Delightful Gluten Free Apple Hand Pies

It’s always hard to know where to start. I want to make a good impression. I want you to like me, like my blog, like my recipes. So to bribe you into coming back, I’d like to offer you some pies. They aren’t just any pies…they’re apple hand pies, or better known around these parts as breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. Ahem.
Recipe card & instructions updated 3/3/22.
Jump to Recipe
Just before my diagnoses, I’d purchased this nifty little gadget that allows you to press pie dough into adorable little toaster pastries. Though I couldn’t get the silly thing to work properly (I’m sure because I didn’t bother to read the directions), it did work well enough to cut the shapes in the dough, at least. Gluten free dough, that is. My first attempt at gluten free pastry was a smashing success, in part due to the hard work of others who went on this journey before me, like Karen Morgan, of Blackbird Bakery. I picked her book up at Anthropologie–I could live in that store, couldn’t you? Her pie crust recipe is a total win, and this one is adapted from hers. It’s light and flaky, rolls out beautifully and tastes like the homemade glutenous crusts from days of yore. It is, in a word, perfect and will work for just about any pie you aspire to bake.



The trials and tribulations of gluten free baking
Things I’m learning to love about gluten free baking?
- less risk of overmixing (can’t overwork the gluten now, can we?)
- it’s a hoot to bake something and have everyone devour it without realizing it’s gluten free
- there is an enormous, supportive community of gluten free geniuses out there who are willing and able to answer any question I might have
- it tastes darn good (most of the time)
Things I’m not so crazy about?
- the flours can be heavy, gritty and they love moisture so it’s hard to bake things all the way through sometimes
- my (already too small) pantry has now been taken over with about 20 different kinds of (highly perishable and highly expensive) flours
- for all my successes, I’ve had a ton of failures…there is definitely a learning curve here
- bread…I miss it and am still trying to perfect a recipe
My gluten friendly readers can make this crust recipe. But for the rest of us, here goes the gluten-free version…They take awhile to prepare, but when you bite into these darling apple hand pies, you know your effort was well worth it.
Can’t get enough of delicious gluten free desserts? Here are some more great recipes you can try:
- Meyer Lemon Icebox Pie with Graham & Hazelnut Crumb Crust
- Boozy Cheesecake Cranberry Tartlets
- A Stunning Gluten Free Lemon Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and star rating below (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) and post a picture and tag us on Instagram using the hashtags #agirldefloured #deflouredrecipes! Thank you!

Apple Hand Pies
Equipment
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- ¾ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour plus more for dusting
- ¼ cup sorghum flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 cup 2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, diced
- 3 large eggs
FOR THE FILLING:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large granny smith apples peeled and cut into a large dice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all the dry ingredients on low speed. Slowly add the butter and beat until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on high speed until the mixture forms one solid lump.
- Turn out onto a work surface, dusted with rice flour and knead 3 times. Divide in half, pat each half into a disk, and wrap well with plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Make the filling. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add apples and saute for three minutes or until they begin to soften slightly.
- Stir in cinnamon and brown sugar and cook 2 minutes more, until brown sugar has melted. Remove from heat an let cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and roll one portion out to the thickness of about ⅛ of an inch on a surface that has been lightly dusted with sweet rice flour.
- Using a toaster pastry shaped cookie cutter (or round 4½ inch diameter biscuit cutter), cut as many bottoms as possible, gathering and re-rolling out the dough a few times.
- Place the pie bottoms on two cookie sheets and set aside. Repeat with remaining dough so you have the same number of bottoms and tops.
- Place 1 tablespoon of pie filling on each pie bottom. Make an egg wash using 1 yolk and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush egg-wash around the edges of each pie using a pastry brush.
- Place the top crust on each pie and use the tines of a fork to seal edges all around each pie. Sprinkle pies with granulated sugar, if desired.
- Bake pies for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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It looks amazing! Can’t wait for more!
So glad you started your blog Allison! I think we have both started this journey at the same time. This has already been a unique holiday season. Haven’t quite leaned how to survive holiday parties yet when I am not home. I was looking for a good pie crust recipe! Thank you for sharing. I will be checking in frequently.
Congratulations on a beautiful new blog! I’m looking forward to hearing your tips and recipes.
Do you ever use buckwheat flour? I’d love to share my recipe for French crêpes, if you’re interested in trying it out! 🙂
Ann, I would LOVE that recipe. 🙂
Looks delish and sounds fun! Can’t wait to give it a try:)
These were super delicious. I will definitely be making them again 🙂
This recipe sounds not only easy, but delicious!! Do you think it would also work as a “traditional” apple pie- with a bottom and top crust?
Yes, Alicia, the dough recipe is adapted from a regular pie crust, so it should work fine in a regular pie pan. Instead of pre-cooking the apples, though, I’d just toss them with the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle them with a bit of cornstarch or other gluten-free flour. Place them in the crust, and dot them with butter, then top with the top crust. You will need at least 6 apples. I’d triple the amount of cinnamon, but not the sugar. Clear as mud? lol!
Have you tried making these with your master flour blend at all? I always keep it in my pantry so measuring out a bit of it instead of 4 or 5 separate things is always a plus in recipes!!
Thanks!
I do make pie crust with my flour blend…it works just fine. 🙂
Do I just use one of your other pie crust recipes that use the flour blend and then cut the rectangles instead? Thanks!!
Yes, I would recommend using the crust from my pumpkin pie recipe.