Holiday Hand Pies also known as Pie COOKIES! These are not super easy nor are they healthy but they are super fun and special for the holidays. I love hand pies because you don’t need a fork which makes them a perfect passed dessert for a party! I also love these because they are less intimidating and much easier to eat than traditional pies for kids.
Two short-cuts that will save you time and make this recipe a little easier:
- You can buy your pie crust.
- I use a jam and a nut butter which makes this easier and faster because you are not preparing the filling as well.
If you want to make your pie dough, I have included my pie dough recipe in the notes section.
While this may not be the easiest recipe I have ever posted I love how flexible this Holiday Hand Pies recipe is! You can have fun with your kids and use almost any cookie cutter. I used cookie cutters that were about 3 1/2 inches big. I would not recommend using one much smaller than 3 inches because it is hard to fit the filling in. Also to note I switched from the star to a bell because wider shapes are easier to fill and seal. For a fun treat I love doing these as hearts for Valentine’s Day.
You can also have fun with the fillings. I did half of my pops as chocolate cherry = 1 tsp of cherry jam + 4 chocolate chunks per pie.
The other half I did chocolate almond using Barney’s Chocolate Almond Butter for an event I was intending but feel free to get creative! Both were really good – I personally loved the chocolate cherry!
Holiday Hand Pies Recipe Alternative Filling Options:
- You can use any Jam/Jelly you would like
- You can use any nut or chocolate nut butter would work too!
- An apple, fig or pumpkin butter could also be very yummy in these
- Cream Cheese would make for a fun savory pie
- You can also use your favorite Pie filling – apples, pumpkin etc… just make sure the fruit pieces are chopped very small to fit
I hope you make the time to have fun and make these this holiday season!
Ingredients
- Double Pie Crust (recipe in noteOR buy 2 store bought pie crusts
- Jam or Chocolate Filling - About 1/2 Cup I used cherry
- 2/3 Chocolate Chunks - if doing chocolate + jam
- 1 Egg – beaten
- Raw Sugar Optional
- Parchment Paper
Instructions
- Cover your workspace lightly with flour.
- Roll 1 disc at a time (keep the other disc refrigerated until you are ready to use).
- Sprinkle the dough with flour before rolling. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 of inch thickness (as thin as you can so you do not have a thick crust). If the dough starts to stick, lift it up, add some flour to the board and flip the dough over.
- Cut as many circles/shapes as you can with your desired cutter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. (Do not worry about spacing them out yet).
- Gather up the reserved dough scraps and gently press them into a disc. Repeat the cutting and rolling process with the scraps (dough becomes elastic if you roll it too much so you will probably only be able to roll 2-3 times).
- When you are finished with the first disc roll and cut out the second disc.
- Using a seperate parchment lined baking sheet. Place a row of 3 shapes.
- Add 1 tsp of filling (and 4 chocolate chunks if you are usinto the center of each.
- Brush the edges of a non-filled shape with egg and then cover your filled shape and press edges together so it is sealed.
- Repeat with each shape (in rows of 3) until you have no more dough left.
- Chill in the refridgerator for 15 minutes before baking. While they are chilling preheat oven to 325.
- Brush beaten egg onto crusts and sprinkle with raw sugar.
- Bake at 325 F or 15-20 minutes.
- Pops are done when they are lightly golden brown!
Notes
- The yield depends on the size of the cookie cutter you use. Mine were about 3 1/2 inches big. I would not recommend using one much smaller than 3 inches because it is hard to fit the filling in.
- Also to note I switched from the star to a bell because wider shapes are easier to fill and seal.
- Bake time will be more or less depending on hand pie size– just bake until crust is golden brown. Use the same oven temperature.
- I did half of my pops as chocolate cherry = 1 tsp of cherry jam + 4 chocolate chunks per pie. The other half I did chocolate almond using Barney’s Chocolate Almond Butter. Both worked well!
- Other Options/Alternatives:
- You can use any Jam/Jelly you would like
- You can use any nut or seed butter + chocolate chips or any chocolate nut butter would work too!
- An apple, fig or pumpkin butter could also be very yummy in these
- Cream Cheese would make for a fun savory pie
- You can also use your favorite pie filling - apples, pumpkin etc… just make sure the fruit pieces are chopped very small to fit
- In food processor combine together flour, sugar and salt.
- Pulse a few times in food processor
- When all of the butter pieces are the size of tiny peas, this won’t take long — stop.
- Start drizzling ice-water over and pulse until combined.
- Divide the dough in half and place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap.
- Let the dough chill in the fridge for one hour, before rolling it out. While the dough is chilling prepare your filling.
