand!

Author: Amy Lyons O’Neil

Amy has worked for Fresh and Natural Foods since 2006 contributing to the variety of healthful foods we offer. She graduated with a degree in studio art from Bethel University in 2007, but in her senior year of college, found that her passion was with the art of food. She later used her photography and culinary skills to create a vegan food and recipe blog, Fragrant Vanilla Cake. She has also written 3 cookbooks. She specializes in vegan and vegetarian recipes. Local, fresh and organic food has always been her focus in whatever she creates.

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Servings: 6 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Ready in: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 2 1/2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour (can be found in our bulk section)
• 1/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup Spectrum coconut oil in its solid state
• 6-7 Tbsp filtered water (or as needed)
• Filling:
• 6 cups organic apples, cut into small 1 inch pieces
• 1/3 cup Shady Maple Farms maple sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• pinch sea salt

Instructions

1. To make filling, heat the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat, and cook them until they are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add sprinkle the cornstarch over it, and cook until thickened.  Remove from heat, and chill in the refrigerator until it is room temperature or cooler.
2. To make the crust, in a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, sea salt, and spices. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until it is in pea sized pieces. Mix in just enough water to create a smooth dough that holds together but isn’t too sticky. Add more water if needed, and knead slightly until a smooth dough is created.
3. Divide the dough evenly into 12 balls, and roll them out into circles 1/8 inch thick.  Chill for a few minutes if too soft before assembling.  You want the dough a little pliable, but not so warm that it will break and not so cool that it won’t bend.
4. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
5. To assemble, spoon the apples over half of the dough (leaving a boarder so you can attach the dough at the sides). Cover with the remaining pieces of dough (I used a spatula to carefully move them), pressing the edges and fluting or crimping the edges with your hands or a fork.
6. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until the crusts are starting to brown lightly. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack until warm.
7. Enjoy!