Air Fryer Apple Hand Pies

• 2apples — firm-tart like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp; peeled and diced small
• 3 tbspbrown sugar
• 1 tbspbutter
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 tspcornstarch — stirred with 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsplemon juice
• 1 boxrefrigerated pie crust — 2 rounds — or your own all-butter dough if it's a weekend
• 1egg — beaten, for the wash
• 2 tbspcoarse sugar — for the crackly top

Method

1. 01

   Cook the diced apples, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, until just tender. Stir in the cornstarch slurry, cook 1 minute until glossy and thick, then cool completely — hot filling melts pastry before it ever cooks.

2. 02

   Cut the pie crust into 6 rectangles (or rounds). Spoon 2 tablespoons of cooled filling onto one half of each, leaving a border. Fold over, press out the air, and crimp the edges firmly with a fork — a lazy crimp is how filling escapes and caramelizes onto the basket.

3. 03

   Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and cut two small vents in each pie. Vents aren't decoration: sealed pies inflate and split at the seam instead of the vent.

4. 04

   Air fry at 350°F on a perforated liner, 3 pies at a time, 10–12 minutes until deep golden. Air fryers run hot and small — check at 8 minutes the first time; every machine has an opinion.

5. 05

   Cool at least 10 minutes. Molten apple filling is the hottest substance known to dessert; the wait is structural, not optional.