Making Gluten-Free Spiced Apple Hand Pies with Siobhan Muir

Do you remember back in the day when McDonald's restaurants used to have those small hand pies that when heated had the internal temperature of a small sun? Well, now you can make them yourself! LOL The original recipe is from seriouseats.com and they are very serious, but I changed it a little to make things easier on cooks everywhere. INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup fresh apple cider 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp cornstarch 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground allspice 1/8 tsp salt 2 Tbsp butter 2 apples of one kind (I prefer Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, Opal, Hunnyz , and Ambrosia) and 2 apples of another kind, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/2 in (1.5 cm) pieces. 1 recipe of flaky pie crust (I made it ahead of time) 1 large egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp of water and pinch of salt 1 Tbsp turbinado (big crystal) sugar DIRECTIONS In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and salt until well mixed. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together apple cider, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Add the spices and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. In a 12 in (30 cm) skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add apples and stir until coated. Cook, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until softened and beginning to caramelize, about 12 to 15 minutes. If the apples don't soften, add 2 tsp water and cover with a lid, steaming the apples for about 4 minutes. Pour cider mixture over the apples and stir until well coated. Cook, stirring and scraping bottom of the pan until bubbling and thickened, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Transfer apples to a shallow rimmed dish or bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you've been keeping your pie crust dough in the fridge, bring it out and let stand until slightly softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Lightly flour your work surface if needed (I prefer to use the plastic wrap method of rolling out pie crust) and roll out one dough disk to a 12 in (30 cm) circle, abut 1/8 in (3 mm) thick. Use a 4 in (10 cm) circle cutter, overturned bowl or round container and a pairing knife, to cut about 6 round from the dough. Transfer rounds to parchment-lined baking sheet. Re-roll out scraps of dough to reuse for more rounds. Repeat rolling and cutting with the second disk of pie crust dough for 16 dough rounds total (rounds can overlap on the baking sheet). Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate until filling has fully cooled. When ready to assemble the hand pies, arrange half of the dough rounds on a lightly floured or parchment paper covered surface. I did it on the baking sheet. Using a large soup spoon, scoop a scant 1/4 cup of cooled filling to the center of the rounds, leaving a clear 1/2 in (1.5 cm) border around the edges. Top the pies with the remaining rounds, using your hands to gently bend and cup them around the filling. (If the dough is stiff and cracks, let stand for a few minutes to warm and soften before proceeding. If dough rounds become too soft, refrigerate until firm again). With this gluten free dough, wet both top and bottom rounds with a little water, add filling, and seal together at the edges. The water makes the dough a little more elastic and also is great as a natural glue. Use your fingers to press top and bottom dough edges together to seal, then crimp with a fork. Transfer the assembled pies to a parchment lined baking sheet and adjust your oven rack to the lower middle position. Preheat your oven to 400 F (204 C). Brush pies with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake until hand pies are golden brown, 22 to 30 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and let the pies cool on the sheet for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 to 8 pies.