Cherry Hand Pies
When I was in high school home economics class my teacher, Miss Craig taught us how to make fried hand pies. At that time, I thought the only way to get a hand pie was from the supermarket in a commercial plastic bag. That day we made all kinds of berry pies and fried them in hot oil until they were golden brown. It was so difficult to wait for them to cool enough to eat. It’s been a long time since that day in Home Ec, but I still remember those cute little pies. Now I prefer to bake them in the oven, resulting in an equally delicious pie that fits perfectly in my hand. These cherry pies are particularly cute when they’re shaped into hearts to give to someone I love, but you can make them any shape you like!
Ingredients
Makes About 8
Pastry:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 sticks butter, cold and cut into ¼” pieces
½ cup cold water
Cherry Pie Filling:
1 can tart cherries, drained
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ teaspoon almond extract
Finishing Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons coarse sugar
Process
Pastry:
To make pastry, combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles corn meal. Alternatively, combine ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 20 times until mixture resembles corn meal. Add water and stir with a fork until a dough forms. Do not overmix the dough or it will result in a tough pastry. Form dough into 2 discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Filling:
Make the filling by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap dough and roll out each disc on a lightly floured board until dough is about 1/8” thick. Use a hand-pie heart mold or cut out 4-inch heart shapes with a sharp knife. Place 2-3 tablespoons of cherry filling onto the center of half the heart shapes. Brush the remaining heart shapes with water along the outside edges. Place these shapes onto the ones with filling and press around edges to seal. Use a fork to press around the edges even more. Brush each pie with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Place pies on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
