Hand Pies 3 Ways
Summer in the sense of freedom may be over, but summer isn’t actually finished for almost a month. There’s no better way to eat like it’s summer than to have one last hurrah with in season fruit and make some pie.
But pies are super inconvenient, at least in my opinion. So every time I’m able, I make hand pies instead. They’re cute, the perfect serving size and, most importantly, give you the maximum amount of delicious flaky crust.
This time, I decided to have a little bit of fun and make the fillings interesting. I started with peach and blackberry, made plum and blueberry, then made a strawberry and Nutella batch to top it off.
These were super fun to make (and more fun to eat), plus I had my sous chef / hand model Josh help me with them. Each flavor of pie was awesome in its own way, and I loved them so much I tried to get most of them out of the house.
Ingredients
for the crust
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cold butter, chopped
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup ice cold water
for the peach & blackberry filling
- 3 peaches, peeled and diced
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
for the plum & blueberry filling
- 4 plums, peeled and diced
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
for the strawberry & Nutella filling
- 1 ½ cups strawberries, diced
- 2 cups Nutella
Instructions
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and salt.
Use two forks or your hands to work the cold butter into the flour mixture; if you are using your hands, wash them in cold water and then dry thoroughly so the butter doesn’t start to melt from your body heat.
Mix in the butter until you have what looks like a wet, crumbly sand. Then start adding in your water, a teaspoon or two at a time, until the dough comes together. It shouldn’t be too sticky.
Separate the dough into two, wrap each half in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
For peach or plum pies: in another bowl, mix together all your ingredients while you prepare the dough.
Preheat the oven to 400º F.
Roll the dough to about ¼ of an inch thick, then cut out circles, all that match. I used a small bowl to do this, and I ended up with 22 circles (11 pies).
Lay half the circles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. These don’t spread out, so don’t worry about placing them close together. I needed two baking sheets.
For peach and plum pies: spoon about two spoonfuls of filling into the center of each pie, being sure to leave a border around the edge.
For strawberry pie: spoon a dollop of Nutella and a small handful of diced strawberries into the center of each pue, being sure to leave a border around the edge.
Make an egg wash (1 egg + 2 teaspoons milk or cream) and paint around the edges of the bottom circles.
Lay the top circles on the bottoms, crimp the edges with a fork and poke a small hole in the top for air to be released.
Paint the top of the pies with more egg wash, sprinkle with granulated sugar, then bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops of the pies are golden brown.
If you’re going to store them for later, let cool completely on the baking sheet. If they’re ready to be eaten, let them cool for 5 minutes before serving.
