Context will make the difference. If you say "grab a handful of apples", no one will believe you meant to say it, because that doesn't make any sense.
"There are a handful of apples" is a different usage, which people will accept.
"There are a handful of apples" is a different usage, which people will accept.
(Maybe better described as feral apples? Old orchards with trees unpruned for decades.)
https://www.google.com/search?q=beach+apple&source=lnms&tbm=...