Homemade Vegan Apple Hand Pies. These tasty apple pocket pies are great for an afternoon snack, dessert, or as a breakfast treat. Also called Milopitakia, these sweet Greek hand pies are made with fresh apples and walnuts. They're flavorful, delicious and perfect for fall baking.
If you're looking for new recipes to make with fresh apples, this vegan hand pie recipe might just become your new favorite.
It's a bit different from my Crispy Apple Pie Egg Rolls, which I hope you'll have a chance to try too.
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Hand pies are mini pies that fit in your hand. There can be savory hand pies filled mushrooms, onion, carrots and other vegetables. Or they can be sweet.
Today, I'm sharing an ultimate sweet hand pie recipe.
In Greece, these vegan hand pies are called Milopitakia and are essentially a handmade pastry dough filled with apples, walnuts and raisins and baked to a crispy perfection.
This mini apple pie recipe was my first take at vegan Greek desserts and I absolutely loved the result.
Vegan Hand Pies are so aromatic and they're wonderful for fall baking, Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Here's Why This Recipe Works
- these Greek apple hand pies are made with simple ingredients you may already have at home
- the process is easy and my step-by-step photos will help you along the way
- Milopitakia apple hand pies come out flavorful and delicious, perfect for any occasion
Ingredients
Here's an overview of the specific ingredients for this recipe. For the exact ingredients and measurements, please scroll to the recipe card below.
Ingredient Notes
- mandarines. You can actually use oranges. It doesn't matter. In this recipe we're going to be using a zest and juice
- sugar. I used coconut sugar however you can replace it with brown sugar or organic coconut sugar
🔪 How To Make Vegan Hand Pies
- Start off by preparing an apple filling for the hand pies. In a large saucepan combine finely chopped apples, sugar, vanilla and a few tablespoons of cold water. Put the saucepan on a medium heat and simmer until apples are very soft, about 20 minutes.
- After the apples have softened, add chopped walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and a half of all orange zest. Mix it well. The vegan hand pie filling should be smooth and thick. If it's falling apart, you can take a potato masher and mash the filling for a little bit. Set the mini apple pie filling aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, make the dough for apple Milopitakia. In a large bowl combine orange or mandarin juice, refined olive oil, powdered sugar, cinnamon, the remaining half of orange zest and salt. Mix it well.
- Next, in a smaller bowl mix flour and baking powder. To a bowl with the liquid ingredients, gradually start adding flour mixture, mixing the dough after each time. Shape the dough into a ball.
It's important not to add all flour at once. You'll regulate the amount of it during mixing. The final dough should be soft and smooth. It won't stick to your hands. So, if you haven't finished adding all flour, but the dough is of desired consistency, don't add flour no more.
On the contrary, if you added all flour and the dough is still sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Now it's time to make the vegan apple hand pies. Invert the dough on a silicone baking mat or lightly floured surface and roll out the dough until it's about ¼ inch thick. Using a glass or 3 ¼ inch cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough.
- Lightly roll out each circle to make it a bit bigger and place a heaping teaspoon of filling in a center of each circle. Fold the dough circles in half, and use your fingers to tightly press the edges together. Make sure there're no gaps. Otherwise the juices will leak out during baking.
- Place the vegan hand pies on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat these steps with the remaining circles of dough.
- Bake at 395 F for 10-15 minutes until the vegan apple hand pies are golden brown.
- After you baked apple Milopitakia, transfer them on a serving plate and sprinkle with some powdered sugar. Enjoy!
💭 COOK’S TIP
If your apples are too tart, for example Granny Smith apples, you can add more sugar. When you combine all ingredients for the apple hand pie filling, give it a try and see if the filling needs more sweetness.
Also, please note, in my apple hand pies recipe I'm using refined olive oil. It doesn't have any flavor and works good in making a dough. You can also use refined coconut oil or avocado oil.
In my apple hand pie dough recipe I'm using organic powdered sugar. If you want to keep this recipe refined-sugar free, you can substitute with powdered coconut sugar, however your hand pies might come out darker in color.
Frequently Asked Questions
For these apple hand pies any apple variety will work. Granny Smith apples are tart, firm and not too sweet. So you might add more sugar as well as increase the apples cooking time.
Apples like Red Delicious are sweet and soft and they will cook faster. For my Milopitakia recipe I used Gala apples, which slightly crispy, yet sweet.
Yes, you can prepare the dough for the vegan apple hand pies 2-3 days in advance. Make sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store in a fridge until you ready to use it.
As for the filling, it also can be prepared 2-3 days ahead of time.
You can prepare these vegan hand pies with any other soft fruit or berry that you like. Rhubarb or pears will taste especially delicious here.
If there's any liquid left in your vegan apple hand pie filling after you stewed the apples, it fill cause the filling to fall apart.
You can fix this by mashing the apples with the potato masher or whisking a ½ - 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into a simmering liquid.
💭 Make Ahead Instructions
You can prepare the filling for vegan hand pies ahead of time and store it in a fridge for about 4 days. or freeze for up to 3 months.
⏲️ Storage Tips
These apple hand pies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
🥠 Related Recipes
If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
For a quick overview of the recipe, please check out my Homemade Vegan Apple Hand Pies web-story.
Recipe
Homemade Vegan Apple Hand Pies (Milopitakia)
Ingredients
For the filling
- 4 medium apples peeled and chopped into small pieces
- ⅓ c coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ c raisins
- ½ c walnuts
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon mandarin zest sub with orange zest
For the dough
- ½ c mandarin juice sub with orange juice
- ⅓ c + 2 tablespoon refined olive oil
- ¼ c powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon mandarin zest sub with orange zest
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ c all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
Make the apple filling for the vegan hand pies
- In a large saucepan combine finely chopped apples, sugar, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of water. Put the saucepan on a medium to low heat and simmer until apples are very soft, about 20 minutes.
- After the apples have softened, add chopped walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and a ¼ teaspoon of all zest. Mix it well. The vegan hand pie filling should be smooth and thick. If it's falling apart, you can take a potato masher and mash the filling for a little bit. Set the filling aside to cool.
Make the dough for apple Milopitakia
- In a large bowl combine orange or mandarin juice, refined olive oil, powdered sugar, cinnamon, the remaining ¼ teaspoon of zest and salt. Mix it well.
- In a smaller bowl mix flour and baking powder. To a bowl with the liquid ingredients, gradually start adding flour mixture, mixing the dough after each time. The dough will be smooth and soft. Shape the dough into a ball.
Bake apple Milopitakia
- Preheat the oven to 395 F and line a large baking sheet with a parchment paper.
- Invert the dough on a silicone baking mat or lightly floured surface and roll out the dough until it's about ¼ inch thick.
- Using a glass or 3 ¼ inch cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough.
- Lightly roll out each circle to make it a bit bigger and place a heaping teaspoon of filling in a center of each circle. Fold the dough circles in half, and use your fingers to tightly press the edges together. Make sure there're no gaps. Otherwise the juices will leak out during baking.
- Place the vegan hand pies on a baking sheet and repeat these steps with the remaining circles of dough. Bake apple Milopitakia for 10-15 minutes until the pies are golden brown.
- Transfer the vegan apple hand pies on a serving plate and sprinkle with some powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
Ian says
Absolutely amazing. So crunchy and yet not dry, and the orange juice really adds to the dough. Can’t wait to make these again for Christmas.
Iryna says
Ian, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you enjoyed these apple hand pies!