They say you can’t please 100% of the people 100% of the time. That’s so true, but what if you could please 99% of the people at your holiday dessert table?
Personal hand pies are an easy way to please a crowd of various pie lovers. They are easy and fun to make and preserve well in the freezer for an easy snack later.
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Yes indeedy, you heard that right. Your holiday buffet table can include pies to satisfy Grandpa, Junior, niece Suzi-Q and Aunt Betty without baking (or buying) lots of 9-inch pies. I have found a way to avoid the mess of partially eaten whole pies and still please the crowd. Personal hand pies!
Leftovers (little whole pies) can be frozen easily. In fact, use this method to make a batch (or three) of hand pies and freeze for when you or someone in the home wants a small bite of something to go with morning coffee or a before-bed treat. Pull it out of the freezer, warm it up (or not), and enjoy!
Welcome to my kitchen, Diligent Homemaker. I am so happy to have you here today. Joining us to discuss personal hand pies is my friend, Mary, from the popular YouTube channel and website, Mary’s Nest. I am also grateful to have my friends at Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio, to join me today. They are the kind sponsor of my tutorial Hand Pies for the Holidays.
Mary will be sharing a savory idea for personal hand pies. Find her video tutorial for Northern Italian Spinach Ricotta Pie Recipe is available on Mary’s Nest YouTube channel.
Best equipment for making personal pies
Muffin tins are essential for personal hand pie making. The best pans are the ones that are easy to use, easy to clean and, in my opinion, made in the USA. I find the USA Pans are the winner in my kitchen. They turn out perfect loaf bread, quick breads, rolls, muffins and your holiday personal pies. I pick mine up at Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio. If you aren’t near this destination-store, be sure to order online using my 15% discount code for Diligent Homemakers: WAYS15.
Parchment. If you know, you know! Parchment is such a special tool for homemakers. It makes clean-up easy, it may be used in the oven, and quite often, I reuse mine if it hasn’t burned or become brittle.
Those are the primary items needed if you are choosing to save time and go the simpler route. You may choose to save money and use more time. That’s okay, too! The Diligent Homemaker does the best she can with her resources.
Simplicity to some cooks means making all things homemade. And, that is a-ok!
Peeling, coring and slicing apples by hand is fine in dandy if you’d like to do so. But, as much as I like to do things by hand, the old-fashioned way, I usually just grab my amazing apple peeler, corer, slicer which does the job faster than you can say apple-peeler-corer-slicer twelve times real fast!
This attractive, made in Ohio, USA, bowl is absolutely wonderful for mixing pie filling. I am in love with the generously wide bottom of the bowl. It is offers more “floor space” for ease of combining ingredients. I enjoy browsing the line of made in Ohio pottery at Lehman’s store. Mine is the 12-inch.
Ingredients for Personal Hand Pies
Personal pies can be made using homemade pie dough or rolled dough which may be purchased from the refrigerated section of the grocer’s store.
One can of apple pie filling purchased from the store will be enough for one dozen personal hand pies. Use any pie filling flavor that you like, or mix and match. Note about mixing and matching: this refers to using canned pie filling. When making other types of pies, such as fudge or pumpkin, follow the temperature guidelines for those pies and shorten the cooking time until the pie is set and the crust is delightfully brown. I wouldn’t recommend making different types of pies (custard, fruit, etc.) in the same muffin tin. Bake like pies together.
To create homemade apple pies from scratch, follow the recipe for my Pie Dough Using Egg for a flaky and delicious crust.That recipe is also one of 200 family favorite supper recipes in my cookbook, Supper’s Ready, Let’s Eat. Refer to my classic apple pie filling or the recipe below.
Happy Hosting or Snacking! And, always remember to count your blessings,
❤️mrskatie
Personal Hand Pies, Easy Apple Pie
Equipment
- 1 muffin tin I prefer the USA PAN brand as it is stick-free and made in USA.
- parchment paper
Ingredients
If the goal is time-saving, convenience, you'll only need two items...
- 2 rolls refrigerator pie crust
- 1 can apple pie filling (other fillings, such as cherry, may be used)
If the goal is money-saving, ingredient-control, you will need a few more items...
- 1 double crust homemade pie dough
- 6-7 cups peeled, cored, sliced (about 2½ pounds)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
This method involves less effort for the Diligent Homemaker, saving time...
- Cut parchment into strips about 1 inch by 6 inches.
- Gently unroll refrigerated pie dough onto cutting board. Using a large mouth canning jar ring, cut seven circles out of one pie dough. Cut five circles out of the second pie dough. The cuts should be almost touching to get the most out of the dough as possible, with some remaining.
- Place two parchment strips in each muffin tin section in a T format. (Photo shows one strip in each hole. That works, too.)
- Press one pie dough circle into each muffin hole, pushing down the parchment in the process. The parchment pieces will serve as handles for removal after baking.
- Fill with canned apple pie filling, or any other commercially prepared pie filling. One can will fill 12 personal pie shells.
- Top with remaining pieces of dough in a rustic manner. Another option is to use the second pie dough to cut circles using a narrow mouth canning ring. This size fits perfectly atop the little pies.
- If using the small, round pie dough toppers, be sure to slit with a knife to ensure steam escapes.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar or apple pie seasoning.
- Bake at 375℉ for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is delightfully browned and visible filling is bubbly.
This method involves a bit more time and effort for the Diligent Homemaker but can be money-saving and healthier...
- The procedure is the same for cutting parchment strips and for cutting pie circles even if using homemade pie dough.
- Follow directions above for filling muffin holes with parchment and pie dough circles.
- For the pie filling, combine all dry ingredients--sugar, flour, spices, salt. Mix well.
- Add dry ingredients to prepared apples. (I use an apple peeler, cores, slicer to make the job go super-quickly.) Stir well. This is the pie filling that fits a 9-inch pie dough.
- Fill with homemade apple pie filling and dot with butter. Then, top according to the directions for refrigerated pie dough.
- Bake at 375℉ for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is delightfully browned and visible filling is bubbly.
Serving and Storing
- Personal hand pies are intended to serve one person per pie. Leftovers are treated the same way one would store whole pies. Most are fine on the counter for a day or maybe two. After that, refrigeration might be best. If planning to freeze for later, allow pies to cool completely, then wrap air-tight and put in labeled bag or container to enjoy later.
Video
Notes
Copyright © 2023 Heritage Ways, LLC, All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2023 Heritage Ways, LLC, All Rights Reserved
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