My McDonald’s Apple Pie Recipe is an easy homemade copycat packed with warm cinnamon apples and baked in puff pastry until crisp and flaky.
- 4 Granny Smith apples
- ¼ cup (2 oz/57 g) butter
- ⅔ cup (4 oz/115 g) dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 teaspoons cornflour
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 x recipe Easy Puff Pastry (or store bought puff pastry)
- egg wash
- cinnamon sugar for dusting
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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheets with parchment.
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Peel, core and dice the apples into small chunks.
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In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine apples, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice, and cook gently until most of the liquid reduces and the apples have softened, about 6. minutes.
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In a small bowl mix the cornflour and water to make a 'slurry'. Add this to the cooked apples stirring as you go. Allow to cook for 2 minutes to thicken the filling before removing it from the heat.
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Set the apple filling aside to cool down completely. (Once cool you can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen)
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Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to roughly ⅛ inch thick.
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Cut into eight 4.5x6 inch (12x15cm) rectangles and transfer to your prepared baking sheets. You can re-roll this pastry and make even more pies.
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For each pastry rectangle, scoop out 1-2 heaped teaspoons of apple filling and lay in the center of the pastry.
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Brush the edges with a touch of egg wash, fold over, press and seal with the tines of a fork.
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Cut three slits in the top of each pastry for venting, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.
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Bake until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 25-35 minutes.
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Enjoy warm with cream or ice cream! Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to two days. Rewarm in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 10 minutes to re-crisp before eating.
Watch the Recipe Video!
- Which apples to use: I baked six supermarket apples side by side, same recipe, same oven, same time. Two came out excellent and one I would not buy again. Full results and my free printable apple guide: biggerbolderbaking.com/best-apples-for-baking
- Keep everything cold: Your puff pastry and apple filling should both be cold when assembling. Warm filling will soften the butter in the pastry and make the pies difficult to handle.
- Dice the apples small: Small, evenly sized pieces cook quickly and fit neatly inside the hand pies.
- Adjust the sugar to your apples: Apples vary in sweetness, so if you’re using a naturally sweeter variety, reduce the brown sugar slightly to taste.
- Cool the filling completely: Don’t rush this step. Warm filling can soften your puff pastry before it reaches the oven.
- Don’t overfill: Too much filling makes the pies harder to seal and increases the chance they’ll leak or burst during baking.
- Seal the edges well: Brush with egg wash, press the pastry edges together, and then crimp firmly with a fork.
- Don’t skip the vents: Cutting slits in the tops allows steam from the hot apple filling to escape as the pies bake.
- Chill the pies if needed: If your puff pastry becomes soft or sticky during assembly, refrigerate the pies for 15 to 20 minutes before baking.
- Make the filling ahead: Preparing the filling in advance saves time and ensures it’s completely cold when you assemble the pies.
- Use leftover filling: Spoon it warm over vanilla ice cream, pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal, or use it in a full-size pie or tart.
- Homemade or store-bought works: My Easy Puff Pastry works beautifully here, but good-quality store-bought puff pastry makes these especially quick and easy.
* A sharp, crisp, dessert apple will be best for this dessert. Adjust the sugar to taste.