Star Shaped Cherry Hand Pies
All the goodness of cherry pie in a single-bite treat, these star-shaped Cherry Hand Pies are the perfect grab-and-go snack. Made with flaky, from-scratch pie crust and juicy cherry filling these tiny pies are as delicious as they are adorable.
I struggled with writing this blog post. What can possibly be said about cherry pie that hasn’t already been belted out by Warrant in their decades-old song? You know, the one that’s played on repeat in every strip club in America?
Don’t get me wrong, I like cherry pie as much as the next person but not when hair-sprayed rockers in latex pants sing about it as a euphemism for virgins. I’m not even offended from a women’s rights perspective, I’m vicariously offended on behalf of cherry farmers.
Harvesting those fleshy fruits at peak ripeness only to have them baked into pies mocked with sexual innuendo is deplorable. What happened to the good old days when life was a bowl of cherries? A bunch of horny deviants is what.
I’m shocked the Cherry Grower’s of America never filed a complaint. The only way I can rectify that in my mind is to assume the song caused cherry sales to spike through the freaking roof. If so, good for them. Personally, I jump at any chance to stock up on those sweet stone fruits–even without that bangin’ song in my head.
By far, my favorite thing to do with fresh cherries is bake them into miniature hand pies. The result is everything I love about cherry pie crammed into a cute little version. Every bite of the flaky from-scratch pie crust in these star-shaped cherry hand pies is jam-packed with juicy pie filling.
Pop one in a picnic basket, one in your kid’s lunchbox and two in your mouth because Star-shaped Cherry Hand Pies are as portable as they are adorable!
Before sharing the recipe, here are a few tips and tricks to help you out when making Star-Shaped Cherry Hand Pies:
Ingredient Tips and Tricks
Dough for pie crust is best when the butter, shortening and water are ice cold. I even chill my mixing bowl and flour before use.
I have a lot of gadgets in my kitchen and a cherry pitter is among my favorite because it makes pitting cherries a breeze. If you don’t have a cherry pitter of your own then you can pit cherries by hand.
This recipe calls for fresh cherries but you can use frozen in a pinch. Thaw completely then pat dry with a paper towel before use.
Preparation Tips and Tricks
Use any size/shape cookie cutter you desire, however, make sure you have an even number of cutouts. Also, don’t go any smaller than a 3-inch cutter or the hand pies will be too tiny for the cherry filling.
Take care not to overwork the dough for the pie crust or it will be tough instead of tender and flaky.
Depending on humidity levels on any given day, pie crust dough may require less than the 1/2 cup of water called for in the recipe. Therefore, only use as much water as needed for the dough to form clumps.
Don’t skip the egg wash because it helps your pie crust bake up golden brown and it adds sheen. Sprinkle the egg-washed crust with turbinado sugar before baking for some added crunch.
How to Store Cherry Hand Pies
Pie dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days or the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before use.
Cherry pie filling can be made up to 5 days in advance when covered and stored in the refrigerator.
Cherry Hand Pies taste best the day they are made. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.
I hope you enjoy this recipe for homemade Cherry Hand Pies. Please leave a comment and a rating at the bottom of this blog when you try it for yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.
Finally, if you’re looking for more cherry dessert ideas, check out this recipe for Cherry Buckle Cake with Fresh Cherries. It’s a rustic, scratch-made cake with fresh cherries and a buttery walnut streusel. This buckle just might be the fruit-juiciest cake you’ve ever tasted.
Star-Shaped Cherry Hand Pies
Ingredients
Pie crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1 tsp sea salt fine
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter very cold and cut into pats
- 1/2 cup ice cold water *may require less, see instructions below
Cherry filling
- 2 cups fresh cherries stemmed and pitted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp sea salt fine
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice fresh
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 1/2 Tbsp water room temperature
Topping
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 Tbsp heavy cream
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs.
- Add ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture forms clumps. *Note: you may not need the entire 1/2 cup called for in the recipe.
- Transfer dough to a floured surfaced. Using your hands, divide dough in half.
- Flatten each dough half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Cherry Filling
- Combine cherries, sugar, salt and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves.
- Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl until combined then add to cherry filling.
- Increase heat to medium-high and stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 7 minutes.
- Remove saucepan from heat and transfer cherry filling to a glass bowl.
- Cool to room temperature before assembling pies.
Assembly
- Remove one disk of chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8 of an inch thick.
- Cut dough with a star-shaped cookie cutter. Re-roll any dough scraps and cut into stars.
- Refrigerate star-shaped cutouts.
- Remove 2nd dough disk from the refrigerator. Repeat the roll-and-cut process then refrigerate star-shaped cutouts for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Place half of the star cutouts on baking sheet evenly spaced apart. Using a sharp knife, cut four tiny slits into the middle of each of the remaining stars to vent steam.
- Add one tablespoon of cherry filling to the center of each star on baking sheet. Cover each with a vented star cutout and crimp edges closed with a fork.
- Beat egg and heavy cream in a bowl with a fork. Brush the tops of each star pie with this egg wash mixture.
- If desired, sprinkle each pie with turbinado sugar then bake for 15 minutes or until pies are golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool for on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool a few more minutes.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Cherry Hand Pies taste best the day they are made but can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.