Pork Free Paleo Cassava Flour Apple Hand Pies
These little hand pies are everything you want in a portable dessert — flaky, golden pastry wrapped around a warmly spiced apple filling that smells incredible while it bakes. The crust comes together with cassava flour and solid coconut oil, giving it a surprisingly tender, workable texture that rolls out beautifully without any grain or gluten in sight. The filling is sweetened with maple syrup and thickened with arrowroot starch, so every bite is jammy and fragrant with cinnamon and ginger rather than cloyingly sweet. Because every single ingredient here is naturally free of pork and pork-derived additives — no lard, no gelatin, no hidden animal fats — you can bake with total confidence. That matters more than people realize with pastry, since traditional pie crusts often rely on lard for flakiness; coconut oil steps in here and genuinely delivers. A quick egg wash gives the tops that gorgeous bakery-style shine, and the fork-crimped edges make them look like you spent way more effort than you actually did. Let them cool just long enough not to burn your fingers, then enjoy them warm — they're the kind of treat that disappears fast.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
For the crust
- 2 cups cassava flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup coconut oil, solid (not melted)
- 6–8 tbsp ice water
- 1 large egg, beaten (for egg wash)
For the filling
- 3 medium apples (about 1 lb), peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch dice
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp arrowroot starch
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- 1
Make the filling: melt 1 tbsp coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the diced apples, maple syrup, cinnamon, and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 6–8 minutes. Stir in the arrowroot starch and lemon juice and cook for 1 minute more, until the juices thicken and coat the apples. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely, about 20–30 minutes.
- 2
Make the crust: whisk together the cassava flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the solid coconut oil in small spoonfuls and work it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining.
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