These cherry hand pies with buttery pie crust, fresh fruity centers, and almond icing are a delicious summer dessert!
Cherries are one of nature’s best treats and I look forward to them every summer. While we often enjoy cherries straight out of the bag, I love to bake with them too.
These mini hand pies are maybe my new favorite cherry recipe! They are simple and uncomplicated, essentially just cherries enveloped by a homemade flaky pie crust with a little drizzle of almond icing. The flavors of the fresh cherries, buttery crust, and sweet icing are so perfect together.
Perfect Treat on the Go!
Hand pies are exactly what they sound like— individual pies that you can eat with your hands. They are so perfect for taking on the go, whether you’re having a picnic in the park, spending the day at the beach, or heading out for a hike.
Of course, if you want to put your hand pie in a bowl and cover it with vanilla ice cream, I have no problem with that.
How to Make Cherry Hand Pies
These hand pies are really quite simple to make, with homemade pie dough, a quick 3-ingredient filling, and a drizzle of icing to finish them off.
- Prepare pie dough. Use a pastry blender to cut cold butter cubes into a mixture of flour, sugar, and salt mixture. Add buttermilk and bring mixture together into a flat disk. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours or more.
- Roll out pie dough. Roll out pie crust into a large rectangle about 12 x 15 inches, though you don’t need to be exact. Trim edges so they’re straight and cut dough into 12 rectangles.
- Prepare cherry filling. In a bowl combine halved pitted cherries with sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt.
- Assemble hand pies. Place a mound of the cherry filling into the center of half of the rectangles. Brush with egg wash and place the remaining 6 rectangles on top. Press dough together to seal and then crimp edges with a fork. Brush tops with egg wash.
- Bake. Bake hand pies until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
- Drizzle with icing. Whisk powdered sugar, milk or heavy cream, and almond extract to make a thick but pourable glaze. Use a spoon to drizzle icing over slightly cooled hand pies.
Then, enjoy! These cherry hand pies are delicious when they are fresh and still slightly warm, but will keep for several days so you can enjoy them even longer.
Pie Crust
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup Challenge Salted Butter, cold and cubed (226 grams)
- ½ cup buttermilk, cold
Cherry Filling
- 12 oz fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved (340 grams, about 3 cups)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Almond Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar (115 grams)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Directions
-
1
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add butter and use a pastry blender to cut butter into dry ingredients until bits of butter are about the size of small peas.
-
2
Add buttermilk and use a spatula and then your hands to bring the mixture together into a ball. If you need to add more buttermilk, do so a tablespoon at a time. It’s okay it’s a little shaggy, as long as it stays together.
-
3
Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
-
4
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
-
5
On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie crust into a large rectangle about 12 x 15 inches, though you don’t need to be exact. Trim edges so they’re straight and cut dough into 12 rectangles of even size.
-
6
In a bowl, combine the cherries, sugar, and cornstarch.
-
7
Place a mound of the cherry filling into the center of 6 rectangles, leaving about a 1-inch border. Brush with egg wash and place the remaining 6 rectangles on top. Use your finger to press dough together to seal and then crimp edges with a fork. Brush tops with egg wash and poke a few holes with a toothpick.
-
8
Place hand pies on prepared sheet pan and bake until crusts are golden brown, about 30 minutes.
-
9
Let hand pies cool slightly while you prepare the icing.
-
10
Whisk powdered sugar, milk or heavy cream, and almond extract together. Add only enough milk or cream to make a thick but pourable glaze.
-
11
Drizzle icing over hand pies. Let set up for a few minutes before serving.
-
12
Hand pies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for several days.
