* This is a sponsored post for Hermesetas *
These lower calorie Apple Hand Pies are the perfect little grab and eat on-the-go dessert and great for little hands to hold. Little circle pastry pockets filled with delicious chunks of cinnamon-y apples that are sweetened with Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener for a lighter and lower calories sweet treat.
Apple Hand Pies
Whilst we love slicing in to a big apple pie, these cute little apple hand pies are much easier to manage, are great for taking to a picnic and they are toddler friendly too as they can easily hold them themselves.
What we love about this mini version of a classic dessert is that it’s great for portion control. Rather than cutting yourself a huge slice of a pie (we have all been there), they are already portioned out for you and ready to share. It’s not just the easy portion control that makes these a lighter dessert – we used Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener instead of sugar. More on that below!
Apple Filling
This apple pie filling couldn’t be more simple. Just a couple of chopped up apples, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener. Why have we used a sweetener instead of sugar? Because you still get all that delicious sweet flavour, it can be used in exactly the same way as sugar when baking, and it makes lower in calories desserts. At 7 months pregnant with a serious sweet tooth, this is really helping me to still enjoy dessert and not balloon.
What Is Hermesetas?
Hermesetas is a sugar alternative and one teaspoon provides the same degree of sweetness as a teaspoon of sugar, but with no or a very low amount of calories. Which means these hand pies are just as sweet as they would be if we used sugar, but less calories. Switching sugar to low calorie sweeteners like Hermesetas can reduce your daily calorie intake by 10% and lead to a statistically significant weight loss of 0.2kg (0.44lbs) a week.
NHS Choices says: “Like sugar, sweeteners provide a sweet taste but what sets them apart is that, after consumption, they don’t increase blood sugar levels”. Desserts like this would usually cause me to have a sugar crash about an hour later, but that doesn’t happen when I make this sugar swap. We have been using Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener in our baking, sweet breakfast and hot drinks for about a year now and I have noticed such a difference in my energy levels, but no difference in taste of our recipe.
Where Can You Buy It?
It is readily available too and you can pick it up in Waitrose, Convenience and Independent Stores to name a few and it’s also easy to use in all your favourite sweet treats. Have you tried our Cranberry Orange Muffins or Healthy Chocolate Raspberry Brownies? They both use this sweetener.
As all Hermesetas products are heat-stable, so they won’t lose their sweetness even when exposed to the high temperatures involved in baking. Don’t be nervous about making this swap with all your favourite recipes, as it’s a really easy swap. Head over to the Hermesetas website to see some more delicious recipes and ways to create sweet and healthy dishes.
Pie Crust
We used ready made pastry, because in all honesty we can’t taste the difference between store bought and homemade. I am sure there is some subtle difference. But do I think it’s worth the effort of making it when you have a hungry 2 year old hanging off your leg demanding apple pie? Nope!
Even top chefs used ready made and say they can’t taste the difference – so if it is good enough for them… We have also made these with a puff pastry, rather than a short crust that is in this recipe and it makes a nice change.
What Other Fruit Can You Use?
Whilst apple is a classic filling for a pie, you don’t have to use apples. We have made this before with cherries, strawberries, blueberries, pears, peaches and even a combination of a few different fruits. You might have to play around with the cooking time if using a different, more juicy, fruit and add some cornstarch to thicken.
How To Shape a Hand Pie
We went with a classic circle, but you don’t have to. You could do moon (Cornish pasty) type shapes, rectangle, squares or even make mini pies in a shallow muffin tin with cut out pastry shapes as a lid. Kids will love making their own pastry shapes and filling them with this delicious apple filling. Just remember to keep the pies small.
How To Store and Can You Freeze Apple Hand Pies?
These will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. however they can be frozen too. You can keep these (individually wrapped) in the freezer for 2-3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and then bring to room temperature before serving.
How To Make Apple Hand Pies – Step by Step:
One: Chop the apples in to small chunks. The smaller the chunks, the easier for them to stay in the little pies.
Two: Melt the butter in a large pan and then add the apples, Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener, cinnamon and vanilla and mix well.
Three: Gently cook for 3-4 minutes, until the apples have softened. Allow to cool completely.
Four: Roll out the ready make short crust pastry and then using a cup or cookie cutter that is about 4 inches in diameter, cut out 10 circle (this will make 5 hand pies).
Five: Place 5 of the circles on a lined baking sheet (use 2 sheets if there is not enough room) and then divide the apples between them. You will need about 2-3 tbsp of filling per pie, making sure there is an edge around the pie.
Six: Put the other pastry circles on top and then carefully crimp around the edge using a small fork. Make a slit in the middle and then after mixing the egg and milk together, use it as an egg wash to brush over the pies.
Seven: Put in a preheated oven at 190C for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry has cooked.
Some extra tips for these Apple Hand Pies:
- You can use any kind of apple for this recipe, or even use a mixture if you have some that need using up.
- We went with cinnamon as the spice for these apple hand pies, but you could swap it for ginger or nutmeg, or use a mixture of all three.
- Not a fan of apples? You can make a berry version of these or even swap the apple for pears.
- Feel free to get creative with the shape pies you make, and use cookie cutters.
- Make sure to look for a ready made pastry that is as low in sugar (or sugar free) as possible.
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Apple Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 375 g shortcrust pastry (ready rolled)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 medium apples
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Chop the apples in to small chunks. The smaller the chunks, the easier for them to stay in the little pies.
- Melt the butter in a large pan and then add the apples, Hermesetas Granulated Sweetener, cinnamon and vanilla and mix well.
- Gently cook for 3-4 minutes, until the apples have softened. Allow to cool completely.
- Roll out the ready make short crust pastry and then using a cup or cookie cutter that is about 4 inches in diameter, cut out 10 circle (this will make 5 hand pies).
- Place 5 of the circles on a lined baking sheet (use 2 sheets if there is not enough room) and then divide the apples between them. You will need about 2-3 tbsp of filling per pie, making sure there is an edge around the pie.
- Put the other pastry circles on top and then carefully crimp around the edge using a small fork. Make a slit in the middle and then after mixing the egg and milk together, use it as an egg wash to brush over the pies.
- Put in a preheated oven at 190C for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry has cooked.
Notes
- You can use any kind of apple for this recipe, or even use a mixture if you have some that need using up.
- We went with cinnamon as the spice for these apple hand pies, but you could swap it for ginger or nutmeg, or use a mixture of all three.
- Not a fan of apples? You can make a berry version of these or even swap the apple for pears.
- Feel free to get creative with the shape pies you make, and use cookie cutters.
- Make sure to look for a ready made pastry that is as low in sugar (or sugar free) as possible.
Corrie says
Or you think stevia would be more appropriate?