Strawberry Hand Pies

Enjoy the best of summer in every bite with these super simple Strawberry Hand Pies! They're the perfect treat to take along to picnics, for summer cook-outs, or just whenever you need a delicious strawberry snack. Simply delicious!

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 35

Refrigeration Time: 45

Total Time: 1 55

Servings: hand pies

Calories: 599kcal

Ingredients

Pastry

5 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1⅔ teaspoons salt
1⅞ cups unsalted butter cold, sliced
¾ - ⅞ cup cold water

Filling

3 cups chopped strawberries
½ teaspoon orange zest
⅓ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt

Egg Wash

1 large egg
1 Tablespoon water

To Finish

coarse sugar

Instructions

Pastry

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a dough blade.
Pulse a few times to mix.
Add butter, a little at a time, processing after each addition.
Add enough water to bring together into a workable dough.
Remove from bowl and divide in half.
Wrap each half in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes (or freeze for 10).
Heat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

Filling

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
Stir well. Set aside.

Egg Wash

Make egg was by whisking together egg and water. Set aside.

Assembly

Unwrap and place chilled dough onto a piece of parchment paper or a silicone mat sprinkled lightly with flour.
Lightly sprinkle top of dough with flour.
Roll to ¼ inch thick.
Cut out circles with a 4 inch round cutter.
Repeat with second piece of dough.
Place half of dough circles on prepared pans.
Place ⅛ cup of strawberry filling in center of each dough round.
Brush edges with egg wash.
Top with remaining half of dough circles.
Press to seal.
Press edges with a fork to ensure pies are sealed.
Brush with egg wash.
Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
Use a sharp knife to cut small steam holes in the top of each pie.
Freeze for 15 minutes.
Move pies straight from freezer to oven.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Notes

Substitutions:

Frozen strawberries can be used instead of fresh. Just remember to thaw them first!
To make this recipe vegan, use your favorite plant-based butter and non-dairy whipping cream to brush the crust.
Store-bought pie dough may be used, but we can’t guarantee the outcome.
If you don’t have unsalted butter, you can use salted butter. Just omit the salt in the recipe

Expert Tips:

If you have a small food processor, you need to make the pastry in 2 batches.
Be careful to not over-work your pie dough! It can be very easy to do inside a mixer. You simply just want everything to come together. Be sure to watch it closely!
Keep your pie crust COLD! The refrigerator is your best friend with this recipe. When not working with the pie dough, it needs to be in the fridge.
Cut as many circles as possible per piece of dough. The more you re-roll, the tougher the dough with be and the more shrinkage you will have.
With your strawberries, be sure to dice them! Halves or quarters will be too big to fit inside the hand pie.
When filling the hand pies, try and avoid as much of the liquid as you can. If you spoon in a lot of the liquid, the hand pies are more likely to leak/burst.
Freezing before baking cuts down on shrinkage.
You can top these hand pies with sparkling sugar or a simple vanilla glaze.
Don't throw away the excess liquid from the strawberries! This can be kept and used as a strawberry flavored syrup for drinks.

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