Fruit Hand Pies
Fried pies! What a treat from childhood! Better yet, you can make them fresher and a little less calorie-dense with an air fryer. You can also halve the recipe, saving back the dough and pie filling in the fridge for a fresh batch on another day (although they can be reheated, as you’ll see).
Servings Prep Time
6Servings 15Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
14Minutes 5Minutes (cooling time)
Servings Prep Time
6Servings 15Minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
14Minutes 5Minutes (cooling time)
Ingredients
  • One 14.1-ounce box of two 9-inch ready-to-bake pie crustsat room temperature
  • 1 1/2cups canned fruit pie fillingsuch as apple, blueberry, or peach (do not use pumpkin pie filling)
  • Nonstick spray
  • 2tbsp granulated white sugar
Instructions
  1. Unroll one of the pie crusts and cut it into two 6-inch rounds, using a 6-inch bowl as your guide. Pick these up and set them aside. Gather the dough scraps together, roll out to a similar thickness as the original crust, and cut out a 6-inch round. Repeat with the other pie crust to create six 6-inch rounds.
  2. Lay the rounds along your work surface. Spoon 1/4 cup of the canned pie filling on one half of each round and spread the filling out to cover half of the round, leaving a 1/2-inch border at the perimeter. (Make sure the fruit is evenly distributed so no pie has all-jelly filling.) Use a wet finger to moisten the edges of each round. Fold the bare half of each round over the filling, creating six half-moons. Seal the half-moons closed with the tines of a fork. Spray them well on both sides with nonstick spray.
  3. Set the machine to “Air Fry.” Set the temperature to 350°F and the timer to 15 minutes (which will be a little more than you need). Press START.
  4. When the machine beeps, indicates “ADD FOOD,” or is heated to the proper temperature, lay the half-moons in the basket or on the tray in a single layer. They should have at least 1/4 inch of space around each. Use separate trays or work in batches as necessary.
  5. Air-fry undisturbed for 7 minutes. Sprinkle the half-moons evenly with the sugar. If you’ve used multiple trays, swap them top to bottom now. Ignoring any TURN FOOD indicator, continue air-frying undisturbed until golden brown, about 7 more minutes.
  6. Turn off the machine and use a nonstick-safe spatula (and maybe a fork in the other hand for balance) to transfer each hand pie to a fine-mesh wire rack. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.
Upgrade This Recipe
  1. Omit the nonstick spray and brush the hand pies with melted butter before air-frying.
  2. These hand pies need vanilla ice cream. Consider making an easy no-churn ice cream: Whisk one
  3. 14-ounce can of full-fat sweetened condensed milk, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/8 tsp table salt in a large bowl until smooth. Use an electric mixer at high speed to beat 2 cups of heavy or whipping cream in a chilled bowl until firm peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture in two batches. Pile this mixture into a freezer-safe tin (like a loaf pan) and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 6 hours and up to 2 days. 
Recipe Notes

LEFTOVERS! Store any cooled hand pies on a plate under plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat them (unwrapped, of course) in a single layer in a 325°F air fryer for about 2 minutes.

 

Author © Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

Photograph © Eric Medsker