Homemade Cherry Hand Pies have flaky crust and juicy filling! The perfect cherry pie recipe for Summer parties and barbecues!
Cherry Hand Pies
With Memorial Day just around the corner – and the 4th of July not too far behind it – today feels like the perfect time for us to sit down and share some pie. More specifically, these sweet little cherry hand pies.
These handheld darlings are easy to whip up and perfect for parties, picnics, and beyond. They’re also astonishingly good when topped with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you have a Summer baking bucket list… these should be at the top!
Because really, what is Summer without cherry pie?!
Mini Cherry Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- baking powder
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter
- sour cream
- pitted sweet cherries, fresh or frozen
- cornstarch
- lime juice
- and an egg
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- The pie dough will look super shaggy and dry when you first start kneading it! Don’t fret – it WILL come together. Just keep at it! And don’t add any excess liquid. I know it’s tempting, but resist. You’ll thank me later 🙂
- Because the pie dough needs to chill for at least one hour, you’ll want to plan ahead time wise for this recipe.
- Keep a close eye on the cherry pie filling after it comes to a boil. After it reaches the boiling point, it begins to thicken fast. So be sure to lower the heat right away and cook it just until it coats a spoon. You want it thick, but still juicy. Does that make sense?
- Don’t skip the egg wash! This helps the crust get that gorgeous golden brown hue.
- These cherry hand pies are best eaten the day they are baked, but will keep – stored in an airtight container – for 3 days.
More Hand Pie Recipes:
If you try this recipe for Cherry Hand Pies, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day ♥
Cherry Hand Pies
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) VERY cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup cold FULL FAT sour cream
For the filling:
- 2 and 1/2 cups pitted sweet cherries, fresh or frozen
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
For the topping:
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Turbinado sugar, optional
Instructions
To make the crust:
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Add the butter, working it in with your hands or a pastry cutter, until it's a coarse meal. The butter should still be in large, pea-sized pieces. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the sour cream. The dough will be very shaggy at this point. Turn it out onto a well floured work surface, and bring it together with a few quick kneads.
- Pat the dough into a 10 inch log, then roll it out into a 10" x 12" rectangle. Dust both sides of the dough lightly with flour, and starting with the shorter end, fold it in three - like a letter. Flip the dough over, and roll it again into a 10" x 12" rectangle. Fold it in three again. Wrap the dough in saran wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
To make the cherry filling:
- Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture starts to thicken – about 6 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 2 minutes before removing from the heat. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool to room temperature.
Assembly and cooking:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place a rack on the middle shelf. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside until needed.
- Roll the dough into a large square that’s about 1/8 of an inch thick. With a straight edge and pastry wheel, cut out sixteen 3 inch squares. Place squares on prepared baking sheet. Using a small knife, make three tiny slashes across 8 of the squares. Fill the other 8 squares with two tablespoons of the cherry filling, then match up each one with a vented piece of dough. Lightly brush the edges and tops of each pie and crimp the sides together using a small fork.
- Bake the pies for 20 to 22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Laura Smith Borrman says
Wow. This is one of the best hand pie recipes I’ve ever made, and the only one I made in a toaster oven! (My oven is on the fritz,) So glad you called out the shaggy dough – I didn’t believe it would come together but boy, was it deliciously flaky in the end. Added a touch of water as I cooked the cherry mixture as mine quickly lost too much moisture. With the beautiful Coral cherries my family handpicked for our first time, this was an unbelievable May dessert. Thank you so much for sharing!
Nedra McAfee says
I made these with dried cherries. The crust is the best I’ve ever made. They were beautiful and delicious.
Dana says
Making these for Christmas! Your crust recipe says 2 sticks (8 ounces) of butter. is that a total of 16 oz or 8 oz total? Thanks!
Elà H says
I just made these and they turned out pretty great for my first time making a laminated dough! Some hints: the pies in the pictures are 3″x4″, not 3″x3″ square., so I have some dough left over to try croissants. I might refrigerate my dough overnight next time. Don’t make the vent holes TOO long; I put mine on the diagonal and could have gone a little smaller. Make sure you use a cookie sheet, not a pan with edges, and space the pies so that you can fit a fork in between to crimp the edges. Be gentle with your egg wash as it can break your layers and brown really quickly. My oven runs hot, so I decreased the cooking time to 15 mns and they were very golden brown; so a combo of less temp or less baking time may work for my next time. I could barely wait for them to cool down and start sampling. The filling is SO easy to make and isn’t too sweet, so you can really taste the cherries. Also, sprinkle the tops with sugar!
Jen says
Thank you, thank you, thank you! All the other recipes online call for the horrid stuff in a can, Yuck! I have just one tiny comment- use sour pie cherries, the flavor will blow your mind. I have not quite enough sour pie cherries for a full pie, so this recipe will fit the bill. I am making them for an undergraduate student that I work with. The poor girl is 20 and has never had cherry pie! This will save her from loosing her baking creds.
Dan says
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Can you please explain the instructions for rolling out the dough and folding it 3 times, flipping it over and doing it again? I’m not sure I understand that part. I also wanted to ask if you Ave prepared these with any other types of fruit. Thank you!
Bea Shumey says
Today I made a filling of cooked , slightly sweetened apples slices and made an even dozen. They are delicious.
Greg says
I used fresh cherries because I had too many that were becoming rather ripe. AH-MAZING!!! Mine were not as pretty as yours but I’ll do better next time. Bravo.
Audrey says
These look delicious! I’d like to make them for memorial day weekend! Did you ise fresh or frozen cherries?
bakerbynature says
Hi Audrey! I used frozen, but fresh will work.
emily says
These look gorgeous! Will they freeze well?
bakerbynature says
Thank you, Emily! I haven’t tried freezing these (they never last long enough haha), but I think they should freeze nicely 🙂
Nicola | Serendipity Bakes says
These look so cute! The cherries looks so bright and beautiful. They’ll also be perfect for welcoming in the new series of Twin Peaks 🙂 xx