Apple Cinnamon Pocket Pies

Apple Cinnamon Pocket Pies
In partnership with Yes! Apples Ambassador, Josh Lehenbauer (@joshisbaking).

These apple cinnamon pocket pies are pure bliss—a sweet and juicy apple filling encased between two sheets of flaky, buttery pastry, then finished off with crunchy sugar and a sweet cinnamon glaze.

Best For: Dessert
Prep Time: 2 hours (includes chill time)
Bake Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 6 pocket pies

 

Ingredients

Dough

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup powdered sugar
    • Pinch of salt
    • 2 sticks of cold, unsalted butter
    • 3 large eggs

Filling

    • 2 EverCrisp® or Honeycrisp apples, grated
    • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
    • 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
    • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
    • 2 Tbsp water
    • 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Glaze & Topping

    • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted (plus more as needed)
    • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
    • 2 Tbsp whole milk
    • Optional: Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Directions

Prep
    1. Cut 2 sticks of unsalted butter into small 1 in. x 1 in. cubes. Place on a small plate and refrigerate until ready to use. You'll want the butter as cold as possible throughout all stages of the process.

Dough

    1. Sift flour and powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add a pinch of salt and mix on low speed to combine, about 15 seconds.
    2. Remove bowl from the stand mixer. Add cubed butter to the bowl, tossing it around to coat with flour. Working quickly, flatten each piece of butter by squishing between two fingers (creating little “shingles” of butter).
    3. Return bowl back onto the stand mixer. Add 2 eggs and mix on medium-low speed until just combined (about 30 seconds, when no streaks of egg yolk are left; you still want to see larger chunks of butter).
    4. Gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, bringing it together with your hands to form a large disc (the dough should be crumbly, but hold together). Do not knead the dough yet—wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Filling

    1. Add grated apples, 2 Tbsp butter, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon to a medium saucepan.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Add the slurry to the apples and heat over medium until butter and sugar dissolve, then simmer for an additional 5 minutes until thick. Stir every minute or so to make sure nothing burns
    3. Pour filling into a heat-safe bowl and allow to cool. The mixture will continue to thicken.

Assembly

    1. Cut the dough in half, leaving one half wrapped tightly in the fridge while you work with the other. Prep a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
    2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until ~½ in. to ¼ in. thick. When rolling, sprinkle flour on top of dough to avoid sticking.
    3. Using a cookie cutter or knife/pastry cutter, cut out six 4 in. × 5 in. rectangles and place them on a prepared cookie sheet. Repeat this rolling/cutting process with the other half of the dough. Once you have 12 rectangles, chill the tray in the fridge for 15 minutes to keep the butter cold.
    4. Lightly whisk 1 egg yolk in a small bowl for the egg wash. Remove dough from the fridge. On half of the rectangles, apply a small amount of egg wash around the border.
      Scoop 2 Tbsp of apple filling into the center of each. Cover prepared rectangles with remaining dough, gently pressing the border with a fork to seal.
    5. Return pocket pies to the fridge for 15 minutes.

Bake

    1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
    2. Remove pocket pies from the fridge. Poke 3 rows of holes on top of each pocket pie so steam can escape during the bake.
    3. Generously brush the tops and borders with the egg wash. Optional: sprinkle Demerara sugar on top for extra crunch.
    4. Bake at 375° F for 20-25 minutes or until desired browning.
    5. Remove from the oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a separate cooling rack.
    6. Once the pocket pies have cooled completely, whisk together the glaze ingredients in a medium-sized bowl until fully smooth. Drizzle or spoon the glaze over each pocket pie and serve!

 

Notes

    • Baked pocket pies keep for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
    • You can store the dough, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 days in the fridge and up to 1 month in the freezer.
    • Filling: Try not to over-simmer the filling! With the added cornstarch, the filling will thicken as it cools. It's better to remove from the heat too early. Even if the filling seems too thick while assembling the pocket pie, it'll loosen up while baking.
    • Glaze: For a thicker glaze, use more powdered sugar. For a thinner glaze, add more milk.
    • Butter: This recipe asks you to put the dough in the fridge for several 15-minute intervals to keep the butter cold throughout the process. The colder the butter is going into the bake, the flakier your pastry will be! The cold butter releases steam during the bake which puffs up and creates those flaky layers.

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