These fried apple empanadas are the perfect handheld dessert. Fried pie dough pockets filled with warm apple pie filling, dusted with cinnamon sugar and dipped into dulce de leche, what's not to love?!

If you loved McDonald's fried apple pies or the Taco Bell apple empanadas back in the day, you will love these sweet empanadas!

Lately, I've gotten really into combining American and Latin food. Two things I love are apple pie and my mom's empanadas. So I've decided to combine the two by making fried apple empanadas, using pie crust dough and homemade apple pie filling.

Why you'll love these mini apple pies

This is the perfect dessert for an after-school snack.
This easy dessert recipe is great during the Fall season.
These delicious treats can be prepared ahead of time and frozen.
Great handheld pastry that's great for feeding a crowd

Ingredients for these delicious apple empanadas

Cold butter cut into cubes
All-purpose flour
Sea salt
Baking powder
Sugar
Cold water
Gala apples
Brown sugar or turbinado sugar
Butter
Fresh lime juice
Ground Ceylon cinnamon
Cornstarch
Grated nutmeg
Dulce de leche
Milk

Instructions for this apple empanadas recipe

Make your homemade empanada dough

Prepare the dough by placing the flour, baking powder, salt cold butter and sugar in a food processor. Pulse a couple of times until the texture begins to look like big crumbs.
Add the cold water one tablespoon at a time and pulse in the food processor until homogeneous mass is obtained.
Remove the dough and knead the dough over a floured surface. Be sure not to overwork the dough. Then form the dough into a disk, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator.
Let the dough cool in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Make your apple pie filling

Peel and cut the apples into small cubes and place in a medium mixing bowl. Add lime juice and stir so that all the apples are covered in juice to avoid browning.
Place the apples, butter, cornstarch, sugar, pinch of nutmeg and Ceylon cinnamon in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Gently stir the apples for about 8-10 minutes until the sugar and cinnamon slurry begin to boil.
Place the apples back in the medium mixing bowl and allow to cool completely.

Make the cinnamon apple empanadas

Remove the dough from the fridge and start rolling it out with a rolling pin over a floured surface.
Roll out the dough until the dough is about a half a centimeter thick. Be sure to move the dough around and keep flouring your surface to avoid it from sticking.
Cut out 7 inch circles (I used a soup bowl) and place it on the emapanda maker.

Fill the dough with 2 tablespoons of cooled apple filling, lightly wet the edges with cold water and close the empanada maker to seal the edges. Make a small slit in the center of one side of the emapanda to allow the air to vent out while cooking.
Place the sealed apple empanadas on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place them in the refrigerator for about 10 to 15 minutes, this will harden up the dough.

In a frying pan, place 1 cup of sunflower oil or vegetable oil then heat at medium high heat and allow the oil to reach 350 degrees.
Fry the empanadas in batches of at least three at a time, so the oil will maintain the right temperature. Fry 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown.
Once fried, move the empanadas to a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Prepare the dulce de leche dipping sauce

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the dulce de leche and milk. Cook in the microwave for 1 minute and stir until combined. Continue to cook at 1 minute intervals until you reach the desired consistency.

Be sure to eat the fried apple empanadas nice and hot! If they get cold, you can microwave them for 10 seconds on high.

Variations and Substitutions for these dessert empanadas

Don't have access to Gala apples? Opt for tart Granny Smith apples instead.

Don't want to make your own pie crust dough? Opt instead for store-bought pie crust or use store bought empanada discs.

Not a fan of Dulce de leche? You can use caramel sauce or simply omit the dipping sauce and enjoy the fried apple handpies without it. You can also serve these hand pies with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Don't have limes? use lemon juice instead.

Don't want to fry your empanadas? Opt instead for air fryer empanadas instead. Spray the empanadas with cooking spray or brush them with oil and air fry them at 350 for about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Storage for these apple pie empanadas

Cooked apple empanadas can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for upto 3 days. Reheat in the oven or toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 7-8 minutes.

Uncooked empanadas can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for upto 2 months

Fried Apple Empanada Recipe!

Why you'll love these mini apple pies

Ingredients for these delicious apple empanadas