Rhubarb Apple Hand Pies
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Rhubarb Apple Hand Pies are the perfect little dessert, easy to handle and are great as an on-the-go snack, too. The tangy flavor of rhubarb has always been a favorite of mine and paired here with the Honey Crisp Apples make for one delicious pie.
The dough for these is a soft, buttery and flakey one and with a little egg wash on top for a nice finish and crunch. The added finishing sugar crystals on top add the sweetness to counter that tart fruit filling, giving this dessert a sweet and sour taste that is one of my all time favorites.
Rhubarb looks similar to celery, but is dark red in color. The fresh, raw stalks are crisp (similar to celery) with a sharp, sour taste and are cooked and used in pies and other foods for their tart flavor.
For the pastry dough pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. With motor running, slowly drizzle 1/2 cup ice cold water through feed tube. Pulse until dough just begins to come together. Divide dough in half. Form each half into a ball; flatten into disks and wrap each disk tightly in plastic. Chill for at least 2 hours.
DO AHEAD Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out, depends upon how thick your disk is when refrigerated.
For the filling combine the chopped rhubarb, apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a sauté pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer and begins to breakdown and thicken, 5-6 minutes. The rhubarb will start to break down, try to keep it a little chunky for a more rustic filling.
Let the fruit cool completely before filling the pastry dough rounds.
DO AHEAD Rhubarb Apple filling can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone sheet like Silpat; set aside. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until very thin, about 1/16-inch thick. Using cookie cutter, cut out 16 circles. Brush edges of 8 circles with beaten egg. Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling in center of each egg-washed circle.
Top with remaining circles to form 8 pies. Using a fork, crimp 1/4-inch around edges to seal. Repeat with remaining dough, egg, and filling.
Divide pies between baking sheets; chill for 45 minutes. Score pie dough tops, forming a small X in the center of each pie. Brush tops of pies with beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.
Bake pies until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles out of Xs, 17-20 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack.
Rhubarb Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
- Dough
- 3 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tbsp unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes, frozen
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
- 1 large egg beaten
- Raw sugar
- Filling
- 3 cups rhubarb chopped
- 1 large Honey Crisp Apple diced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F
- Dough:
- Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine.
- Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. With motor running, slowly drizzle 1/2 cup ice cold water through feed tube. Pulse until dough just begins to come together.
- Divide dough in half. Form each half into a ball; flatten into disks.
- Wrap each disk tightly in plastic. Chill for at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
- Let stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out, depends upon how thick your disk is when refrigerated.
- Filling:
- Cook the rhubarb, apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a sauté pan with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer and begins to breakdown and thicken, 5-6 minutes. The rhubarb will start to break down, try to keep it a little chunky for a more rustic filling.
- Let cool completely. DO AHEAD Rhubarb Apple filling can be made 5 days ahead. Cover and chill.
- Assembly:
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until very thin, about 1/16-inch thick. Using cookie cutter, cut out 16 circles.
- Brush edges of 8 circles with beaten egg. Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling in center of each egg-washed circle. Top with remaining circles to form 8 pies. Using a fork, crimp 1/4-inch around edges to seal. Repeat with remaining dough, egg, and filling.
- Divide pies between baking sheets; chill for 45 minutes.
- Score pie dough tops, forming a small X in the center of each pie. Brush tops of pies with beaten egg and sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake pies until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles out of Xs, 17-20 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Hi Kevin, looks so perfect, pinning this recipe to my apple desserts board, thank you for sharing this one!
Thank you Sara, rhubarb is sensational and I just love it paired with apple.
These hand pies look AMAZING! They look like little pockets of perfection and I absolutely love rhubarb with apple so it got my attention.
Thanks Amanda! The dough is surprisingly easy and flakey good.