Easy, Yet Heavenly, Hand Pies

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My favorite part of every pie is always the crust. I love it so much that even if I am making a single crust pie, I usually make enough dough for a double crust pie just so I will have the extra crust to make something else with.

A little while ago I was making several pies and ended up with quite a bit of extra crust dough. I wanted to figure out something simple to do with it that wouldn’t require a lot of extra time or groceries. I suddenly remembered the little Hostess fruit hand pies that I loved to eat as a kid. They sounded so good and, if I used some canned pie filling, they would be really simple to throw together. It turned out to be a huge success and they were SO yummy!

Don’t they look good?

And check out the insides

So here’s how I made them.

All I used was some pie crust dough (you can even buy premade dough if you don’t make your own,) canned fruit pie filling and an egg. I also did a sugar glaze on them after they came out of the oven but that is optional and I will show you the ingredients for that as you scroll down.

Step 1: Roll Out Dough

I rolled the dough out on a lightly floured surface, just like I would for a pie crust. You don’t have to keep it in a round shape since you will be cutting circles out of it.

Step 2: Cut Out Circles

I figured that 5″ circles would be a good size for the hand pies. I looked through my cupboards and found a can that was 5″ in diameter. I dipped it in some flour and cut out as many circles as I could.

Step 3: Fill Dough

I laid 5 circles at a time on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. If you don’t have a silicone mat you can also use parchment paper or spray it with a non-stick cooking spray. I then put a spoonful of pie filling in the center of each circle. It was probably about a tablespoon or so of filling, if you measured it out. You have to be careful not to put too much in or it starts seeping out the sides.

Step 4: Seal Pies

I then cracked the egg into a bowl and whisked it lightly with a fork. Using a pastry brush, I applied egg half way around the perimeter of the circle.

I then folded the dough onto itself, enclosing the filling, and pressed the edges together.

To assure that they would stay together, I used the tines of a fork to press them again and make a pretty seal on the edges.

Step 5: Vent and Coat Pies

I added a couple of little steam vents with a sharp knife

Then used the egg wash and the pastry brush to cover the whole pie in a light coating of egg.

Step 6: Bake Pies

I baked the pies in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until they were a beautiful golden color.

Step 7: Glaze

Once you remove them from the oven you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar or you can make a sugar glaze to cover them with. I highly recommend the sugar glaze, especially since it reminds me of those Hostess hand pies from my childhood.

To make the sugar glaze, you need 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Whisk all the ingredients together and then brush it on the warm pies with a clean pastry brush.

Here are your finished hand pies. My mouth is starting to water again just looking at them.

 

They are best eaten immediately, while they are still warm, but they are also very good once they cool. I made about 15 of them and sent them with my husband to his worship team practice. He brought back an empty plate with a lot of compliments. This is something I will definitely be making again. I think I will have to keep a can of pie filling in my pantry at all times just so I can whip these up whenever I have extra pie crust.

Until next time, God Bless and Sweet Dreams.

Heavenly Hand Pies

Quick and easy baked hand pies. You can use store bought pie crust and canned pie filling to make them even easier. 

Author Sweet Dreams and Sugar Highs

Ingredients

Pies

  • Pie dough
  • Pie filling of your choice
  • 1 egg room temp

Sugar Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°

  2. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface. Use a circle cutter or can that is around 5" in diameter to cut out circles of dough. Reroll dough scraps and continue cutting out circles.

  3. Lay the dough circles (about 5 or 6 at a time) on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat mat or parchment paper and place about a tablespoon of pie filling in the center of each. Be careful not to overfill the pies or they won't seal properly and the filling will ooze out while baking.

  4. Whisk egg lightly with a fork then use a pastry brush to brush egg halfway around the perimeter of the dough circle. Fold the non-egg side on to the egg side and press the edges together. Use the tines of a fork to press the edges again and seal them. Use a sharp knife to add a couple of steam vents on the top of the pies.

  5. Use the pastry brush to coat the tops of the pies with more of the egg. 

  6. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden in color.

  7. While baking, make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.

  8. As soon as the pies are removed from the oven, and still warm, place them on a cooling rack and use a clean pastry brush to brush the glaze over the tops of them. Allow them to cool enough to firm up completely. They are best eaten warm but are also good cold, just like regular pie. 

Recipe Notes

The quantity of pies is completely dependent on how much pie crust you use and how big of circles you cut out.


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39 Comments

    1. Hi Carolyn,
      I have never tried it but I can’t wee why it wouldn’t work. That sounds amazing. You will have to let me know how it turns out if you do it. Happy Baking!

  1. My family has made “fried pies” for decades. Apricot and apple from dried fruit are the family favorites. I will try to make them soon and use your baking instructions. They should be far healthier. Thanks much for the info.

    PS. These do look beautiful!

    1. Biscuits would rise quite a bit and have a different flavor so they wouldn’t turn out quite the same but you could sure try them. You might come up with some really yummy! Good luck!

  2. I’ve been looking all over for an easy hand pie recipe. I love the way you put it right out there, no flim flam or fancy dancy stuff, just here it is and this is what you do. Thank you so much for that! I’m definitely going to try these. Of all of the recipes I’ve looked at, yours is the best! Thanks!!!

  3. I can’t wait to try these. I have looked all over for an easy recipe to try. I do have a question though. When you brush the pies with the egg wash do you brush both sides of each pie? These look so good. Going to the store now for some pie filling. Can’t wait. Also do you make chocolate ones? If so what do you use for the chocolate? Chips or something else? Thank you again. You made my day. Gotta go I’m on my way to the store!!!!!

    1. Hi Vicki! I only brush the egg on the top side of the pies as it won’t brown properly on the bottom side of the pies. I have never made chocolate ones before but I would think you should probably make a chocolate filling on the stovetop, like you would for a regular chocolate pie, since chocolate chips or bars would turn hard once cooled all the way. Hope that helps. Good luck with your pies.

      1. Thank you for your help. I made them and they are delicious. I haven’t tried the chocolate ones yet. So again thank you.

  4. O.k., I just made these, some are still cooking. I had to taste one and it was great. I made apple, and had to cut the apples up into litty bitty chunks and could only put 2 cherries into a pie. My pies were quite small, all I had was a drinking glass, so they are that size. I can’t believe how easy they are to make. I left the pie crusts out to soften about 4 hours. Probably too long, but they unrolled and cut perfectly. Thanks so much for this recipe. It will be on my favourite things to make.

      1. My Pumpkin pie recipe makes two big pies, so instead of the second pie filling a big pie, why couldn’t I use that filling to make hand pies?? Then I would have both the big and little pies?? Something for everyone.
        Also, why couldn’t you freeze the hand pies before cooking, then take out of the freezer, brush them and pop them in the oven?

  5. I’ve made these a number of times. I’ve used apples, cherries and blueberries. They are always a big hit. I have froze them but I recommend not leaving them out to thaw long because they become soggy from the juice. Or thaw in the refrigerator. I also would love to know if anyone has tried chocolate or pumpkin and how they turned out.

    1. This is great to know. Thank you so much Linda! Chocolate and pumpkin would be wonderful flavors! I haven’t tried them yet but I would love to hear if others have.

    2. I make the chocolate all the time. In fact just made them tonight. They are so good glazed too! I make them and then freeze them and we pop one in the micro for about 50 seconds when we’re craving something sweet. Always a hit!

  6. I made these today and they turned out great, and were very easy!! For once, my finished product actually looks like the pics posted, lol.

  7. Just finished making them. I used cherry pie filling and my own crust recipe. These are delicious. Next time I will try apple pie filling.

    1. I’m so happy that they turned out great for you! Cherry pie is my husband’s favorite. 🙂 Apple would be amazing as well.

  8. Can we use a frozen crust okay? This is my first try at pies and the store only had frozen, not sure if there’s a dough like the pressure cans biscuits come in? That’s th type of thing I initially looked for.

    1. Hi Kaye, I have never used frozen crust before (or any store bought crust for that matter) but there is no reason it shouldn’t work. I assume that with the frozen crust you just need to let it thaw in the refrigerator until it is workable. Good luck!

  9. Just what I was looking for. I have been wanting to make the easiest hand pies possible. I plan on making apple, lemon, and of course, cherry hand pies. Thank you so very much for sharing sweetie

  10. So excited to find this idea. My grandmother used to make something called turnovers which looked like this but that was approximately 60 years ago. I love mincemeat pies but can rarely find them during the holiday season but this past Christmas, 2020, I found some jarred mincemeat and purchased it to see if I could make a homemade pie. I’ve always just bought frozen mince meat pies. Now I can make little turnovers! Your recipe will be my solution to a childhood memory.

    1. Hi Leeanne. I’m not totally certain since I have never done it before but I would be concerned that it would make the pastry soggy as it thawed. If you want to freeze them I would wait on the glaze and add that after you reheat them.

    1. Hi Robert. No, I only egg wash the tops of the hand pies or else they will stick to the mat once baked. I probably should have made that more clear. Hope you enjoy making these!

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