Puff Pastry Apple Pies

Name: Puff Pastry Apple Pies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 5 Granny Smith apples, cored and small diced into cubes ((peel or leave skin on, about 4 ½-5 cups)); ½ cup packed light brown sugar; ½ cup granulated sugar; 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch; 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice; 2 rolls refrigerated puff pastry dough ((see notes below)); 1 large egg; coarse sugar ((optional, for topping))

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These Puff Pastry Apple Pies are impossible to resist! Flaky, golden, and filled with warm cinnamon-spiced apples, these easy apple pies are the perfect handheld dessert!

APPLE PASTRIES IN UNDER AN HOUR

If you ask me, there’s nothing quite like the aroma of warm cinnamon apples baking in the oven (especially when they’re wrapped in buttery, flaky puff pastry!) It’s apple season and I am so ready! I have two apple trees in my yard and those apples are ripe and ready to use! These Puff Pastry Apple Pies are an easy dessert that feels a little fancy but is simple enough for a weeknight dessert. Each handheld pie is filled with tender Granny Smith apples and cozy spices, making them perfect for fall!

A Puff Pastry Apple Pie with the end tore open.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What kind of puff pastry did you use?

So, I have found the refrigerated puff pastry dough recently and it was super easy to use with this recipe. You can find them at Walmart and Target (not paid affiliate links), usually near the refrigerated biscuits. I find that using the refrigerated dough is much easier since you don’t have to defrost and roll out the frozen kind. I love that it’s way more convenient. But if you wanted to stick to the frozen kind because that’s all you can find, you can certainly use them. They come in 2 per pack and will need to be thawed first until cool, but not room temperature.

What other topping can I use?

I think this would be good with a simple powdered sugar glaze (powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract) instead of the coarse sugar on top if they prefer. I bet you could even top with a drizzle of caramel, honey or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Do I have to use the homemade filling?

Canned pie filling can be used if you didn’t want to cook up the apple pie filling from scratch.

How many apples do I need?

I tested this recipe using 5 green apples. You can use average sized green apples or ones that are a little bigger than average sized and this recipe will still turn out just fine. When making this, I estimated I used about 4 ½ – 5 cups of diced apples. Don’t get too bogged down trying to get it exact, it will still work.

Can I make these with a pie crust?

It you would rather use a pie crust, I would make my Air Fryer Apple Hand Pies instead.

How long do these Puff Pastry Apple Pies last?

These will keep in foil for 2-3 days. You can store them covered at room temperature and then reheat in the oven or air fryer.

Can I freeze these Puff Pastry Pies before baking?

Yes! Assemble them completely (without egg wash), freeze on a baking sheet until solid (this is called flash freezing), then transfer to a freezer bag. When ready to bake, brush with egg wash and bake from frozen, just add a few extra minutes to the bake time.

A small pie of Puff Pastry Apple Pies on a few dessert plates.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

Granny Smith apples– cored and small diced into cubes. You can peel the apples or leave the skin on. You can also use red delicious, gala, Braeburn or even honey crisp apples.
light brown sugar – you could use dark brown sugar as well for a deeper molasses flavor.
granulated sugar
ground cinnamon– Apple pie seasoning can be used instead of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Or you can just use ground cinnamon if you don’t have the apple pie seasoning (it will still taste great with just cinnamon.)
ground allspice – if you don’t have this, I shared that you can use apple pie spice mix or just cinnamon.
ground nutmeg – if you don’t have nutmeg, I shared a few ideas on what you can do in this case just above.
cornstarch – this helps to thicken the mixture. Be sure to use this instead of flour. Flour can come out clumpy.
fresh squeezed lemon juice – if you’ve checked out a few of my recipes that use lemon juice, you may have caught on that I’m all about the fresh lemon juice. I don’t like using the lemon juice in a bottle. It just tastes like straight up acid to me. But I suppose if that’s all you have, you could try it. I’d probably just leave it out though.
puff pastry – as I stated above, I used the new refrigerated puff pastry that you can find at the grocery store instead of the frozen kind. It’s so easier since you don’t have to wait for it to thaw. See above for more information on that.
large egg
coarse sugar – this is an optional ingredient for topping.

Puff pastry, Green Smith apples, sugar, brown sugar, lemon, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg.

HOW TO MAKE PUFF PASTRY APPLE PIES:

Preheat oven to 425° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large pot, combine diced apples, sugars, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cornstarch and lemon juice. Heat on medium heat, covered, until apples are soft. Stir frequently and mixture is thickened. Once the apple mixture is done, remove the pot from the heat. Roll out one roll of puff pastry dough. Cut into 8 equal pieces.

Apple pie filling close up and a sheet of puff pastry cut into 8 rectangles.

Place four rectangles on one lined baking sheet and four on another lined baking sheet. Scoop about 2-3 Tablespoons of apple mixture into the center of each of the eight puff pastry rectangles. In a small bowl, whisk an egg until a little foamy to create an egg wash. Line each side of the puff pastry rectangle with an egg wash. Repeat with the remaining rectangles. Unroll the second puff pastry roll and cut into 8 equal pieces. Top each apple filled puff pastry rectangle with another puff pastry rectangle and use a fork to crimp the edges together. It’s okay if you need to stretch out the puff pastry a bit to get it to crimp properly.

Puff pastry rectangles with apple pie filling and then with a top covering.

Brush each apple pie with the remaining egg wash. Cut three small diagonal slices in the top of each pastry to release any steam. Optional: sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking the bottoms at the 15 minute mark to make sure the dough is baked fully.