Get out your air fryer to make these tasty air fryer hand pies with apple pie filling. The individual fruit pies are topped with coarse sugar and air-fried until crisp, flaky, and golden brown. You might want to make a double batch because they will disappear quickly from your holiday table!
I love air fryer apple hand pies, but feel free to fill the pie dough with your favorite pie filling. You can use homemade or canned pie filling; both options taste fantastic! In fact, to save some prep time, feel free to use both store-bought pie crust and pie filling. For more air fryer dessert recipes, try my air fryer donuts, air fryer brownies, or air fryer apple fritters.
Ingredients
Pie crust — you can use store-bought or homemade pie crust. I prefer the flakiness from a homemade crust, and you can make it up to 3 days in advance to save time.
Pie filling — both canned apple pie filling and my homemade apple pie filling recipe will work well.
Egg — mix the egg with water to make an egg wash. This creates a surface for the sugar to sticky to and helps them turn perfectly golden brown.
Coarse sugar — coarse sugar adds sparkle and crunch to the top of each pie.
How To Make Air Fryer Hand Pies
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll two homemade pie crusts to be ⅛-inch thick using a rolling pin. If using store-bought pie dough, simply unroll the crusts from the package.
2. Use a 4½- to 5-inch-diameter round cutter to cut 4 circles from each crust. You will end up with 8 dough circles in total.
3. Spoon a few slices of apple and about 1½ tablespoons of pie filling juice on one-half of each pie dough circle. Leave a ½-inch border. Set aside for the moment.
4. Make the egg wash by whisking together the egg with a little water.
5. Brush the edges of each pie dough circle with the egg wash to create a little stickiness.
6. Fold the empty half of each circle over the pie filling to create 8 half circles. Crimp the edges with the tines of a fork.
7. Brush the top of each hand pie with the egg wash.
8. Cut three small slits in the top of each hand pie to create steam vents.
9. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
10. Working in batches, place 2 to 4 pies in the air fryer basket (depending on the size of your air fryer). Air fry at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the air fryer apple hand pies on a wire rack. Serve them warm.
Recipe Variations
- Use other fruit filling: Use cherry, blueberry, peach, strawberry or any fruit pie filling you like for this recipe. Homemade or canned pie fillings both work great! You can also use a thick fruit jam or preserves.
- Coat them with a glaze: Instead of topping with coarse sugar, you can glaze these air fryer hand pies with a powdered sugar glaze after baking. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup (120g) of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons water and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth. (The mixture should be very thin.) Once the baked hand pies have cooled slightly but are still warm, brush the glaze over the top. Let the pies cool completely to room temperature for the glaze to harden.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar: Mix equal amounts of cinnamon and granulated sugar together and sprinkle it over the egg-washed hand pies before air frying for a deliciously crisp cinnamon sugar top. Alternatively, roll the hot air-fried hand pies in cinnamon sugar.
Can I Bake These In The Oven?
Yes, you can bake these hand pies in the oven instead of the air fryer. Place the assembled hand pies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack so they can cool.
Storage And Reheating Instructions
- Storing Baked Hand Pies: Store leftover air fryer apple hand pies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Storing Unbaked Hand Pies: Store them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet tightly wrapped or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Or, freeze them in a freezer container for up to 3 months.
- How to reheat: The quickest way to reheat these hand pies is in the air fryer. Reheat them at 300°F for a few minutes until warmed through. Using the air fryer to reheat them will also rejuvenate the pies and make them crispy again!
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Use pie dough scraps: You can press together any pie dough trimmings and re-roll them once if you like. Your yield will be 9 to 10 hand pies instead of 8.
- Don’t overfill the pie crust circles: The filling will leak through if there is too much.
- Don’t forget the steam vents: Those 3 slits in the top of each hand pie might seem unimportant, but they allow steam to escape from the pies to prevent them from popping open. Be sure to egg wash them before cutting the slits, as the egg can actually seal the slits during baking.
- Cooking time: The first batch of air fryer hand pies may take up to 12 minutes to bake through. Subsequent batches tend to take less time (10 to 11 minutes) as the air fryer will be nice and hot at that point. If your air fryer model recommends preheating first, be sure to do that before you start cooking any hand pies.
- Serving suggestions: While these hand-held fruit pies are delicious as-is, you can serve them with rich caramel sauce for dipping or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Double the recipe: If you’re hosting a larger crowd, feel free to double the recipe to suit your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can assemble air fryer hand pies in advance. To make them just a day or two in advance, simply assemble the pies (skip the egg wash and coarse sugar topping for now) and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. Just before air frying, brush the pies with egg wash and sprinkle the sugar.
You can also assemble the hand pies and freeze them for up to 3 months. After crimping the edges, place them on a parchment-lined tray and freeze until solid. Then, store them in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Air fry from frozen, adding about 5 minutes to the bake time.
Yes, you can use canned apple filling. You won’t need to change the recipe at all, so just follow it as written.
Use the Air Fry setting on your air fryer. You could also use the Bake setting, but I tested this recipe using the Air Fry setting so the cooking time may be slightly different on a different setting.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this air fryer hand pies recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Air Fryer Hand Pies Recipe
Equipment
- Air fryer
- 4½ to 5-inch round cutter
Ingredients
- 1 (14.1-ounce/399g) package refrigerated pie crust or homemade
- 1½ cups apple pie filling (400g), from 1 (21-ounce/595g) can or homemade
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Unroll the pie crusts from the package (or roll 2 homemade pie crusts to be ⅛-inch thick.)
- Use a 4½ to 5-inch-diameter round cutter to cut 4 circles from each of the crusts (8 total).
- Place 4 to 5 slices of apple and some of the juices from the pie filling (about 1½ tablespoons) on one-half of each pie dough circle, leaving a ½-inch border.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water.
- Brush the edges of each circle with the egg wash. Fold the empty halves of the dough over the pie filling to create 8 half circles. Crimp the edges with a fork, if you like. Brush the outside of each with the egg wash.
- With a paring knife, cut 3, ½-inch slits in the top of each hand pie. Sprinkle all over with the coarse sugar.
- Place 2 to 4 pies in the basket of an air fryer (depending on the size of your air fryer). Air fry at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- Repeat with the remaining hand pies. Serve them warm.
Notes
- Use pie dough scraps: You can press together any pie dough trimmings and re-roll them once if you like. Your yield will be 9 to 10 hand pies instead of 8.
- Don’t overfill the pie crust circles: The filling will leak through if there is too much.
- Don’t forget the steam vents: Those 3 slits in the top of each hand pie might seem unimportant, but they allow steam to escape from the pies to prevent them from popping open. Be sure to egg wash them before cutting the slits, as the egg can actually seal the slits during baking.
- Cooking time: The first batch of air fryer hand pies may take up to 12 minutes to bake through. Subsequent batches tend to take less time (10 to 11 minutes) as the air fryer will be nice and hot at that point. If your air fryer model recommends preheating first, be sure to do that before you start cooking any hand pies.
- Serving suggestions: While these hand-held fruit pies are delicious as-is, you can serve them with rich caramel sauce for dipping or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Double the recipe: If you’re hosting a larger crowd, feel free to double the recipe to suit your needs.
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