Brandy Apple Hand Pies

Lucious boozy Brandy Apple Hand Pies with cornmeal crust. A fabulous fall treat!

Fall is my favorite season by far.

Vibrant fiery colors blanketing the slopes, crisp air, jackets… I love jackets.

I also love all the fall activities… Hay rides, apple picking, corn mazes.

Ever been through a corn maze? Oh, you should! Although I must say, I had a little toughening up to do the first time we tried it.

You see, I have this irrational fear of corn fields. It’s silly, I know. Maybe it stems from watching too many scary corn field movies at junior-high slumber parties.

It’s also the noise they make. I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about, if you’ve ever walked down a country road with corn fields on either side.

Towering over you.

Impenetrable.

Crackling in the wind.

Murmuring, rustling… Is someone moving through them, watching? You’ll never know. The haunting sound covers a multitude of sins.

They creep me out to say the least!

However, when wide well-planned walkways have been cut through, and I have a map, and a hand to hold, I can enjoy them… In the daylight.

In the Asheville area, the Eliada Corn Maze is the best we’ve visited. It is massive, with areas sectioned off for children and beginners. There are also elaborate mazes that may take over an hour to get through. The kids, who have no irrational fear of the stalks, look forward to the corn maze every year.

When you return home from the corn maze, a fresh fall treat is well deserved. Try these Brandy Apple Hand Pies with CORNmeal Crust as your reward!

These little Brandy Apple Hand Pies are as close to perfect as any pie I’ve ever made.

The cornmeal crust has a hearty flavor, but delicate texture. The Brandy syrup saturates the apples and wafts through the house with an intoxicating perfume. If only you could bottle the aroma!

Brandy Apple Hand Pies would be a great dessert for fall parites, or even your Halloween party this year. Just use a spooky cookie cutter for the tops!

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Brandy Apple Hand Pies

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Brandy Apple Hand Pies made with crispy cornmeal crust! These boozy mini apple pies are so enticing you will make them again and again!

Servings: 14 pies

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

For the Cornmeal Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teapoons salt
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 3-5 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling:

• 3-4 large tart green apples, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 5 teaspoons flour
• 2 tablespoons Brandy liquor
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

• For the crust: Add the flour, cornmeal, powdered sugar, and salt to the food processor. Pulse a couple times. Then cut the shortening into cubes and pulse it into the dry mixture. Add 3 tablespoons of ice cold water and pulse until the dough comes together. Add a little more water if needed.
• Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and divide it into a large and small piece, about an 80/20 split. Shape the dough into two disks, then wrap both pieces and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and dice the apples.
• For the filling: In a small sauce pan, add the butter and remaining six ingredients over medium heat. Stir and bring to a simmer. Then pour the syrup over the apples and toss.
• Take the larger disk of dough out of the fridge. Roll it out on a well-floured work surface to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Using a drinking glass with a 3 ½ -4 inch wide rim, cut out dough circles. Press the dough circles into muffin tins. If you gather the extra pieces and re-roll, you should be able to get 14-16 circles.
• Fill each crust with an equal portion of apple mixture. Roll out the smaller piece of dough. Using a 2-3 inch decorative cookie cutter, cut out tops for each pie. Place each top on the pies and brush them with the remaining syrup from the apple bowl.
• Bake the mini pies for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, and bake another 15 minutes. If the tops are already golden after the first 15 minutes, lay a sheet of foil over them. Allow the pies to cool completely before trying to remove them from the muffin tins.

Notes

NOTES: Silicone muffin pans make it extremely easy to extract the pies. If using metal muffin tins, run a small sharp knife around ONE rim at a time, and gently dump one pie out into your hand, before moving on to the next.

If you would like to make this as a whole 9 inch pie, make the crust as directed and split the dough into equal pieces. Then DOUBLE the amount of apples and syrup mixture. Bake the pie for 30 minutes at 425, then 30 minutes at 350.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pie, Calories: 316kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 3mg, Potassium: 91mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Vitamin C: 1.8mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 1.1mg

Course: Dessert, Holiday

Cuisine: American

Author: Sommer Collier

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