Easy Baked Hand Pies

Here’s a simple recipe for easy baked hand pies that you can whip up in no time. These are versatile, so you can use sweet or savory fillings. I’ll be focusing on a sweet fruit filling, but feel free to swap it out for something like meat or cheese if you prefer. This recipe makes 6-8 cherry hand pies.

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Servings: 6 - 8 hand pies

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

For the Pie Dough

1 1/2 cups freshly milled flour (soft white wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks grass-fed butter (chilled and cut into small pieces or it can be grated)
4-6 tbsp ice cold water (add more if needed)

For the Filling

1 1/2 cups Fresh Cherries (or any fruit such as apples, peaches, etc.) (preferably, organic)
2 tbsp grass-fed butter (unsalted)
1/3 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp Lemon Juice (+1 tsp)

Method

Prepare the Pie Dough:

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour salt. Drop in the cold butter pieces. Use a pastry blender, cut the butter until you have tiny pieces mixed into the flour.
Add ice cold water while stirring with a fork.
Divide dough into 2 round disks, flatten them and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. The dough can be made 1-2 days prior and just pull it out of the fridge when you are ready to make the hand pies.
This will save a step if you're short on time.

Make the Filling

Combine the cherries, coconut sugar, arrowroot powder, lemon juice and butter into your cast iron skillet or saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring gently and frequently. The cherries will start to release their juices and the mixture thickens. This may take approximately 5-7 minutes. When the filling looks thick and bubbly, it's ready.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. This will prevent the hand pies crust from getting soggy when we go to bake them.

Assemble the Hand Pies

Remove the dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough to 1/8" thickness. Cut out 12-16 circles with a round cookie cutter or you can do this by hand. You will have 2 circles per pie. Re-roll scraps, if needed.
Hand version: pull roughly 4-5 inches of dough and just form round circles with your hand, making sure to get down to 1/8" in thickness.
Place 3-4 tbsp of the cooled cherry pie filling in the center of one set of the circles. Leave roughly a 1/2" border.
Place the another circle on top, lining it up with the bottom circle. Press edges together with a fork to seal the two dough circles together. Crimp firmly to avoid leaks, however, I like a good rustic hand pie.
Cut slits or make an "X" on the top of each pie to allow steam to escape while baking.

Baking

Brush the tops of each hand pie with heavy cream or milk. Place the pies on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350℉ for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Let pies cool and eat as is or serve them warm with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Storage

Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes.

Notes

Cherries:Using fresh cherries is ideal but frozen ones will work. Just make sure to thaw and drain them. Adjust the coconut sugar if your cherries are tart or sweet.

Arrowroot Powder: This acts as a thickener and is a much healthier option than using corn starch.

Flaky Crust: Keep the butter cold for a flakier crust. Work with the dough quickly as you are rolling it out. The key to a flaky crust is the coldness of the dough.

Preciseness: If you want exactly 6-8 hand pies, measure filling precisely (1/4 cup for 8 pies and 1/3 cup for 6 pies). Adjust the dough circles accordingly.