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Presidents/Franklin Pierce

AT THE TABLE WITH FRANKLIN PIERCE

New Hampshire apple hand pies

A pocket-sized excuse for dessert.

Baking55 minServes 6
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New Hampshire apple hand pies — a painted table
A painted table · Serving illustration

THE STORY ON YOUR PLATE

New Hampshire apples in a hand-sized pie

More about Franklin Pierce →

A New Hampshire politician and the fourteenth president.

Family or White House tradition

New Hampshire fried apple pies appear in the Pierce family’s culinary tradition. Our version uses fresh apples and oven baking, keeping the folded individual pastry while simplifying preparation.

The president & the table

Pierce family culinary traditions lead to New Hampshire’s plain cooking, including fried pies made with dried apples. Drying preserved the harvest and made an apple filling possible beyond the fresh-fruit season.

Behind this story

Pierce family and regional food traditions in presidential culinary histories.

APRON ON. HISTORY CAN WAIT.

Make it at home.

Serves 6

What you’ll need

Let’s make it

  1. Cook apples, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a skillet for 8–10 minutes until softened and fairly dry. Stir in lemon juice and cool.

  2. Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Roll the pastry and cut six circles about 15 cm / 6 in wide.

  3. Put filling on one half of each circle, leaving a border. Brush the border with a little egg, fold and crimp firmly with a fork.

  4. Place on a lined tray. Cut a small steam slit in each, brush with egg and add optional coarse sugar. Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden. Cool for 10 minutes.

Cooking notes

Bake the pies until the pastry is golden and the filling is hot.

Metric and US measures are approximate equivalents. For baking, use weights when you can.