In this yummy Cherry Hand Pie recipe, you'll learn how to make a delicious cherry filling and a buttery, flaky pie crust from scratch. I'll show you that adding vanilla extract and fresh lemon juice is the key to the best cherry filling ever, and how to make laminated pie dough from scratch, which will turn into a flaky pie crust when baked.
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The Trick to Make Delicious Cherry Filling
Making pies with sweet cherries has always been a challenge for me. While the crust was great, the cherry filling tasted very one-note or bland, as opposed to sour cherry filling, which has the delicious complexity of sour, tart, and sweet.
But wait! I figured it out. The trick to making great-tasting sweet cherry pie filling is to use lots of lemon juice, vanilla extract (the garlic of the dessert world, in my opinion), and spices, in this case, ground cinnamon. The resultant filling was so good. I couldn't stop tasting it, so I had to make more.
You'll love this recipe for its simplicity of flavor and ease of execution. The flavor will have your friends and family congratulating you on a job well done and these cherry hand pies will become a new favorite.
For more cherry dessert recipes, see my recipes for Cherry Pie Bars, Sour Cherry Galette, and Sour Cherry Ice Cream.
Cherry Hand Pie Key Ingredients
Below is a picture of all the ingredients, but I want to highlight a few ingredients.
- Homemade Pie Crust: This is my go-to recipe for an all-butter pie crust. The technique of folding the dough multiple times results in a flaky pie crust. You can use store-bought pie dough, but you won't get the same flakiness.
- Sweet Cherries: You can use fresh or frozen for this recipe, but during cherry season I prefer to fresh cherries. In the recipe, I show you how to get the most juice out of the cherries and maximize the flavor.
- Lemon Juice: This is a key ingredient for bumping up the flavor of the cherries and giving them some complexity.
- Ground Cinnamon: Personally, I think cinnamon makes everything taste better. The natural sweetness of the cherries pairs perfectly with the warm, earthy notes of cinnamon. For a different twist, you can also experiment with nutmeg or cardamom in this cherry recipe.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: The aromatic creamy notes of the vanilla complement the sweetness of the cherries. Think cherry vanilla Coca-Cola. I was excited to discover how delicious this combination is.
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Cherry Hand Pies
Step 1: The first thing to make is the homemade pie crust. The pie dough can be made from in advance and frozen for up to 2 months, or you can make it the same day.
Step 2: Make the cherry filling. Combine the pitted cherries and sugar in the saucepan. Let the cherries macerate for 30 minutes to draw out the juices.
Step 3: Cook the cherries until soft enough to smash with a potato masher. Add the lemon juice and cornstarch. Cook until thickened
Step 4: Remove from the heat and cool them to room temperature.
Step 5: Roll out the pie to a 17 x 9-1/2 inch rectangle. We want the dough to be thin.
Step 6: Cut the dough into 4-inch wide rectangles.
Step 7: Brush the bottom part of the dough with egg wash. Put 2 tablespoons of cherry filling in the center of the egg wash border.
Step 8: Fold the top part of the dough over the bottom half. Press the edges together.
Step 9: Use a sharp knife to trim the bottom and top edge (where the dough is folded). Crimp the edges.
Step 10: Brush the top of the hand pies with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and cut some slits on the top.
Step 11: Bake the pies until the dough has risen and turned a dark golden brown.
Step 12: Place the baked pies on a cooling rack. The pies can be eaten warm.
How to Store the Cherry Hand Pies
These hand pies can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days and then refrigerated. But honestly, if they last more than a couple of days in your house I would be surprised. Below are the instructions for storing the cherry hand pies.
- Cool completely: Allow the hand pies to cool completely to room temperature before storing. This will prevent them from becoming soggy.
- Choose a container: Store the hand pies in an airtight container. This will help to keep them fresh and prevent them from drying out.
- Store at room temperature: Baked cherry hand pies can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you need to store them for longer, you can refrigerate them for up to 3 days or freeze them.
- Freeze for longer storage: To freeze baked cherry hand pies, wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. They can be frozen for up to 2 months.
- Reheat before serving: To reheat frozen hand pies, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then bake them in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through. You can also reheat them in the microwave, but the crust will be soggy and not crisp.
Tips for Successfully Making These Hand Pies
For the Cherry Filling
- Let the filling cool: Cool the cherry filling before assembling the hand pies. Warm filling can make the dough soggy and difficult to work with.
For the Pie Crust
- Use cold ingredients: Cold butter and ice water are essential for a flaky pie crust. Keep the butter chilled until ready to use.
- Don't overwork the dough: Overworking the dough will develop the gluten, resulting in a tough crust. Mix the dough until it just comes together.
- Chill the dough: Chilling the dough for at least 45 minutes before rolling it out will help to relax the gluten and make the dough easier to work with.
- Roll the dough evenly: Roll the dough to an even thickness to ensure that the hand pies bake evenly.
Assembling and Baking the Hand Pies
- Don't overfill the hand pies: Overfilling can cause the filling to leak out during baking. Use about 2 tablespoons of filling per hand pie.
- Seal the edges well: Use a fork or your fingers to crimp the edges of the hand pies to seal in the filling.
- Cut vents in the top: Cut a few small vents in the top of each hand pie to allow steam to escape during baking.
- Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet: This will prevent the hand pies from sticking to the baking sheet and make cleanup easier.
- Bake until golden brown: Bake the hand pies until they are golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
If you make these yummy cherry hand pies please leave a rating and a comment below.
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Fresh Cherry Hand Pies with Homemade Pie Crust
Equipment
- 18-inch Ruler
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 1 pie dough recipe
Cherry Filling
- 12 ounces (340 grams) fresh sweet cherries you can also use frozen cherries
- 1/3 cup (68 grams) granulated sugar
- 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Egg Wash
- 1 large (50 grams) egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Topping
- 3 tablespoons raw or turbinado sugar
Instructions
Make the Pie Dough
- See my recipe for Homemade Pie Crust to get the list of ingredients and the full recipe for mixing the ingredients hand or with a food processor.
- Once the dough is all mixed, shape the two pieces into rectangles. Shaping the dough into the shape you eventually want makes it easier to roll out the dough into even rectangles.
- Chill the dough for at least 45 minutes for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
Make the Cherry Filling
- The weight in the ingredients is for unpitted cherries. By the time you pit the cherries, you should have about 310 grams of pitted cherries
- Pit the cherries. Cut some of them in half and some of them in quarters. Place the cherries and the sugar in a saucepan. Let the cherries sit for 30 minutes. This step is called maceration. The sugar will draw out the juices in the cherries.
- If using frozen cherries, pour them into the saucepan and let them thaw completely. You will all the juice from the cherries. Add the sugar and stir together.
- Bring the cherries to a boil and then immediately reduce the heat to medium low and lte the cherries cook until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Mash them 2 or 3 times with a potato masher to break the cherries up. Don’t over mash them, you want the cherry filling to be chunky.
- Stir together the cornstarch and lemon juice. Pour the lemon-cornstarch mixture into the cherries and stir until the cherries become shiny again. Cook the mixture for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the ground cinnamon and vanilla.
- Remove the cherries from the heat and pour them into a bowl. Let the cherries cool to room temperature, they should feel cool to the touch. If you’re not making the cherry hand pies the same day, store the cherries in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Assemble the Cherry Hand Pies
- Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on your work surface for 5 minutes.
- Roll the dough out to a 17 x 9-1/2 inch rectangle. Trim the dough to 16x9-inches. Next cut the dough into 4 equal rectangles. Use a ruler and a knife to mark the dough at 4-inch intervals. Use a pizza wheel or a sharp knife to cut the dough.
- Stir together the egg and the water. On the lower half of the dough paint a square with a pastry brush on the outer edges of the dough. The egg wash is used to seal the dough and provide a guide to where the add the cherry filling.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cherry filling in the center of the lower half within the border created by the egg wash. Use a spoon to spread the filling to the inside edges of the egg wash border. Fold the top half of the dough over the cherry filling and lightly press to seal the edges of the dough.
- Use a pizza wheel or a sharp knife to trim the folded edge of the dough (that will allow the pie crust to rise) and the other end you just folded over.
- Use a fork to crimp the dough for a decorative look. The egg wash is used to seal the dough, so you don’t need to crimp it but it does give a pretty look to the hand pies.
- NOTE: At this point you can freeze the unbaked hand pies for up to 2 months. Arrange the pies in a single layer on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Freeze them in the freezer until firm. Place the pies in a freezer bag and freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, bake them from frozen, but brush only once with egg wash.
- Repeat these steps for the 3 remaining pieces of dough. Brush the top of each hand pie with the egg wash. Place the hand pies on a flat board and chill them for 30 minutes.
- While the first hand pies are chilling roll out the second piece of dough and repeat all the steps.
Baking the Hand Pies
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the hand pies from the refrigerator and place 4 pies on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the pies with a second coat of egg wash. Cut 3 slits into the pies on the diagonal. Sprinkle the top of the pies with the turbinado sugar.
- Bake the pies for 15-18 minutes, until the pies have risen, you can see the layers of pie crust and the pies are dark golden brown.
- Remove the pies from the oven. Let them sit for 5 minutes then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Let the baking sheet cool to room temperature before baking the second set of hand pies.
Storing the Hand Pies
- Cool completely: Allow the hand pies to cool completely to room temperature before storing. This will prevent them from becoming soggy.
- Store at room temperature: These hand pies can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you need to store them for longer, refrigerate them for up to 3 days or freeze them.
- How to Freeze: To freeze baked cherry hand pies, wrap each pie individually in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. They can be frozen for up to 2 months.
- Reheat before serving: To reheat frozen hand pies, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then bake them in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven or in an air fryer (using the reheat function) for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through. You can also reheat them in the microwave, but the crust will be soggy and not crisp.
Penny says
Where does the cinnamon and vanilla go?
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Penny
I'm sorry for that typo. The cinnamon and vanilla are added after the lemon-cornstarch mixture. I have updated the recipe card. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.