Spiced Apple Hand Pies, Gluten Free

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the butter into the flour

   Whisk the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum, granulated sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Scatter in the cold butter cubes and toss them to coat. Working quickly with a pastry cutter or your fingertips, flatten the butter into the flour until you have coarse crumbs with plenty of flat, dime-sized pieces still visible. Those flat sheets of butter are what turn into flaky layers, so stop well before the mixture looks uniform.

2. 2

   Bring the dough together and let it hydrate

   Stir the sour cream into the ice water until smooth, then drizzle it over the flour mixture. Toss with a fork until the dough clumps, then press it together. It will feel noticeably wetter and softer than a wheat dough — that's correct, since the starches haven't absorbed their liquid yet. Divide in half, flatten into rectangles, wrap tightly, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. This long rest is non-negotiable: it's what takes the dough from gritty and crumbly to smooth and rollable.

3. 3

   Cook the filling

   Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the diced apples and cook, stirring now and then, for 4 to 5 minutes, until they soften at the edges but still hold their shape. Stir in the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and salt and cook another 2 minutes, until the juices turn glossy and thick enough to coat the apples. Spread on a plate and cool completely — warm filling will melt the butter in your pastry and the pies will leak.

4. 4

   Cut the rounds

   Let the chilled dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes so it rolls without cracking. Roll one piece to a scant 1/8 inch between two sheets of parchment — gluten-free dough tears easily and the parchment means no extra flour and no sticking. Cut 4 1/2-inch rounds, press the scraps back together and re-roll once, and repeat with the second piece for 12 rounds total. Chill the rounds 15 minutes before filling; cold dough is far less fragile.

5. 5

   Fill and seal

   Whisk the egg and milk together. Brush a thin ring of egg wash around the edge of a round, mound a scant 2 tablespoons of cooled filling slightly off-center, and fold into a half-moon. Press the edges together to push out air, then crimp firmly with a fork. If a round cracks as you fold it, pinch the crack closed and smooth it with a damp fingertip — this dough patches beautifully and the repair bakes invisible.

6. 6

   Chill, vent, and wash

   Arrange the pies 2 inches apart on two parchment-lined baking sheets and freeze 20 minutes while the oven heats to 400°F. Just before baking, cut two short steam vents in each top, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.

7. 7

   Bake

   Bake 24 to 28 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. Gluten-free pastry browns more slowly and more patchily than wheat, so judge by the bottoms rather than the tops — lift one with a spatula and look for an evenly golden-brown underside, with filling bubbling at the vents. Cool on the sheet a full 15 minutes before moving them; the crust sets as it cools and lifting too early will crack it.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Choose apples that hold their shape: Granny Smith, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, or a mix. Softer varieties like McIntosh collapse into applesauce and make a watery filling.

• 2.

  Dice the apples no larger than 1/4 inch. Big chunks tent the pastry, tear the seams, and never fully soften in the short bake.

• 3.

  If the dough ever turns soft or sticky while you're working, stop and refrigerate it for 10 minutes. Cold dough is the whole game here.

• 4.

  Overfilling is tempting and it will cost you. A scant 2 tablespoons looks modest but is exactly right for a 4 1/2-inch round.

• 5.

  Freeze assembled, unbaked pies solid on a sheet, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 400°F, adding 5 to 8 minutes.

• 6.

  Swap in the same volume of a thick berry or stone fruit filling, but bump the cornstarch to 1 1/2 tablespoons since those fruits run juicier.