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    Home » Recipes » Classic Pies

    Shortbread Apple Pockets

    Published: Sep 10, 2014 · Modified: Jul 18, 2022 by Audrey · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    Gluten-Free Vegan and Paleo Shortbread Apple Pockets {AIP-Friendly, Refined Sugar-Free}

    While making this Paleo and Gluten-Free Vegan Rustic Pear Galette the other day, I had a passing thought about the crust possibly working really well for some apple pockets. Well that thought never left my mind, especially since I'm swamped with apples galore from our wild apple trees. We've literally been having apple pies, apple crisps, apple butters, apple sauce, and baked apples on a daily basis. So today I thought of finally giving this apple pockets idea a go and ended up with something super delicious as a result! These gluten-free vegan and paleo shortbread apple pockets have the perfect combination of moist sweetness and tartness on the inside and a shortbread-like shell. And being made of all very simple real food ingredients, they of course got gobbled up in a jiffy by some friends I had over for dinner! I only wish I had some vanilla ice cream on hand for the occasion, as these would pair really well with that -- highly recommended :) .

    P.S. These would make an amazing breakfast or lunch box treat!

    Print

    Shortbread Apple Pockets

    Gluten-Free Vegan and Paleo Shortbread Apple Pockets {AIP-Friendly, Refined Sugar-Free}
    Print Recipe

    Gluten-free vegan and paleo shortbread apple pockets: the perfect combo of moist sweetness and tartness on the inside and a shortbread-like shell outside!e shell

    • Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Cook Time: 25 minutes
    • Total Time: 55 minutes
    • Yield: 7 apple pockets
    • Category: Hand Pies
    • Method: Baked
    • Cuisine: Dessert

    Ingredients

    Crust:

    • ¾ cup coconut manna (coconut butter), warmed/softened
    • ½ cup coconut oil, liquified or very soft
    • ¾ cup maple syrup, at room temp.
    • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
    • ½ cup water
    • 1 cup coconut flour
    • 1 cup tapioca starch
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ¼ tsp allspice
    • ⅛ tsp cloves
    • ⅛ tsp nutmeg

    Filling:

    • 7-12 tablespoon apple butter (I used my homemade recipe. Unsweetened store-bought apple butter would work well too)
    • approx. ½ an apple, cored and thinly sliced
    • approx. ¼ cup maple syrup
    • approx. 7 tablespoon raisins
    • Some cinnamon for sprinkling

    Crust Wash:

    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 2 tbsp maple syrup
    • ½ tsp cinnamon

    Instructions

    1. In a large bowl, combine the coconut manna, coconut oil, sweetener, vanilla, and water. Add in remaining crust ingredients and knead by hand until a sticky dough forms. Form it into a ball. Then separate and form the dough into 7 smaller balls.

    2. Line a rolling out surface with a small piece of parchment paper. Place a dough ball on the parchment paper. Press down the dough ball a bit to flatten into a disc. Cover with a second same-sized piece of parchment paper on top and carefully roll out the dough to a circle with a diameter roughly the size of your hand, and to a ¼″ thickness. Don't worry if it's not a perfect circle or if the edges are a bit jagged at this point.

    3. Remove the top layer of parchment. Spread approximately 1 - 2 tablespoon apple butter over one half of the circle, leaving a 1" clean rim. Top with a few thin slices of apple. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon raisins and with some cinnamon. Drizzle a bit of the maple syrup (approx 2-3 tsp) on top. Note: you're working with just half of your dough circle right now -- keep the other half clean.

    4. To fold the dough over, lift up the parchment paper from underneath on the side that's clean (where there's no filling in the circle) and fold it over the side with the filling. Press down lightly and then peel away the parchment paper from the top. Use your fingers to press down the edges of the apple pocket to close the pocket shut and to even out the shape into a semi-circle. Also gently fix any tears or breaks. Use a fork to press down the edges a bit to seal them more and to create that pretty pattern around the edges. Transfer the apple pocket by lifting it up along with the parchment paper underneath it and place it on a cookie sheet.

    5. Line your rolling out surface with a new small piece of parchment paper and repeat the process (steps 2-4) for the remaining 6 dough balls.

    6. Once all the turnovers are on your cookie sheet, use a butter knife to cut a few slits in each apple pocket (I made a little criss-cross pattern on top of mine). You can place them quite close to each other by the way, as they don't change size or leak (if you sealed them well, that is).

    7. Prepare the crust wash by mixing all the wash ingredients together in a small bowl. Brush each pocket with the wash using a pastry brush.

    8. Place the entire tray of apple pockets into the fridge and refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes. In the meantime pre-heat the oven to 375F.

    9. Bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 23 - 25 minutes until the edges are lightly golden. Remove tray from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool off a bit. They may look a little cracked at first, but they settle as they cool and regain their prettiness :) . Enjoy these warm or room temp, ideally with a side of vanilla ice cream!

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @unconventionalbaker on Instagram and hashtag it #unconventionalbaker

    Gluten-Free Vegan and Paleo Shortbread Apple Pockets {AIP-Friendly, Refined Sugar-Free}

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. C Stanley says

      November 12, 2018 at 1:20 pm

      This is a nice website, thank you for taking the time to write the article.

      Reply
    2. patricia says

      September 15, 2018 at 9:22 pm

      You only use 1/2 apple for all 7 pockets?

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        September 15, 2018 at 10:54 pm

        Hi Patricia. Yes, that's correct. A lot of the apple flavor here comes from the apple butter, which is a concentrated baked apple mixture. The 1/2 an apple just gives the filling a bit more texture.

        Reply
    3. Su says

      April 20, 2018 at 1:52 pm

      Hi, this looks delicious! What can I use to replace the coconut manna/butter?
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        April 29, 2018 at 7:56 pm

        Hi Su,

        It's an essential part of the dough because it adds both fat + texture. You can make your own coconut butter / manna by blending down shredded coconut (in a food processor or a power blender -- it takes a about 10 mins, but is very simple).

        Reply
    4. Margaret Anne @ Natural Chow says

      September 19, 2014 at 10:38 pm

      This has "fall" written all over it. They look so delicious, and I bet your house smelled like heaven after baking these beauties! Thanks for linking up at Natural Living Monday!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        September 19, 2014 at 11:12 pm

        Thanks Margaret Anne! The house did smell amazing! :) That's the best part of fall, isn't it? The aromas can be mesmerizing...

        Reply
    5. Danielle @ Poor and Gluten Free says

      September 14, 2014 at 3:06 pm

      These look beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing this on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, I’ve pinned it : )

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        September 16, 2014 at 10:58 pm

        Thanks Danielle! Happy to share ;)

        Reply

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    I'm Audrey—a baker, blogger, and author who loves to create and explore simple, wholesome, and allergy-friendly recipes. I hope you enjoy the site and find something yummy to make!

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