Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and zest of 1 lemon in a bowl of a stand mixer.

Add 1/2 of the beaten egg into the flour mix. Use the other half for brushing the hand pies at the end before baking.

Mix in the butter. It takes some time to incorporate the butter and make the dough. I sometimes add a little milk if it doesn't come together.

Wrap the ball of dough into plastic cling wrap and let rest for an hour in the fridge.

Put the water, butter, vanilla and apples in a small pot. Boil over medium heat.

Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a separate bowl and add to the mixture until the apples soften and the juice thickens.

Blend the mixture and let cool completely.

Take the dough out of the fridge and knead it a little more before flattening the dough out with a rolling pin.

Preheat oven to 395 F.

Cut 20 shapes (heart or round). Ten for the bottom, ten for the top. I cut small circles (with a "spray bottle top", about 1/2 inch diameter) out of the top shapes.

Assemble the hand pies on a cookie sheet: first layer is a bottom shape (without holes), spread out the apple mixture in the middle, leaving the sides. Brush the sides with egg. Carefully put the top shape with the holes on top and brush again with the beaten egg.

Bake the hand pies for about 13-15 minutes, depends on your oven. Mine took the full 15 minutes.