There is a whole lot of goodness packed into these delicious Strawberry Hand Pies. Fresh strawberries are roasted with sugar to create a scrumptious strawberry jam filling, then encased in a buttery pie crust and baked until golden brown. If you love strawberries then you'll love this hand pie recipe.
Jump to:
- What You'll Need for These Pies
- Strawberry Filling
- Flaky Pie Dough
- How to Make Strawberry Hand Pies
- How to Make the Strawberry Filling
- How to Make Flaky Pie Dough
- How to Bake the Hand Pies
- What Strawberries to Use for the Hand Pies
- How to Store the Pies
- How to Freeze Hand Pies
- Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- FAQ
- If You Like This Recipe Try These
- Strawberry Hand Pies
These strawberry hand pies are one of the reasons I love strawberry season.
Everything about these hand pies is so good, from the roasted strawberry jam to the buttery delicious flaky crust. After the first time, I learned to make extra roasted strawberries to store in the freezer.
I only started making pies 5 years ago. Up until then, Mom was the pie maker in the family. Her crust and fillings were always delicious, so really there was no need for me to learn how to make pies with my mom baking such amazing pies.
About 7 years ago my mom stopped making pies. She wasn't able to stand in the kitchen to peel fruit or roll out pie dough and bending over to take things out of the oven became difficult for her.
So I was determined to learn and take over the pie-making tradition. And here we are today. The pie and tart recipes on my site are some of the most popular recipes.
What You'll Need for These Pies
Here are the ingredients you'll need for these delicious hand pies:
Strawberry Filling
- Fresh Strawberries: Local sweet strawberries taste best in this recipe because they become really jammy while roasting in the oven. You can also use frozen strawberries for this recipe, but you may need to roast them longer because of the extra water.
- Granulated Sugar: The sugar adds sweetness and creates a jammy texture. The amount of sugar can easily be adjusted according to the desired sweetness, but don’t use less than ½ cup.
- Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest: Adds brightness to the final strawberry flavor.
- Vanilla Bean: Vanilla bean brings an amazing flavor to the strawberries
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a nice warm note to the strawberry jam filling
Flaky Pie Dough
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. Provides the structure for the pie crust.
- Cold Unsalted Butter. Butter provides the flavor and flakiness of the pie. Use unsalted butter, because different brands of salted butter contain different amounts of salt and it's better to control the salt by adding salt.
- Kosher Salt. The salt enhances the flavor of the pie crust.
- Granulated Sugar. Sugar adds a little sweetness and helps with the browning of the dough as it bakes.
- Ice Cold Water. Water holds everything together. Ice cold water helps ensure that the butter stays cold. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of water. The dough will be a little wet, but as the dough rests and chills it will absorb the water. Start with half the water and add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time. In most instances, you'll use all the water, but I've found that during the winter I might not use all the water because of the moisture in the air.
How to Make Strawberry Hand Pies
These are the best strawberry hand pies you will ever make. Why? First, the strawberries are roasted in the oven to bring out their natural sweetness and concentrate the flavor. Second, the pie dough is made with almost equal amounts of flour and butter, and folded multiple times to create an incredibly flaky pie crust.
The recipe starts with roasting the strawberries and then making the flaky pie dough while the strawberries cool.
How to Make the Strawberry Filling
This strawberry filling is made by roasting strawberries in the oven. It's a great way to make strawberry jam with less sugar and a more intense flavor.
Toss the strawberries with lemon juice and lemon zest. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the strawberries and fold in the sugar.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the strawberries onto the parchment paper and spread them into a single layer.
Roast the strawberries, stirring them after 15 minutes, and taste for sweetness. At this point add more sugar if you want sweeter berries.
As the strawberries cook in the oven they will begin to darken and the juices will start to thicken and bubble. The whole process takes about 30-40 minutes depending on juicy the berries are.
When the strawberries are done, immediately scrape them into a large bowl. The pan will be hot so be careful and use the proper oven mitts. Allow to cool to room temperature and then store the strawberries in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use.
How to Make Flaky Pie Dough
The incredibly flaky pie dough contains almost equal parts of butter and flour. Start with cold butter and ice water to ensure the butter doesn't melt into the flour and stays solid.
The secret to creating a really flaking dough (besides the butter) is the so multiple turns of the dough. A turn is the step of folding the dough, rolling it out, and then folding it again.
Use a large stainless steel bowl so you will have plenty of room to work the dough into the flour and then schmear it against the sides of the bowl without getting flour and bits of butter everywhere.
Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the cold butter and press the cubes of butter into quarter-sized pieces.
Add the water and use a spatula to work the water into the dough. Then schmear the dough up the sides of the dough.
Pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead the dough until it starts to come together. Shape it into an 8 x 10 rectangle and then fold it into three sections, similar to a tri-fold brochure or letter. Then roll out to a rectangle again, fold it and roll it.
This process will create multiple layers of fat and flour. When the dough is in the hot oven, the liquid in the butter will steam and create flaky pockets.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate. You can make the dough up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate it or freeze it for up to 2 months.
How to Bake the Hand Pies
Now we come to the best part - putting together the strawberry hand pies.
Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut the dough into pieces and that weigh about 55 grams each.
Roll the dough out until it is a little bigger than a 4-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter. Use a cutter that is at least 4 inches in diameter to cut out the pastry rounds. Any smaller and it becomes difficult to get the filling into the pie and have it stay closed.
Place the strawberry filling in the center of the dough. Use a pastry brush to brush the edge of the dough with the egg wash. Fold the pie in half and seal the edges with the tines of a fork.
Chill the pies for 30 minutes. Remove them from the refrigerator and brush the top of each pie with the egg wash and cut small slits into the tops of the hand pies. The slits allow the steam to escape out the top of the pies.
Sprinkle them with turbinado sugar. The sugar adds crunchiness to the final product as well as a nice bit of sweetness. Place the pies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake them until they’re dark golden brown and have risen. Remove them from the oven. Let the pies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then move them to a cooling rack.
What Strawberries to Use for the Hand Pies
In Oregon, strawberries such as the Hood, the Seascape, and the Mary’s Peak are juicier and will take longer the cook, but produce a more flavorful jam. The Albion Strawberry is the strawberry that you typically see in the grocery stores from California. They have less moisture, typically have a white center, and will cook faster than the other berries that I just listed.
The most important thing about strawberries is to use strawberries that taste good.
How to Store the Pies
After the pies are baked, store them at room temperature for up to two days and in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can rewarm them in the oven at 300F until they are warm (not hot) to the touch.
How to Freeze Hand Pies
The unbaked hand pies can be frozen for up to 2 months. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for 24 hours. Put them in a freezer bag. When ready to bake preheat the oven. Remove the pies from the freezer, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until they’re golden brown.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- To ensure the best dough possible, weigh the flour and butter on a scale and use cold butter and ice cold water.
- Keep a one-pint jar of water in the refrigerator to ensure you always have cold water for your pie crust.
- Use strawberries that taste good without sugar. Starting with fruit that tastes good will ensure the best hand pies.
I love everything about these hand pies, from the roasted strawberry jam to the flaky pie crust. My only regret is that I didn't make extra roasted strawberries to store in the freezer.
FAQ
The hand pies are good at room temperature for two days. After that they should be refrigerated.
Yes, the strawberry hand pies can be made ahead of time. Once the pies are assembled, they can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 2 months.
If You Like This Recipe Try These
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Strawberry Hand Pies
Ingredients
Flaky Pie Dough
- 2-3/4 cups (400 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp (18 grams) kosher salt
- 2 cups (454 grams), unsalted butter, cold 82% butter fat preferred
- 1/2 cup ice water
Roasted Strawberries
- 8 cups (1075 grams) strawberries rough chop
- 1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean optional
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Hand Pies
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon milk (or cream)
- Turbinado (raw cane) sugar
Instructions
Pie Dough
- Add the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Use your fingers to smush the butter into flat pieces. Continue smashing the butter until all of it is flattened and pieces are about the size of quarters. The flour should look like coarse cornmeal.
- Add about 4 tablespoons of water initially and quickly fold it in with a wooden spoon to distribute the water. The dough should appear shaggy. If you need to add more water, add it one (1) tablespoon at a time until it appears shaggy (you may not need all of the water). Keep the dough in the bowl and use your fingers or the palms of your hand to smear the dough up the sides of the bowl.
- Once you've done this all the way around the bowl. fold the dough over itself to pick up any dry bits from the bottom of the bowl. Pour the dough onto a floured work surface (I use a wooden board). Press the dough into a rectangle, lightly flour the top and use a rolling pin and roll out to a rectangle, approximately, 10 x 8-inches. Use a bench scraper to fold the dough into a letter fold. Repeat the rectangle and the letter fold two more times.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 45 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 month.
Roasted Strawberries
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
- Place the sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the pod with a small sharp knife. Place the vanilla seeds in the same bowl with the sugar. Use your fingers to mix and work the seeds into the sugar. If you don't use all the sugar, use the remaining sugar for another recipe.
- Combine the chopped strawberries, lemon juice and lemon zest, 1/2 cup of the vanilla sugar and salt in a large bowl. With a large spoon gently mix all the ingredients together. Spread the mixture on a half-sheet pan and place in the oven.
- After the first 15 minutes, taste the mixture (careful it's hot) and add more sugar 1/4 cup at a time stirring after each addition. Continue to roas the strawberries, stirring them every 10 minutes until the strawberry syrup starts to thicken and bubble at the edge of the pans.
- When done, remove them from the oven and use a large heatproof spatula to scrape them into a large bowl. Allow the berries to cool until room temperature. Once cooled the berries can be used immediately or refrigerated up to two weeks.
Hand Pie Assembly
- Remove 1/2 of the dough from the refrigerator. If the dough has been in the refrigerator over night let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes to make it easier to roll.
- Whisk the egg and milk together. This egg wash is used to seal the pies and brush the top of the assembled pies.
- Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Divide the dough into sections that weigh about 55 grams each. Roll out each pie a little larger than a 4-inch cookie cutter, then use the cutter to cut out a circle.
- Gather up the scraps into a ball, press it into a circle, wrap it in plastic, and put it in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes and reroll for additional pies.
- Place about 1 tablespoon of strawberry filling in the center of each circle. Brush half of the dough circle with the egg wash using a pastry brush, fold the top half of the dough over the filling, and lightly press it into the bottom piece. Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges.
- Lightly flour a sheet tray or cutting board and place the pies on the sheet tray and chill for at least 30 minutes. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the remaining dough. I use a 1/4 sheet tray to chill the hand pies in the refrigerator because that is what will fit into my refrigerator, but I bake the pies on a 1/2 sheet tray. See the information below for sheet tray dimensions.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Remove the pies from the refrigerator and place them on a parchment-lined baking tray. Brush each pie with the egg wash and then cut three slits into each pie. Heavily sprinkle each pie with raw sugar.
- Bake the pies for approximately 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. The pies will rise slightly. Remove the pies from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool. The pies can be eaten warm or completely cooled to eat later.
Gail Hinchsliff says
Very interesting facts on rhubarb and roasting fruit. I have always been told that rhubarb is like the spring tonic. we used to make rhubarb strawberry sauce or use apples with the rhubarb.. May God bless you in all you do..