These apple cinnamon pocket pies are pure bliss—a sweet and juicy apple filling encased between two sheets of flaky, buttery pastry, then finished off with crunchy sugar and a sweet cinnamon glaze.
Drooling yet? Let’s dig in, friends!
This recipe is sponsored by Yes! Apples.
Making/Handling the Dough
This is my go-to dough for all of my pocket pies or “pop-tarts” as most will refer to them. If you can keep the butter cold throughout the entire process, you’ll end up with this incredibly flaky and buttery pastry that never disappoints. While I know the recipe for these apple cinnamon pocket pies can seem daunting—I promise it’s worth it in the end. Plus, you can always break down the process into steps over two days to help.
For the dough, here’s a few tips to help keep things stress-free and extra flaky:
- Cold butter is must! Before you do anything, cube your butter into small 1x1in. squares, place on a plate and stick it back in the fridge as you prep everything else. The colder your butter is at all stages, the flakier those layers will be.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough! Once you’ve added your eggs to the flour mixture, only mix until no streaks of egg remain and it’s all loosely incorporated. You can bring together the somewhat crumbly mixture with your hands on a lightly floured surface. It’ll also hydrate a bit and become more cohesive as it rests in the fridge. This is not as crumbly as pie dough, it’s much more malleable.
- Throughout the recipe I have you put the dough back in the fridge every so often for 15 minute intervals. That just comes back to keeping the butter cold! If the dough ever gets too sticky to handle—just stick it back in the fridge for 10-15 min. and resume the process.
The Cinnamon Apple Filling with Yes! Apples’ Evercrisp
Yes, I could have just had you dice up some apples, toss in a little spice, and place them inside. With these cinnamon apple pocket pies though, I wanted a much softer filling so there was no crunch competition with the flaky dough.
My best tip for making the filling? Watch how long you let it simmer for and be careful not to OVER-simmer the mixture. There’s quite a bit of corn starch and it’ll set up more as it cools down. Therefore it’s always best to err on the side of under-cooking the filling than over. If once you’re ready to use it the filling has formed into a large clump, just break it up with a fork.
The Evercrisp apple from Yes! Apples is sweet, juicy, and crunchy! They call it a cross between the honeycrisp and fuji apples— a spot on description. I just loved the amount of sweetness they added to the mixture and that even after being grated and cooked down a little, you still get stringy crunches of apple to savor with each bite.
Find out where you can find some Yes! Apples near you! Click here to find a retailer.
Tips for Assembling the Pocket Pies
This is the part of the process that gets me all giddy—it’s just too fun! I realize that for some it may not be AS exciting the first go-around, but after you get the swing of things you’ll love it too. It’s just so satisfying to watch it all come together!
Here are some tips to help you along in the process:
- Roll out your dough to about a 1/2 or 1/4in. thick. You don’t want go too thin or it’ll tear every time you stretch or handle it. If anything, rolling it a bit thicker just means you’ll get some taller pocket pies and I don’t think anyone’s going to complain about that!
- If you’d rather not bother with measuring out 4x5in. rectangles or find yourself without a pastry cutter (glorified tiny pizza cutter)—just grab a rectangular cookie cutter like this one! Saves so much time.
- To help seal the edges, you’ll be applying a light amount of egg wash around the outer border. You only need a little to help bind the two pieces together. Don’t overdo it or things will start to get wet/messy.
- Make sure to leave a good inch or so around your filling in the middle to give yourself enough space to push down the edges to seal them. This also helps when you go to crimp with your fork!
- After you add your filing and apply the top pieces, put your tray in the fridge for 15 minutes before crimping the edges! This will help firm things back up and your fork is less likely to stick to the dough. After I crimp, I like to trim up the edges to make them all neat and straight, but it’s not necessary.
Egg Wash & Baking the Pocket Pies
I’m only having you use the egg yolk here for the wash because it gives the pastry a deep, golden, shiny finish. I also like to go heavy on the egg wash to give it more color—don’t be afraid to go for it here!
For the bake time: you definitely want these in there for at least 20 minutes for the pastry to bake all the way through, but after that it’s up to you! I love leaving these in for close to 30 minutes for a blissfully crunchy end result. Every oven is different, so keep an eye on them around the 25 minute mark!
Materials You’ll Need:
- Various sized mixing bowls
- Measuring cups/spoons or scale
- Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
- Whisk
- Sifter
- Spatula
- Large cookie sheet with parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling pin
- Pastry cutter (or knife/cookie cutter to cut out dough)
- Pastry brush (or something to apply the egg wash)
I have faith you in friends—you can do this! Flaky pastry is my absolute favorite thing to bake and these cinnamon apple pocket pies are no exception. I hope you give them a try and don’t forget to check out Yes! Apples too!
Share your pocket pies with me over on Instagram (tag @joshisbaking), drop a review below, and happy baking!
Print
Apple Cinnamon Pocket Pies
- Prep Time: 2 Hrs. with Chill Time
- Cook Time: 25 Min.
- Total Time: ~2 Hrs. 30 Min.
- Yield: 6 Pocket Pies 1x
Description
Flaky, buttery, golden pocket pies filled with a sweet and juicy apple filling, finished off with crunchy sugar and a simple cinnamon glaze.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (278g)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60g)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 sticks of cold, unsalted butter (226g)
- 3 large eggs—2 for dough (104g), 1 for egg wash
Filling
- 2 medium Evercrisp Yes! Apples, grated (~200g after grating)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (28g)
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar (25g)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (~3g)
- 2 tablespoons water (25g)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch (15g)
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted (112g) + more to adjust thickness
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons whole milk (25g)
Optional: demerara sugar to sprinkle on top before the bake (sweet, crunchy sugar)
Instructions
Prep
- Before doing anything, cut for 2 sticks of unsalted butter into small 1x1in. cubes, place them on a small plate or in a bowl, and keep in the fridge until ready to use. You want your butter to stay as cold as possible throughout all stages of the process!
Make the Dough
- Sift your flour and powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add your pinch of salt and mix on low speed to combine, about 15 seconds.
- Take the bowl off the stand mixer. Add your cubed butter to the bowl, tossing it around to coat the butter with the flour. Working quickly, flatten each piece of butter by squishing between two fingers (creating little “shingles” of butter). Then place your bowl back onto the stand mixer.
- Add your 2 eggs and mix on medium-low speed until just combined (about 30 seconds, no streaks of egg yolk left, you still want to see larger chunks of butter). Gently dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, bringing it together with your hands to form a large disc (should still be somewhat crumbly, but hold together). You’re not kneading the dough, just bringing it together. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Make the Filling
- Place your grated apples, 2 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon into a medium saucepan. Whisk your cornstarch and water together in a small bowl until combined, then add to the apple mixture. Heat over medium heat until the butter and sugar dissolves, then let simmer for 4-5 minutes until it thickens, stirring the mixture about every minute so nothing burns on the bottom. Take off the heat, pour into a heat-safe bowl, and let cool (will thicken more as it cools).
Assembly & Bake
- Cut your dough in half, leaving one half wrapped tightly in the fridge while you work with the other. Prep a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough until ~1/2 or 1/4 in. thick. When rolling, add bits of flour to the surface/top of dough throughout to avoid sticking. Also gently flipping the dough over and rolling on both sides a few times as you go will help.
- Using a cookie cutter (I use this one!) or knife/pastry cutter, cut out (6) 4×5 in. rectangles, and place them on your prepared cookie sheet. Then repeat this rolling/cutting process with your other half of dough. Once you have 12 rectangles, chill them in the fridge for 15 minutes to keep the butter cold.
- Lightly whisk 1 egg yolk in a small bowl for your egg wash. Take your dough out of the fridge. On half (6) of your rectangles, apply a small amount of egg wash around the border. Scoop 2 tablespoons of apple filling into the center of each. Place the other halves on top of the ones you’ve just prepared, pressing gently down around the border to seal the edges. Place back in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Take the pocket pies out of the fridge. Crimp the edges with the tip of a fork and poke 3 rows of holes on the top of each (allows steam to escape during the bake). Generously brush the top and borders of each with the egg wash. Sprinkle demerara sugar over the tops of each (optional). Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20-25 minutes or until desired browning.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer to a separate cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the pop tarts have cooled completely, whisk together all of your glaze ingredients in a medium-sized bowl until fully combined (add more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze). Drizzle or spoon the glaze over each pocket pie. Enjoy! These will keep for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- These apple cinnamon pocket pies will keep for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Filling: You’ll want to do your best not to OVER-simmer the filling mixture! With the added corn starch, it’ll thicken quite a bit as it cools. So I’d err on the side of taking it off the heat earlier rather than later. Don’t worry if it feels too thick when you’re assembling the pocket pies—it’ll loosen up again a little during the bake. Either way it’ll be delicious!
- Glaze: Want a thicker or thinner glaze? For thicker, add small amounts of powdered sugar until desired consistency. For thinner, add small amounts of whole milk until desired consistency. The base ingredient amounts should give you a decently thin glaze to start.
- Butter Tip: The recipe asks you to put the dough in the fridge a few points for 15 minute intervals. This is to keep the butter cold throughout the process! The colder the butter is going into the bake, the flakier your pastry will be! The cold butter releases steam during the bake which puffs up and creates those flaky layers.
- Baking Time: Not sure when to take these out of the oven? The range of 20-25 minutes is a guideline! For me, I sometimes go more in the 25-30 minute range. It really just depends on how crispy/brown you want these to get. Just pay attention to the browning on the tops and sides. 20 minutes should be your minimum so that the pastry is cooked all the way through, but after that it’s up to your judgement (and stomach).
- Storing the Dough: You can store the dough (tightly wrapped in plastic, making sure no air bubble are trapped) in the fridge for up to 3 days and up to a month in the freezer. Just let it thaw overnight in the fridge to use next-day.
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