Dining with Duria: Mummy apple hand pies

MILWAUKEE - Have you recently gone apple picking and don't know what to do with your bags of apples? Angelica Duria shares a Dining with Duria recipe for Mummy Apple Hand Pies.

Mummy Apple Hand Pies

Makes 8 hand pies

Ingredients:

• 1 package of puff pastry
• 3 medium apples, peeled and sliced or diced (your choice)
• 2-3 tbsp butter, melted
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg, whisked
• Equal parts cinnamon and sugar for dusting
• Candy eyeballs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and slice/dice apples.  Toss into butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Set aside.
3. Follow directions on the box of puff pastry to thaw.  Unfold the two sheets of puff pastry and cut each sheet into four squares.  Place the squares on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Score three dividing lines per square.  Next, cut 6-8 strips on each side of the square, being careful not to cut into the middle.
5. Place a spoonful or two of the sugared apples in the middle of the square.  Next, fold the top strip and bottom strip down each side of the middle to keep the apples in place.  Fold the remaining strips diagonally to create the body of a mummy.  It doesn’t have to look neat!  The messier the better!  Be sure to leave enough space around the "head" of the mummy to fit candy eyeballs once the patries come out of the oven.
6. Beat an egg in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to spread the eggwash over the top of the mummy.  Sprinkle each mummy with equal parts cinnamon and sugar.
7. Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until the mummies are golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow the pastries to cool before fitting in the candy eyeballs.

NOTE:  Hand pies taste best within 2-3 hours of baking, otherwise, they will get soft.  You can also assemble these ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake.  Just watch the oven, as the cooled pies may need a little more time to bake and brown.