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It’s Thanksgiving week!! I love Thanksgiving! It’s one of my favorite holidays. I love being with family and having an excuse to enjoy a huge gluttonous meal. Who’s with me?!!
My oldest flew for the first time as a non-unaccompanied minor this last weekend. He’s officially old enough to be able to go through security and board/exit a plane all by himself. That’s just crazy.
I remember when twelve used to seem so old. Now it seems like just older than a baby! I remember begging to get my ears pierced and for contact lenses when I was twelve. I remember thinking I was so mature and could definitely handle the responsibility. Now that I have a twelve year old, twelve seems like a child. Although, I have to give it to my Justin – he’s a pretty responsible kid.
He’s visiting his dad in Utah until we drive over to Salt Lake on Wednesday. We got to LAX on Saturday about an hour or so before his flight, which we always do. To say that we should have gotten there earlier is an understatement. I about had a heart attack when I saw how long the lines were for bag checks and security! WHY didn’t I realize there were going to be a million people going places for the holidays?!
We had to check his bag so we waited in the huge line that went through a ton of switchbacks and almost out the door. His flight was scheduled to leave at 10:50am and by the time we made it up to check his bag, it was 10:30. I was freaking out the entire time we were standing in line. I was sure we were going to miss his flight.
At this point, my little pre-teen was comforting me and telling me it would all be fine. He kept saying, “Mom. Calm down! We’re fine.” Ha! Mr. 12 year old know-it-all. 😉
Even though he’s old enough to fly by himself, the nice lady at the baggage check counter printed me off a ticket to assist him to his gate. I was so grateful.
We hustled to the security line and luckily a few really nice folks let us go in front of them because they knew we had few precious minutes to waste standing in line. We finally got through security and booked it to his gate. We got there just as he was supposed to board. Honestly, lesson learned. Get to the airport early or you might miss your flight and/or pee your pants and/or have a heart attack out of pure anxiety!
He arrived in Utah safely and I can’t wait to see him on Wednesday! We’re renting a car and making the drive, probably splitting the almost 11 hour drive into two days and staying in Vegas one night. I’m not looking forward to driving with three kids for 11 hours but I am looking forward to getting out of town, seeing family and not cooking the entire turkey dinner this year by myself!
What’s your favorite part of the Thanksgiving dinner? I can’t name just one. I love it all. But I really love the desserts. Pies are the bomb. I love pumpkin, apple, cherry, chocolate…probably all except pecan. I am not a pecan pie fan. (If you’re a pecan pie fan, don’t hate me for that comment, lol!)
My mom makes an amazing chocolate pie and she makes the best homemade pie crust. I still have yet to master the pie crust. Until then, I’ll probably stick to using puff pastry like these little babies below.
Apple Hand Pies are super simple to make. They take all the hard work out of pie but still give you that flaky delicious crust with warm apple filling. You can go even easier and use canned pie filling too if you don’t want to make homemade. I love how it’s all in one handheld pouch. And I love how it doesn’t need to look perfect. Mine are all wonky looking but they’re so good that beauty doesn’t even matter. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. 😉
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
- Filling Ingredients:
- 3-2/3 cups thinly sliced & peeled Granny Smith Apples
- 1-3/4 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 2 cups water
- Pastry Ingredients:
- 1 lb. puff pastry thawed
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1 cup Frosted Flakes cereal crushed
Instructions
- For filling: Place peeled and sliced apples in lemon juice and stir to coat. Set aside. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- To assemble: Make egg wash by whisking egg yolk and 2 Tbsp. water with a fork. With a rolling pin, roll out pastry halves to 1/8". Cut each half into 4-5 rectangles. Place 1-2 Tbsp. of apple filling on half of one side of each pastry rectangle. Sprinkle about 1-2 Tbsp. crushed Frosted Flakes over top of apple filling. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash and fold pastry in half, sealing in the apples. Press the edges together then crimp with a fork. Place on cookie sheet(s) covered with parchment paper.
- Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, preheat oven to 375º and pull out cookie sheet(s) from fridge. Brush tops with egg wash. Slice about three vents in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and the pastry is cooked though. Makes 8-10 hand pies. Can cut recipe in half to make 4-5 hand pies if desired. Enjoy!
Um… apple pie that you can hold in your hand! Yes please! These look delicious Jen! Great recipe, and can’t wait to try it!
By the way, I would so be freakin out if my child was flying alone. Don’t know how you did it. Major props!
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats
Just think: your 12 yr old will soon be experiencing the exact same almost-heart-attack as you when he sends his 12 yr old off on his first unaccompanied flight. THAT’S heart attack worthy!
And I will forgive you for not liking pecan pie because your hand pie looks worth forgoing the pecan for 😉
Jen, these look AMAZING! Seriously, this is one of my favorite recipes you have done, and the photos are so beautiful. I could just grab one and take a bite!
These are totally gorgeous! Way to go mama for letting your baby fly alone- what a milestone for you both.
These look amaaaazing! I LOVE puff pastry so would definitely go for one of these over a slice of ‘normal’ apple pie any day!
Super delicious!! My husband loves anything with baked apples especially if it has crust with it!! Can’t wait to try these over the holidays. I remember the first time my daughter went on a plane by herself to visit my parents. She was 14 and I was so nervous, but she loved every minute of it.
These look seriously amazing! My husband loves apple pie, it’s his favorite. I will have to make him these! Pinned to try 🙂 Thanks Jen!
These look fantastic, Jen! I love Thanksgiving, and apple pie always finds it way to the table every year. 🙂
These look so yummy!
Wow! I have all these ingredients on hand and am tempted to make them right this second! Those gooey centers are irresistible!
Aggghhh! These look so good!! I think it’s the flaky pastry…. 🙂
Just wondering, as I’ve never added water to apple pies, and these are little hand pies, I did a double take when I saw the 2 cups water Thanks, I want to try this!
Yep, 2 cups of water! You’re cooking the sauce first on the stovetop and then filling the crusts with it after. A lot of that water will cook out. I hope you try them! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Is this recipe with one Puff Pastry sheet or two? Also, how many apples did you use? Thanks for posting, these look real good.