Easy Vegan Hand Pies (Apple)

There is nothing I love more than a quick dessert that comes together quickly, and that I can bring with me anywhere I go. Some of my other quick dessert recipes are my peanut butter bliss balls, my vegan apple fritters and my maple donuts.

Check out more of my simple desserts for the next time you are craving something sweet.

• Quick and easy! Making homemade vegan apple hand pies is just as convenient as driving to your bakery. All you need is 40 minutes to have these fresh individual pies ready for family and friends.
• Gluten Free Option. Although this recipe calls for a grocery store vegan pie crust, you can simply swap it for a gluten free version. Wholly Wholesome has a gluten free line that is also vegan friendly.
• No Mess. These mini pies require no cutlery or plates for eating, which means no clean up! Simply grab a hand pie and go.

• frozen pie shells- While you can make the pie crust yourself, I like using a store bought pie shell. This allows for these pies to come together quickly, with less fuss and less mess. I use pie crust from Wholly Wholesome. You can find a frozen pie crust at your local grocery store. But be careful - not all pie crusts are vegan. You can find a full list of vegan pie crusts in this PETA article.
• apples. My favorite apples to use when making homemade vegan apple fritters is gala apples. They are soft enough to cook quickly and create the perfect textured filling. If you can't find gala apples, I also recommend using fuji apples. Avoid granny smith or red delicious apples - they are too hard in texture and can be on the tarter side.
• vegan butter. Any vegan butter will work here, but vegan butter that comes in a block is best. My favorite to use is Miyoko's Creamery. Make sure to warm your butter to room temperature before starting the recipe or your cookie dough will be hard to cream together.
• pecans. Pecans allow for a nice texture when mixed with the soft apples. Crushed pecans or pecan chips work best, but any size will do. You can also substitute the pecans with walnuts or omit entirely if you are allergic to nuts.
• maple syrup. A versatile sweetener to help sweeten up your pies. If necessary, you can substitute another liquid sweetener of choice, like agave nectar. Use your leftover maple syrup to make my Just Egg French Toast, or Maple Pecan Vegan Donuts.
• sugar in the raw. This recipe use sugar in the raw. You may use granulated sugar in place of it or a sugar free alternative, such as monk fruit. If you do use granulated sugar, to ensure your pies are vegan, make sure to use organic sugar. Conventional sugars can be bleached with non-vegetarian ingredients

1. Defrost the pie crust. Allow the pie crust to defrost by placing in the refrigerator overnight or on your countertop for 1-2 hours. If you are in a rush, you can defrost it in the microwave.
2. Peel the apples. In order to make the smoothest textured apple fritters, you want to completely peel your gala apples before dicing them into very small, chocolate chip sized pieces. You can do this easiest with a y-shaped peeler or if necessary, a simple chef's nice will work as well.
3. Heat the vegan butter in a skillet - Using a skillet, heat the vegan butter on medium low heat.
4. Add apples into melted butter. Once the vegan butter is totally melted, add in the bite size apples chunks and mix them until they are coated in the butter. Sauté the apples in the butter until soft.
5. Prepare your pie crust. While your apples are sautéing, add flour to a clean surface. Remove your defrosted pie crust from the container and lay it flat on the floured surface. If the pie crust is not laying flat for any reason, lightly roll it with a floured rolling pin.
6. Cut the pie crust. Once the pie crust is laid flat, using a 2 ½ inch pie cutter, or the top of a mug, cut the crust into 8 circles. You may need to roll the dough into a ball and re-roll it out in order to get a full 8 circles.
7. Add sugar, maple syrup + pecans. Once the apples have softened, add in the sugar, maple syrup and pecan. Mix well until the apples are coated and sauté for another 2-3 minutes, allow the sugars to infuse the pecans and apples.
8. Add mixture into pie crusts. Fill 4 of the 8 mini pie crusts with approximately 2 ½ tbsp of the apple mixture. Add it into the center of the crust. Be careful not to overfill the pie crusts.
9. Add the top pie crust. Using the additional melted butter, coat the edge of the pie crust that you just filled and top it with another mini pie crust. Mesh together the edges, using a fork to seal it completely. Add a small slice to the top of the pie crust to allow for venting. Then coat the top with melted butter to allow for it to brown.
10. Bake the apple hand pies. Add the raw pies onto a greased baking sheet and bake until they are golden brown on top.

I used Wholly Wholesome, which is an organic pie crust. You can also use Keebler’s no-bake graham cracker crusts or Marie Callender’s.

Leave approximately ¼ inch circumference around the edge of the hand pie. Then, add melted vegan butter to the edge. Place the non filled pie shell on top of the filled pie sell. Using a fork, push the edge of the top pie crust into the bottom, causing it to seal.

A turnover usually uses puff pastry, whereas a hand pie will use pie crust. Turnovers are shaped like a calzone, whereas hand pies are more "rustic" in flavor and circular.

A hand pie is a smaller version of a pie! Much like a pie, it can be savory or sweet. Hand pies are usually hand sized.

• Defrost your pie crust . Although this recipe only takes 40 minutes, factor in defrosting time.
• Do not overstuff the pies. It may be tempting to add more filling into the hand pies, but do not do it! The vegan hand pies can explode or the filling can ooze out.
• Reheating. The best way to reheat these vegan apple hand pies is to do so gently and slowly in a microwave. Wrap the hand pie in a moist paper towel and heat for 30 seconds on medium heat. Continue until heated to your desired temperature.
• Do not overbake. Overbaking will cause the pies to become dry, and hard.

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