“Can you make apple handpies? I want to send some to work with Toodles.”
Well, yes. I can. But you know I’m going to play with the concept first!
Apple Handpies (with Bacon and Brown Sugar and Maybe Cheese)
In a large cast iron skillet, melt together over high heat:
2 tbsp butter, salted (or add a pinch of salt)
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice
Add in:
3 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced.
Heat on high, stirring gently, until apples are well-coated with caramel.
Reduce heat to med-low and allow to cook down until apples are translucent, stirring gently occasionally.
While this is happening, make:
Dough (Empanada style)
Preheat oven to 350F
2 c. flour (pastry if you have it)
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz butter
1 egg
1/4 c water (adjust upward until dough is smooth and soft)
In a food processor, with dough blade, mix flour and salt. Cut butter into roughly 1 tbsp pieces and drop in one at a time, pulsing with each addition. When fat is well incorporated into flour, add the egg while on continuous mix. Then begin to add the water, very slowly, until the dough ball forms. Dough should be soft but cohesive. Continue to ‘knead’ the dough by mixing with bread blade for 3-5 minutes (longer time for the pastry flour, lesser for all-purpose).
Cut dough into 8 roughly equal parts. Roll each out into a circle. Place ~3 fried apple slices, and about a tsp (big pinch) of very crispy bacon (chopped finely) in the center of your dough circle. Optionally, you can also add a half-slice of cheese, and/or a small spoonful of apple butter. Wet the edge of the circle, fold over, and crimp. Or use an empanada mold.
Place on silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet. If desired, brush with a beaten egg before baking. Pierce the tops to allow steam to escape.
Bake at 350F for 20 minutes, until golden-brown on top. Cool and serve!
These were received by all with approbation. General agreement was to add apple butter to all of them next time, the bacon was nice but subtle, and the cheese would be great if we had some sharp cheddar (experiment was done with provolone as it was what we had on hand).
They do make a nice little handpie that can be eaten with little fuss and muss, and the crust came out flaky but sturdy.
I’ll be trying more variations later!
Stealing the dough recipe since I am not an apple pie person. I bet you can fill that with anything. I intend to try.
Yes you can! It’s a great dough, stronger than pie crust for this while still being flaky.
Very similar to a Colombian empanada sold b street vendors in larger cities there. (Bogota, Cali, Medellin) Only theirs are deep-fried, and normally available on filled with a beef or chicken stuffing. They use rice for the carb ingredient in the stuffing. Boocoo tasty hot out of the fryer. There was a place here in Houston that sold any number of “dessert empanadas” with fruit fillings.About 75, maybe? I last ate there in the 70’s, but a google search says they’re still open, though in a western suburb of Houston rather in the rundown hole-in-the wall downtown I recall from my youth.
http://theoriginalmarinisempanadahouse.com/menu
I include the link here as inspiration for your culinary pursuits, but don’t blame me for knocking you off your diet. They are NOT health food. 🙂
Those empanadas might just be the main reason I decided to live in Colombia for a few years, but Colombianas surely had something to do with the issue. One young lady that worked in that rathole was my introduction to both.
I used an empanada dough because I knew it would be stronger than pie crust for picking up and eating. I have made empanadas before. They are tasty, and you can do so many variations!