Picked up a bunch of Gala apples at the supermarket, but any good cooking apple will do. Quarter and peel one large AppleSlice into thin-ish slices Add into a frying pan with a tablespoon of Butter on medium heatAdd teaspoon Cinnamon & 2 tablespoons of SugarGently stir to combine and to soften the Apples about 5minSet aside to cool

Tip :Puff pastry is gods gift for lazy cooks. As long as it does not dry out before you finish you can't screw it up. It produces a dessert that is light and flaky with no work needed.The package of puff pastry came with two squares of dough, use one half Flour your counter or cutting board Roll Puff Pastry with a floured rolling pin to just over an 1/8 of an inch thickness. Using "cookie cutter" cut out 6 "apples" from the sheet of Puff pastry and separate them. With a knife cut alternating 1/2 inch slits in 3 of the puff pastry apples to form a lattice meshTrick: I could not find an Apple shaped cutter but for some reason they had a Pineapple one. The metal in these cutters is very thin and easily bendable (and cheap - about a $1). Just with my bare hands I bent the cutter into the shape of an apple with two leaves at the top. This takes your normal round hand pie over the top to a fancy apple.Trick: In order for the top pastry sheet to cover the apples I slice alternating cuts about 1/2 inch long to make a "lattice". This creates a web effect which allows the pastry to easily stretch and also makes the top look extra fancy when cooked.

Tip:You MUST get a Silicone baking pad, nothing sticks to it even if the sugar syrup leaks out and burns everything just slides off! Makes clean up so easy and I hate cleaning up.Layer the apples on the pastry base. Mix an egg and some cold water into an egg wash. Spread the egg wash around the edge of the base. Place the top lattice on the base. Brush the top with the egg wash (this will give the pastry a nice golden brown look when cooked). Using a fork press around the edges to seal the two layers of puff pastry and to add a decorative edge. Cook the pies at 375 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden brown (since the filling is pre-cooked you are basically just cooking the pastry)Tip:To be honest, I should have put a second row of apples when I was making this as the top pastry sheet would stretch more and there would be more filling. Not that these did not turn out great but just saying sometimes more is better!Tip: You could stop here and serve "as is" but if you want to go over the top keep reading!

Melt some Apricot jelly in the same frying pan in which you cooked the apples. Brush this glaze over the cooked pies. Place powdered sugar in a small strainer. Using a piece of cardboard cover half of the pie and shake the strainer to powder 1/2 of the pie.Trick:Melting the apricot glaze in the same frying pan in which you had the apples flavors the glaze with the cinnamon and apples. Glazing the pies not only gives it a shine but it also helps keep the flaky puff pastry together to avoid a lot of crumbs.Tip:The powdered sugar is just for show and mimics the natural color variation in the apples (red and green patches)

Here you go the simplest, fancy apple hand pie that will impress even the most hard-core foodie!Recipe:Ingredients:1 large Gala Apple 1 tablespoon Butter 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 2 tablespoons Sugar 1/2 package Puff Pastry 2 tablespoons Flour 1 Egg 2 tablespoons Apricot Jelly 2 tablespoons Icing SugarDirections:Quarter and peel one large apple and slice into thin-ish slices. Add into a frying pan with a tablespoon of butter on medium heat, add teaspoon cinnamon & 2 tablespoons of sugar. Gently stir to combine and to soften the Apples about 5min then set aside to cool. The package of puff pastry came with two squares of dough, use one half. Flour your counter or cutting board and roll Puff Pastry with a floured rolling pin to just over an 1/8 of an inch thickness. Using "cookie cutter" cut out 6 "apples" from the sheet of Puff pastry and separate them. With a knife cut alternating 1/2 inch slits in half of the puff pastry apples to form a lattice mesh.Layer the apples on the pastry "bases". Mix an egg and some cold water into an egg wash. Spread the egg wash around the edge of the base. Place the "mesh lattice" pastry on top of the bases gently pull the edges to stretch the dough to fit. This will open up the lattice slits slightly.Using a fork press around the edges to seal the two layers of puff pastry and to add a decorative edge. Brush the top with the egg wash (this will give the pastry a nice golden brown look when cooked). Cook the pies at 375 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden brown (since the filling is pre-cooked you are basically just cooking the pastry). Melt some Apricot jelly in the same frying pan in which you cooked the apples. Brush this glaze over the cooked pies. Before serving, place powdered sugar in a small strainer. Using a piece of cardboard cover half of the pie and shake the strainer to powder 1/2 of the pie.Can be served warm or at room temperature.Hope you enjoy!