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These stunning braided apple pie croissant hand pies combine buttery, flaky croissant dough with classic cinnamon apple pie filling for the perfect homemade treat. These delicious and flaky individual pastries are surprisingly achievable in your own kitchen with this step-by-step recipe that transforms simple ingredients into beautiful braided apple hand pies.

My Classic Croissant Recipe & Complete Guide HERE

What Makes These Apple Croissant Hand Pies Special

The magic happens when tender, spiced apples meet layers of buttery croissant pastry. Each bite delivers the perfect balance of crispy exterior and soft, cinnamon-scented filling that rivals any bakery creation.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Making croissant-style pastries at home might seem intimidating, but my recipe breaks it down into manageable steps. The braiding technique not only creates an impressive presentation but also helps seal in all those delicious apple flavors. Plus, you can make these ahead and freeze them for whenever a craving strikes.

Tips for Perfect Results

The key to flaky, professional-looking pastries lies in keeping your dough cold and working quickly. Don’t worry if your first attempts aren’t perfect, even imperfect braids taste absolutely incredible when filled with cinnamon apples and baked to golden perfection.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Detailed video of braiding below.

For the Croissant Dough:

My Classic Croissant Recipe & Complete Guide HERE

Print Recipe

Apple Pie Croissant Hand Pies

These stunning braided apple pie croissant hand pies combine buttery, flaky homemade croissant dough with classic cinnamon apple filling. Learn how to make professional bakery-style braided pastries at home with this step-by-step recipe featuring laminated dough and spiced apple filling.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French-American

Keyword: apple pastry, apple pie croissant, bakery style pastries, braided apple pastry, braided pastry, croissant hand pies, flaky pastry recipe, french pastry recipe, hand pie recipe, homemade croissant dough, individual apple pies, laminated dough recipe, sourdough pastry

Servings: 4 hand pies

Author: Noelle Reed

Ingredients

• Croissant dough rolled to 12.5 x 9.25 inches
• Apple Filling:
• 340 g apples peeled and diced, about 3 medium apple
• 30 g brown sugar 2 Tablespoons
• 9 g granulated sugar 2 Teaspoons
• 2 g ground cinnamon 1 Teaspoon
• 0.5 g nutmeg ¼ Teaspoon
• 12 g cornstarch 1½ Tablespoons
• 10 g butter 2 Teaspoons
• 4 g vanilla extract 1 Teaspoon
• 5 g lemon juice 1 Teaspoon
• Pinch of salt
• Egg Wash
• 20 g egg yolk 1 egg yolk
• 15 g milk 1 Tablespoon
• 12 g coarse sugar for sprinkling 1 Tablespoon

Instructions

Prepare the Croissant Dough:

• Follow your croissant recipe up until the final roll out step. Stop before cutting the triangles for croissants – you’ll be cutting rectangles instead for these hand pies.

Prepare the Apple Filling:

• Dice apples into 1/4-inch pieces so they’ll fit nicely in the hand pies and cook evenly.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the diced apples, both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Mix cornstarch with 15ml water to create a slurry. Add this to the apples along with lemon juice. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens.
• Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract once the filling has thickened.
• Let the filling cool to room temperature before using in hand pies to prevent the pastry from getting soggy.

Prepare and Cut the Croissant Dough:

• Roll out your croissant dough into a rectangle approximately 12.5 x 9.25 inches.
• Trim the edges to create clean, straight edges on all sides.
• Cut the dough into 4 equal rectangles approximately 6 x 4.5 inches each.
• Place each rectangle on parchment paper.
• On each rectangle, lightly mark a 2-inch wide strip down the center lengthwise, this is where your filling will go.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the remaining dough on each side into strips about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide. You should have 4-5 strips on each side of each rectangle.
• Make sure to cut all the way to the center marking, but don’t cut through the center strip.
  

Assemble the Hand Pies:

• Divide the apple filling evenly among the 4 rectangles, spooning it down the center uncut strip of each one.
• Dot each portion of filling with small pieces of the remaining butter.
• Beginning at one end, take the first strip from the left side and fold it over the filling at a diagonal angle.
• Take the first strip from the right side and fold it over the filling, crossing over the left strip.
• Continue alternating sides, pulling each strip snugly over the filling to create a braided pattern.
• Tuck the ends under to seal each hand pie.
• Repeat for all 4 hand pies.
  

Bake:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Whisk together egg yolk and milk to create egg wash.
• Brush each hand pie with the egg wash. Avoiding the open edges of the croissant layers.
• Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
• Bake for 22-27 minutes, checking at 22 minutes until golden brown and flaky.
• Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
  

Notes

• Keep your croissant dough cold while working for best results
• Trimming the edges gives you clean, professional-looking hand pies
• Don’t overfill with apples or the braid may burst
• Cut strips evenly for the most attractive braid pattern
• Check early at 22 minutes as ovens vary

Pro Tips:

• Keep your croissant dough cold while working for best results
• Trimming the edges gives you clean, professional-looking hand pies
• Don’t overfill with apples or the braid may burst
• Cut strips evenly for the most attractive braid pattern
• Check early at 22 minutes as ovens vary

Makes: 4 individual hand pies
Prep time: 25 minutes (plus 24-48 hours for croissant dough, plus apple filling cooling time)
Bake time: 22-27 minutes