USA — California
Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies
We celebrate California orchards with pocket-sized hand pies — flaky, cinnamon-scented, and crimped with each chef’s own fork pattern. Farmers invented them so they could carry lunch into the fields.
What your child practised
- Dicing apples with a knife
- Cutting dough rounds
- Crimping and sealing pastry with a fork
- Brushing and sugaring a pastry top
- Juicing a lemon
Ingredients makes 8–14 portions
- 2–3 sheets refrigerated pie dough
- 3–4 apples (Gala, Fuji or Gravenstein)
- 1/4–1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1–1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 lemon
- 1–1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4–1/3 cup milk (for brushing)
- 2–3 Tbsp coarse sugar
How it is made
- Toss the diced apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cornstarch.
- Cut the dough into 4-inch rounds and spoon filling onto half of each one.
- Fold into half-moons and crimp the edges all the way around with a fork.
- Snip one tiny steam vent in the top, brush with milk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- An adult bakes at 400°F for 18–20 minutes until golden. While they bake, pour cider into your cup and top with sparkling water.