Peach Hand Pies with Roasted Peaches

A small stack of peach hand pies. The one on top is cut in half exposing the peach filling

4.50 from 8 votes

Peach Hand Pies with Roasted Peaches

These Roasted Peach Hand Pies are one of my favorite desserts. I like everything about them from the flaky all-butter crust to the delicious peaches roasted to bring their natural sweetness.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1

Chilling Time1 30

Total Time3 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: pies

Calories: 299kcal

Author: Cheryl Norris

Ingredients

Pie Dough

3-1/4 cups (400 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups (454 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cubed (82% butter fat preferred)
1/2 cups ice water

Roasted Peaches

2 pounds (900 grams) peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Egg Wash

1 large egg beaten
1 teaspoon milk or water

Sugar-Cinnamon Topping

3 tablespoons (37 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

Pie Dough

Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and then place it back in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
Add the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cold cubed butter and 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.
Add about 4 tablespoons of water initially and quickly fold it in with a wooden spoon to distribute the water. Add the remaining water and mix it into the dough.
Keep the dough in the bowl. Use your knuckles or the palm 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. Press the dough into a rectangle, lightly flour the top and use a rolling pin and roll it out to a rectangle, approximately, 10 x 8-inches. Use a bench scraper to fold the top third of the dough towards the center. Fold the bottom portion of the dough over the first fold creating a letter fold.
Turn the short end of the dough towards you. Roll the dough again into a 10 x 8-inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into the letter fold. Turn the short end of the dough towards you. Repeat the steps to roll out the dough and fold it one more time.
Chill the dough for at least 45 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Roasted Peaches

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut the peaches into small chunks, about 1/2-inch. Please the peaches in a large bowl and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and the sugar. Line a metal sheet pan with parchment paper, pour the peaches onto the pan into a single layer and place in the oven.
Roast the peaches for 15 minutes and then stir the peaches. The peaches should begin the release their juices. Stir the peaches every 10 minutes after that, until the peach syrup begins to bubble. Wait until the peach syrup is bubbling all around the pan and appears to thicken.
Remove the peaches from the oven and scrape them into a heat-proof container to cool to room temperature. Once the peaches have cooled stir in the vanilla extract.
The peaches can be roasted and refrigerated up to 1 week in advance of making the hand pies. The roasted peaches are not only good as a pie filling, but ice cream topping or an addition to your oatmeal.

Pie Assembly

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it in half. Leave one piece out and place the other half, wrapped in plastic back in the refrigerator. If the dough has been in the refrigerator overnight let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes to make it easier to roll.
NOTE: I use a 3.75 inch round cutter, which is the maximum size in my cutter set.
Beat one whole egg in a small bowl and set aside. The egg wash will be used to seal the individual pies.
Cut the dough into 10 equal pieces that weigh about 55 grams each. Roll each piece out to an approximate 4-inch square. Use the cookie cutter to cut out the circle. Repeat this step for the other pieces of dough. If it's warm in your kitchen, store half of the dough pieces in the refrigerator until you're ready to roll them out.
Place about 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of peach filling in the center of one circle. Brush the edges of the dough circle with the egg wash using a pastry brush, place a second dough circle on top and gently stretch it to meet the edges of the bottom circle. Use 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 these step with the remaining dough.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Remove the pies from the refrigerator and place on parchment lined baking tray. Heavily sprinkle each pie with sugar cinnamon mixture and cut an X into the top of each pie.
Bake the pies for approximately 16-20 minutes, until the tops and edges are browned and the pies should double in height. Remove the pies from the oven. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. The pies can be eaten warm or completely cooled to eat later.

How to Store

The pies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. They can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week.

Notes

How to Freeze: The unbaked hand pies can be frozen for up to 2 months. Arrange the hand pies (without the egg wash or sugar cinnamon topping) on a baking sheet or other flat surface and freeze the hand pies for 24 hours.

Next, place the hand pies in a freezer storage bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. To bake the pies, preheat the oven, brush the frozen pies with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and bake them according to the directions above. The baking time will vary since they are baked from frozen.

Cutting the Dough: Make sure to sure to use a cookie cutter or a large biscuit cutter to cut the dough. A sharp edge is needed to ensure that you're cutting cleanly through the layers of the dough. Do not use a glass or a lid to cut the dough, because the round edges of those objects will seal the edges as you press down and keep the dough from rising in the oven.

Nutrition