Pie crust: In a food processor, briefly pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until mixture forms chickpea-size pieces (3 to 5 one-second pulses). Be sure the butter is cold at this step. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture is just moist enough to hold together. You should be able to pinch it & it stays together. Form dough into two balls, wrap with plastic and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to 24 hours before rolling out and baking.

Apple filling: Heat the butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the apples, cinnamon, maple syrup & lemon juice. Cook a few minutes until apples are softened & fragrant. Carefully pour out the extra juices, you don’t want mushy hand pies!

Assemble the hand pies: Remove the dough from the refrigerator & let it sit out a few minutes until just pliable. Roll out one dough disk into 1/8 inch thickness, punch out round shapes (you can keep the other disk in the fridge while you work) I used a 4 inch round cookie cutter. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the apple mixture onto the middle of a dough disk. Wet the rim of the disk with some water. Fold the disk together and seal all sides with your fingers.

Continue to do this until you have used up all the dough. Place shapes on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate pies for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit with the rack in the middle. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the pies from the refrigerator. Place them on the baking sheets. Score each pie in the middle with a knife, so they can vent while they bake. Brush egg yolk on each hand pie & sprinkle with some sugar. Bake for about 20-40 minutes (all depends on how thick you rolled the dough) Rotate the pan half way through baking.The pies will be golden brown and flakey when done. Remove from the oven & let cool a bit before serving. Enjoy!