Berry Hand Pies are little pockets bursting with goodness. Each hand pie is filled with fresh berries and baked until the crust is golden and flaky.
This recipe is a quick and easy berry dessert that works for any summertime occasion, from BBQs to pool parties to a lazy summer afternoon in your backyard.
Sweet, slightly messy, and a laid-back pleasure. It’s the stuff summers are made of.
Why KJ Loves
Easy Berry Hand Pies
I absolutely love how fun and delicious this recipe is! All the wonderful flavors of a flakey piece of pie that you can hold in your hand? Count me in!
What’s a hand pie?
A hand pie is a small, single-serving pie that you can eat without utensils. Bring it anywhere for a quick treat, or serve it at a party for an easy, elevated dessert you can carry around.
Many different cultures and civilizations had their own variation of the hand pie, from empanadas to turnovers. So I guess you could say that this is a time-tested favorite!
Berry Hand Pie Ingredients
Fresh Berries
I love to do a combo of strawberries and blueberries. You could also use a combo of blackberries and raspberries. Pick your favorite two or three berries! You need 3 cups of berries total (If you choose strawberries, chop them up).
Sugar
What’s pie without a little extra sweetness?
Vanilla
An easy way to deepen the flavor.
Lemon zest
A little acid balances out the sweetness of the berries. If you don’t have lemons on hand, you could also use a little orange juice.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch is a thickener for the berry filling. It absorbs the juice and gives the filling a better consistency. Plus, it keeps the crust from getting soggy!
Pie crust
Store-bought pie crust makes this recipe a breeze! If you want to go all out, try out homemade pie crust.
Egg wash
Brushing the hand pies with an egg wash helps these berry hand pies to get all sorts of golden brown when they bake.
Raw sugar
Dust the berry hand pies with some raw/coarse sugar before baking to give them a sweet crunch! Add a little cinnamon if you want a warmer twist.
Berry Hand Pie Twists
One berry to rule them all.
If you want to stick to just one fruit, try making blueberry hand pies or blackberry hand pies.
(Not so) cookie cutter
Get playful with your shapes and make unique hand pies with your favorite cookie cutter. Circles, stars…choose your favorite!
Glazed over.
Top your sweet hand pies with a simple glaze of powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
Puffed up.
Try making puff pastry hand pies! Puff pastry is more delicate, so handle it carefully and bake the pies at a lower temperature.
How To Make Berry Hand Pies
1
Simmer the berries.
Combine all the filling ingredients into a saucepan and simmer together until perfectly jammy.
2
Prepare your pie dough.
Roll your pie dough out and cut it into 4-inch circles.
3
Fill the hand pies.
Carefully add the berry filling to the middle of each circle, leaving room to crimp the edges (at least half an inch).
Place the remaining half of the pie dough circles over the tops of the filling and crimp the edges.
Repeat until all the pie dough circles and filling have been used.
4
Poke, brush and bake.
Gently poke a couple of holes into the tops of the hand pies with a sharp paring knife.
Brush the hand pies with the egg wash, sprinkle with the sugar, and bake until golden brown and fluffy.
5
Serve!
Let the berry hand pies cool slightly before serving warm. Or, cool them completely and store at room temperature until you’re ready to serve ‘em up!
Berry Hand Pie FAQ
How do you keep the berry hand pies from getting soggy?
To keep berry hand pies from getting soggy, use fresh fruit. Frozen fruit contains extra moisture that will come out during baking. Cut slits in the top of the hand pies to allow steam to vent, and add the amount of flour indicated in the recipe to soak up the juice. Finally, make sure you don’t overfill the hand pies. If you do, the filling may overflow and cause the crust to get soggy.
How do you get the pastry edges to stick together?
Leave a good amount of space (at least a half inch) at the edges so you can crimp them with a fork or your fingers.
Can you use frozen berries?
Frozen berries are not recommended for this recipe, as the extra juice can cause the hand pies to get soggy.
Can you freeze berry hand pies?
Yes, you can freeze these berry hand pies! Make the recipe, but don’t brush them with the egg wash. Then store them in an airtight container in the freezer. When ready to bake, place them on your baking sheet, brush them with egg wash, sprinkle on raw sugar, and bake. The baking time will be a little longer.
Other “Berry” Delicious Desserts…
Easy Berry Hand Pies
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 hand pies 1x
Description
Berry Hand Pies are little pockets bursting with goodness. Each hand pie is filled with fresh berries and baked until the crust is golden and flaky.
This recipe is a quick and easy berry dessert that works for any summertime occasion, from BBQs to pool parties to a lazy summer afternoon in your backyard.
Sweet, slightly messy, and a laid-back pleasure. It’s the stuff summers are made of.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, diced
- 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 pounds pie crust (roughly 4 9-inch pie crust rounds)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- Raw sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine the berries in a medium saucepan with the sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and cornstarch. Toss to evenly until evenly coated. Place over medium-low heat, allow to reduce and simmer occasionally stirring until a jam-like consistency is achieved. About 15 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare your pie crust. Roll your pie dough out to 1/4 inch thick and cut them into 4-inch round circles. Gently fold together and re-roll the excess pie dough pieces to make more circles. Repeat until you have used all the pie dough you can, about 6 circles per pie crust. Refrigerate the pie dough circles until ready to use.
- Lay 6 pie dough circles out onto a baking sheet. Carefully add 2 tablespoons of the berry filling to the center of each circle, leaving about 1/2 an inch of room to crimp the edges all around.
- Top each prepared pie dough circle with another round of pie dough and crimp the edges of each one to form the hand pies. Repeat until all the pie dough and filling has been used – 2 baking sheets will be needed with six hand pies on each one.
- Gently poke a couple holes into the tops of the hand pies with a sharp paring knife.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the water. Brush the hand pies with the egg wash, sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 20-25 or until golden brown and fluffy. Let cool slightly before serving warm, or cooling completely and storing to serve room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
- Homemade or store-bought pie dough can be used. If using store bought, you will need 4 9-inch rounds for this recipe.
- Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 266
- Sugar: 10.2g
- Sodium: 278mg
- Fat: 14.3g
- Carbohydrates: 32.2g
- Fiber: 1.4g
- Protein: 2.6g
- Cholesterol: 14mg
Keywords: Easy Berry Hand Pies
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Hi, I’m KJ!
Here you’ll find simple, delicious recipes for the home cook. I strive to make wholesome meals with easy-to-find ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen—but I won’t shy away from a few indulgences! (I see you: butter, bacon, cookies!)
